JOSEPH’S DREAM - 4th Sunday of Advent (Cycle A)

Homily for the 4^th SUNDAY OF ADVENT Cycle A

Based on Mt 1:18-24 (Gospel), Is 7:10-14 (First Reading) and Rom 1:1-7 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

JOSEPH’S DREAM

“When Joseph woke up he did what  the angel of the Lord told him to do” (Mt 1:24)

The Gospel reading for this 4^th Sunday of Advent (Cycle A) is Mt 1:18-24.

Verse 18 says: This is how Jesus Christ came  to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph;^e but before they came to live together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Footnote ^e  says “The force of Jewish betrothal was such that the fiancé was already called ‘husband’ and could release himself from the engagement only by an act of repudiation, v. 19.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Lk 1:27…to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

2.       Lk 2:5,11…in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child (v. 5).  Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is the Christ the Lord^d (v. 11). Footnote  ^d says “He is, therefore, the expected Messiah; but he is also called ‘Lord’, a title the OT reserves for God. A new era is beginning.”

Verses 19 and 20 say:  Her husband Joseph, being a man of honor and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally.^f He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord^g appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because  she has conceived what is in her  by the Holy Spirit. Footnote ^f  says  “It would appear that Joseph’s integrity did not only consist in wanting to withhold his name from a child whose father he did not know, but also, since he was convinced of Mary’s virtue, in refusing to expose to the rigor of the Law (Dt 22:20f) a mystery he did not understand.”;  and Footnote ^g  says  “The ‘angel of the Lord’ in the early texts (Gn 16:7+) means Yahweh himself. With the development of the doctrine of angels (cf. Tb 5:4+) their distinction from God becomes clearer; they retain their function as heavenly messengers and often appear as such in the narratives of the infancy (Mt 1:20,24; 2:13,19; Lk 1:11; 2:9; cf. also Mt 28:2; Jn 5:4; Ac 5:19; 8:26; 12:7,23).”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 2:13, 19 - After they had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him’ (v. 13).  After Herod’s death, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt…(v. 19).

2.       Mt 28:2 - And all at once there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat on it (v. 2).

3.       Gn 16:7+ - The angel of Yahweh met her near a spring in the wilderness, the spring that is on the road to Shur. Footnote ^c  says “In the most ancient texts the angel of Yahweh, 22:11; Ex 3:2; Jg 2:1, etc. or the angel of God, 21:17; 31:11; Ex 14:19, etc. is not a created being distinct from God, Ex 23:20, but God himself in the form visible to men. V. 13 identifies the angel with Yahweh. In other texts the angel of Yahweh is the one who executes God’s avenging sentence, see Ex 12:23+.”

4.       Lk 1:11 - Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of incense.

5.       Lk 2:9 - The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified.

6.       Jn 5:4…for at intervals the angel of the Lord came down into the pool, and the water was disturbed, and the first person to enter the water after this disturbance was cured of any ailment he suffered from.

Verse 21 says: She will give birth to a son and you must  name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save^h his people from their sins.” Footnote  ^h  says “Jesus (Hebr. Yehoshua) means ‘Yahweh saves’.”

Parallel text is Lk 1:31, 35 that says: Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus (v. 31). The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow.^s And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Footnote ^s  says “In OT this expression is used of the bright cloud which is the sign of God’s presence, cf. Ex 13:22+; 19:16+; 24:16. Cf Lk 9:34p. The conception of Jesus Christ is effected only by God and his Spirit.”

Verse 22 says: Now all this took place to fulfill the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ps 130:8 - It is he who redeems Israel from all their sins.

2.       Lk 2:11 - Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is the Christ the Lord^d Footnote ^d  says “He is, therefore, the expected Messiah; but he is also called ‘Lord’, a title the OT reserves for God. A new era is beginning.”

3.       Ac 3:16+ - And it is the name of Jesus which, through faith in it, has brought back the strength of this man, whom you see here and who is well known to you. It is faith in that name that has restored this man to health, as you can all see.^j Footnote ^j  says “The ‘name’ according to the ancients, is inseparable from the person and shares his prerogatives, see Ex. 3:14+. By invoking the name of Jesus, 2:21+, 38+, his power is stirred to action, 3:6, 4:7, 10:30, 10:43, 16:18, 19:13, LK. 9:49, 10:17, se also Jn. 14:13,14, 15:16, 16:24,26; 20:31. Faith is of course required if this invocation is to be effective, cf. Ac. 19:13-17, Mt. 8:10+.”

4.       Ac 4:12 - For of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.^e

Verses 23 and 24 say: The virgin will be conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel, a name which means “God is with us.” When Joseph woke up he did what  the angel of the Lord told him to do: he took his wife to his home.

Parallel text for verse 23 is Is 7:14 that says: The Lord himself therefore, will give you a sign.^h It is this: the maidenⁱ is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call^j Immanuel.^k  Footnote  ^h  says “The prophecy of Immanuel is one of the outstanding royal Messiah texts of Isaiah. Many interpreters identify the proffered ‘sign’ with the birth of the future king Hezekiah son of Ahaz. The hopes of Israel had rested, since Nathan’s prophecy, 2 S. 7:1+,on the permanence of the Davidic dynasty.  But the solemnity of the oracle and the symbolic name of the child show that the prophet sees more in this royal birth than dynastic continuity, namely, a decisive intervention of God, towards the final establishment of the messianic kingdom spoken of in 9:1-6 and 11:1-9. Thus the prophecy of Immanuel goes beyond the person of Hezekiah;  the evangelist, Mt. 1:23, quoting Is.  7:14, Mt. 4:15-16 quoting Is. 8:23-9:1, cf. Jn. 1:5, followed by the whole Christian tradition, see in it a hidden  prophecy of the birth of Christ. In its immediate application, however, the ‘sign’ is twofold: it foretells the deliverance of the capital and dynamic continuity, but also the disasters to be sustained both by Judah and by her enemies.”;  Footnote ⁱ  says “The Greek version reads ‘the virgin’ , being more explicit than the Hebr. Which uses almah, meaning either a young girl or a young recently married, woman. This LXX reading is, however, an important witness to an early Jewish interpretation, an interpretation adopted by the evangelist: Mt. 1:23 accepts the text as a prophecy of the virginal conception of Jesus.’; Footnote  ^j  says “‘she’; ‘thou’ some Hebr. and Greek MSS; ‘he will be called’ Vulg.”;  Footnote  ^k   says “Immanuel means ‘God with us’; cf. 8:8,10, Ps. 46:7, 11. It is a prophetic name, cf. Is. 1:26+.”

The First Reading is from Is 7:10-14. Verses 10, 11 and 12 say: Once again Yahweh spoke to Ahaz and said: ‘Ask Yahweh your God for a sign for yourself coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above’. ‘No,’ Ahaz answered ‘I will not put Yahweh to the test.’

Parallel text is Dt 6:16 that says: Do not put Yahweh your God to the test as you tested him at Massah.

Verses 13 and 14 say: Then he said: Listen now, House of David: are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men without trying the patience of my God, too?  The Lord himself therefore, will give you a sign.^h It is this: the maidenⁱ is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call^j Immanuel.^k Footnote  ^h  says “The prophecy of Immanuel is one of the outstanding royal Messiah texts of Isaiah. Many interpreters identify the proffered ‘sign’ with the birth of the future king Hezekiah son of Ahaz. The hopes of Israel had rested, since Nathan’s prophecy, 2 S. 7:1+,on the permanence of the Davidic dynasty.  But the solemnity of the oracle and the symbolic name of the child show that the prophet sees more in this royal birth than dynastic continuity, namely, a decisive intervention of God, towards the final establishment of the messianic kingdom spoken of in 9:1-6 and 11:1-9. Thus the prophecy of Immanuel goes beyond the person of Hezekiah;  the evangelist, Mt. 1:23, quoting Is.  7:14, Mt. 4:15-16 quoting Is. 8:23-9:1, cf. Jn. 1:5, followed by the whole Christian tradition, see in it a hidden  prophecy of the birth of Christ. In its immediate application, however, the ‘sign’ is twofold: it foretells the deliverance of the capital and dynamic continuity, but also the disasters to be sustained both by Judah and by her enemies.”;  Footnote ⁱ  says “The Greek version reads ‘the virgin’ , being more explicit than the Hebr. Which uses almah, meaning either a young girl or a young recently married, woman. This LXX reading is, however, an important witness to an early Jewish interpretation, an interpretation adopted by the evangelist: Mt. 1:23 accepts the text as a prophecy of the virginal conception of Jesus.’; Footnote  ^j  says “‘she’; ‘thou’ some Hebr. and Greek MSS; ‘he will be called’ Vulg.”;  Footnote  ^k   says “Immanuel means ‘God with us’; cf. 8:8,10, Ps. 46:7, 11. It is a prophetic name, cf. Is. 1:26+.”

Parallel texts for verse 14 are:

1.       Mi 5:2 - Yahweh is therefore going to abandon them till the time when the one who is to give birth^c gives birth. Then the remnant of his brothers will come back to the sons of Israel. Footnote ^c  says “Reference to the mother of the Messiah. Micah is perhaps thinking of the famous oracle of the alma, Is. 7:4+, delivered by Isaiah about 30 years earlier. “

2.       Mt 1:23 - The virgin will be conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel, a name which means “God is with us.”

3.       Is 8:8,10 - It inundates Judah, flow over, pour out, flooding it up to the neck, and its wings will be spread over the whole breadth of your country, O Immanuel (v. 8). Devise a plan, it is thwarted; put forward an argument, there is no substance in it, for God is with usⁱ  (v. 10). Footnote ⁱ  says “The meaning of the name Immanuel.”

4.       Is 9:5 - For there is a child born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they gave him: Wonder-Counselor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince of Peace.^c  Footnote  ^c  says “A prophetic proper name, cf. 1:26+. The child possesses to a supreme degree all the qualities of all the great figures of his race: the wisdom of Solomon, the valor of David, the virtues of Moses and the patriarchs, Cf. 11:2. Christian tradition and the Christian liturgy apply these titles to Christ, presenting him as the true Immanuel.”

5.       Ps 46:7 - Yahweh Sabaoth is on our side, our citadel, the God of Jacob!

6.       Lk 1:31 - Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus

The Second Reading is Rom 1:1-7.  Verse 1 says: From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle,^b and especially chosen to preach the Good News that God… Footnote ^b  says “A Jewish title that means ‘envoy’, cf. Jn. 13:16; 2 Co. 8:23; Ph. 2:25, sometimes used in the NT for the Twelve chosen by Christ, Mt. 10:2; Ac. 1:26; 2:37, etc.: 1 Co. 15:7; Rv. 21:14; to be his witnesses, Ac. 1:8+, sometimes in the wider sense for those sent to preach the gospel, Rm. 16:7; 1 Co. 12:28; Ep. 2:20; 3:5; 4:11. Though Paul was not a member of the Twelve, the fact that he had been appointed as missionary to the  gentiles by God, Ac. 26:17; Rm. 11:13; 1 Co. 9:2; Ga. 2:8; 1 Tim. 2:7, constitutes him as apostle of Christ, Rm. 1:1; 1 Co. 1:1, etc., equal to the Twelve, Ac. 10:41, because like them he had seen the risen Christ, 1 Co. 9:1, and been sent by him, Rm. 1:5; Ga. 1:16, to be his witness, Ac. 26:16. In spite of being ‘the least of the apostles’, 1 Co. 15:9, he is their equal, 1 Co. 9:5; Ga 2:6-9, because he did not learn the Good News he preaches from them, Ga. 1:1,17,19.”

Verses 2 and 3 say: Promised long ago though his prophets in the scriptures, this news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took, was a descendant of David;

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ac 26:16-18 - But get up now, and stand on your feet for I have appeared to you for this reason: to appoint you as my servant and as witness of this vision in which you  have seen me and of others in which I shall appear to you (v. 16). I shall deliver you from the people and from the pagans to whom I am sending you (v. 17), to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light,^f from the dominion of Satan to God, and receive, through faith in me, forgiveness of their sins^g and a share in the inheritance of the sanctified (v. 18).  Footnote ^f  says “Paul’s missionary vocation is described here in OT terms used about two great prophetic figures, Jeremiah and the Servant of Yahweh.” And Footnote ^g says “In 9:17-18, Paul, his sight restored, passes from darkness to light; in 22:16 (cf 9:18) Paul is ordered to wash away his sins by baptism. Thus his own experience is a symbol of his mission to others.”

2.       Ga 1:10,15 - So now whom am I trying to please-men or God? Would you say it is men’s approval that I am looking for^e? If I still wanted that^f, I should not be what I am - a servant of Christ (v. 10).Then God, who had especially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through his grace and chose (v. 15). Footnote ^e says “It appears that the Judaisers accused Paul of trying to make the pagans’ conversion easier by not insisting on circumcision. But on this occasion at least, he retorts, he cannot be suspected of a conciliatory attitude.”; and Footnote ^f  says “As once he did, i.e. before his conversion when he preached circumcision.”

3.       Ph 1:1 - From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, together with the presiding elders and deacons^a. Footnote  ^a says “The word ‘episcopos’ (‘overseer’, ‘supervisor’ or ‘shepherd’) has not yet acquired the same meaning as ‘bishop’, cf. Tt 1:5f. The ‘deacons’ as their assistants, Ac 6:1-6.”

4.       Col 1:1 - From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.

Verse 4 says: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who is the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that is in him, was proclaimed^c Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead.^d Footnote ^c  says “Vulg. ‘predestined’”; and Footnote ^d  says “For Paul Christ rose only because God raised him, 1 Th. 1:10; 1 Co. 6:14; 15:15; 2 Co. 4:14; Ga. 1:1; Rm. 4:24; 10:9; Ac. 2:24+; cf. 1 P. 1:21, thus displaying his ‘power’, 2 Cor. 13:4; Rm. 6:4; Ph. 3:10; Col. 2:12; Ep. 1:19f; Heb. 7:16;  and because God raised him to life through the Holy Spirit, Rm. 8:11. Christ is established in glory as Kyrios, Ph 2:9-11+; Ac 2:36; Rm 14:9, deserving anew, this time in virtue of his messianic work, the name he had from eternity, ‘son of God’, Ac 13:33, Heb 1:5; %:5. Cf. Rm 8:11+; 9:5+.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Rm 9:5 - They descended from the patriarchs, and from their flesh and blood came Christ who is above all, God forever blessed.^d Amen. Footnote ^d says “Both the context and the internal development of the sentence imply that this doxology is addressed to Christ, Paul rarely gives Jesus the title ‘God’ though, cf Tt 2:13, or addresses a doxology to him, cf. Heb 13:21, but this is because he usually keeps this title to the Father, cf Rm 15:6, etc., and considers the divine persons not so much with an abstract appreciation of their nature as with a concrete appreciation of their functions in the process of salvation. Moreover, he has always in mind the the historical Christ in his concrete reality as God mad man, cf Ph 2:5+; Col 1:15+. For this reason he presents Christ as subordinated to the Father, 1 Co 3:23; 11:3, not only in the work of creation, 1 Co 8:6, but also in that of eschatological renewal, 1 Co 15:27f; cf Rm 16:27, etc. Nevertheless, the title “lord’, Kyrios, received by Christ at his resurrection, Ph 2:9-11; cf Ep 1:20-22; Heb 1:3f, is the title given by the LXX to Yahweh in the OT., Rm 10:9,13; 1 Co 2:16. For Paul, Jesus is essentially the ‘Son of God’, Rm 1:3-4,9; 5:10; 8:29; 1 Co 1:9; 15:28; 2 Co 1:19; Ga 1:16; 2:20; 4:4,6; Ep 4:13; 1 Th 1:10; cf Heb 4:14, etc., his ‘own Son’, Rm 8:3,32, ‘the Son of his love’, Col 1:13, who belongs to the sphere of the divine  by right, the sphere from which he came, 1 Co 15:47, being sent by God, Rm 8:3; Ga 4:4. The title ‘Son of God’ became his in a new way with the resurrection, Rm 1:4+; cf Heb 1:5; 5:5, but it was niot then that he received it since he pre-existed not   only as prefigured in the OT., 1 Co 10:4, but ontologically, Ph 2:6; cf 2 Co 8:9. He is the Wisdom, 1 Co 1:24,30, and the Image, 2 Co 4:4, by which and in which all things were created, Col 1:15-17; cf Heb 1:3; 1 Co 8:6, and have been re-created, Rm 8:29; cf. Col 3:10; 1:18-20, because into his own person is gathered the fullness of the godhead and of the universe, Col 2:9+. In him Gd has devised the whole plan of salvation, Ep 1:3f, and he, no less than the Father, is its accomplishment (cf. Rm 11:36; 1 Co 8:6 and Col 1:16,20). Tha Father raises to life and judges, so does the Son raise to life (cf Rm 1:4; 8:11+ and Ph 3:21) and judge (cf. Rm 2:16 and 1 Co 4:5; Rm 14:10 and 2 Co 5:10). In short, he is one of the three persons enumerated in the Trinitarian formulae, 2 Co 13:13+.”

2.       Rm 10:9 - If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,^e then you will be saved. Footnote ^e  says “Profession of faith, such as is made at baptism, is the outward expression of the inward commitment of the ‘heart’.”

3.       1 Co 6:14 - God who raised the Lord from the dead and will by his power raise^h us up too. Footnote  ^h  says “Var. ‘has raised’.”

Verses 5 and 6 say: Through him we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith^e to all pagan nations in honor of his name. You are one of these nations,  and by his call  belong to Jesus Christ. Footnote ^e  says “Subjective genitive: the obedience implicit  in the virtue of faith. Cf. Ac. 6:7, Rm. 6:16-17, 10:16, 15:18, 16:19,26, 2 Co. 10:5-6, 2 Th. 1:8, 1 P. 1:22, Heb. 5:9, 11:8.”

Parallel text for verse 6 is Ac  9:15 that says: The Lord replied, “You must go all the same because this man is my chosen instrument to bring  my name before pagans, pagan kings and before the people of Israel (v 15);^h Footnote  ^h  says “Cf Jr 1:10. Paul’s mission is ‘to all men’, Ac 22:15, to the pagan nations, 26:17; this agrees with what Paul himself writes in Ga 1:16, cf Rm 1:5; 11:13; 15:16-18; Ga 2:2,8,9; Ep 3:8; Col 1:27; 1 Tm 2:7. On the ‘kings’, cf. Ac 26:2+.”

Verse 7 says: To you all, then, who are God’s beloved in Rome, called to be saints, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send grace and peace.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ac 9:13 - When he heard that, Ananias said, ‘Lord, several people have told me about this man and all the harm he has  been doing to your saints^g in Jerusalem. Footnote ^g   says “Since God is the Holy One par excellence, Is. 6:3, those consecrated to his service are called ‘holy’, Lv. 17:1+. The term, applied originally to the people of Israel, Ex. 19:6+, and in particular to the community of the messianic era, Dn. 7:18+, is especially apt for the Christians who are the new ‘holy race’, 1 P. 2:5,9, called, Rm. 1:7, Col. 1:22, Ep. 1:4, 2 Tm. 1:9, by their baptismal consecration, Ep. 5:26f, to a blameless life, 1 Co. 7:34, Ep. 1:4, 5:3, Col. 1:22, which makes them holy as God is holy, 1 P. 1:15f, cf. 1 Jn. 3:3, and like Jesus himself, ‘the Holy One of God’, Mk. 1:24+. In the early community, it becomes the usual term for the Christians, in Palestine first, Ac. 9:13, 32, 41; Rm. 15:26,31; 1 Co. 16:1,15, 2 Co. 8:4, 9:1,12, and then in all the churches, Rm. 8:27, 12:13, 16:2, 15; 1 Co. 6:1f. 14:33, 2 Co. 12:12, Ep. 1:15, 3:18, 4:12, 6:18, Ph. 4:21f, Col. 1:4, 1 Tm. 5:10, Phm. 5,7; Heb. 6:10, 13:24, Jude 3 (and in the introductory formula of the letters of 2 Co. 1:1, etc.). I(n Rv. 5:8, 8:3, etc. the word is  used more specifically of the Christians who witness by their death. At times, its application may be restricted to the leaders, the ‘apostles and prophets’, Ep. 3:5 and Col. 1:26, Ep. 3:8, 4:12, Rv. 18:20. Lastly, as in the OT, Jb. 5:1+, it may indicate the angels, Mk. 8:38, Lk. 9:26, Ac. 10:22, Jude 14, Rev. 14:10, and in some cases it is doubtful whether the reference is to angels or to the saints in glory, Ep. 1:18, Col. 1:12, 1 Th. 3:13, 2 Th. 1:10.”

2.       1 Co 8:6- Still for us there is one God, the Father, from all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, though whom all things come through whom we exist.