Do not be afraid to take Mary

WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER (Mt 1,18-24)

Every man must want his steps to be led by the Law of his God. In this conduction he must always seek not only the greatest good for himself, but also for others. Every man is called to be in the image and likeness of his Creator and Lord. Who is our Lord? He who has thought, thinks and will always think the best good for man, the fruit of his eternal wisdom. Thus St. Paul in the Letter to the Romans: “For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Rm 5,6-11). Like his God, Joseph also thinks the best for the Virgin Mary. Like Joseph, the disciple of Jesus must always think the best for every other man.

But the Lord does not want for the Virgin Mary the best thought of by man, he wants the best, indeed the excellent thought of by him. He wants the utmost good and sends his angel to ask Joseph to put his whole life at the service of his mystery of salvation and redemption. He will have to take Maria with him as his bride. He will also have to give the name to the Son who will be born of her. For him the Son of Mary will be a true Son of David. He will be the King with the eternal kingdom. The Son of David will be the one to save the people from their sins. As soon as he awakes from sleep, Joseph does as the Lord had commanded him. Thus Joseph reveals himself to be a great teacher in justice and a great master of obedience. Being a great master of obedience, he will also be a perfect master of service. Here is the perfection asked of the disciple of Jesus: teacher in justice, in obedience and in service. The Lord always seeks these disciples of Jesus. He wants to entrust to them the mysteries of salvation and redemption so that they may give them thorough fulfillment throughout the course of history. But if a disciple of Jesus is not great in justice, he will never be great in obedience and never in service.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

The mystery of the Virgin Mary and of Christ Jesus must accompany the whole history of humanity. Mary and Jesus are always there. The one who is often missing is the disciple. The Lord cannot ask him to take Mary with him as his mystical bride, nor to welcome Jesus as his true heart and true life, because he is not a teacher in justice, in truth and in love. It will always be difficult to obey for those who place themselves outside the Law of the Lord, for those who do not think the best for every one of his brothers. The mystery of Christmas cannot die. The day when for us it dies, the mystery of salvation and redemption which is Christ Jesus and which today must be accomplished for the immediate obedience of the Lord’s disciple, also dies. Therefore, it is urgent that the Christian enters the highest justice if he wants to live of true obedience to his Lord.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints ensure that Joseph’s example guides our whole life.