18 Dec 2022
What if…?
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For 18 December 2022, The Fourth Sunday of Advent, based on Matthew 1:18-24
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife.
Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
18 December 2022 @ 6:55 am
Thank you Ruth, I needed to hear that.
Marg NZ
18 December 2022 @ 9:13 pm
Thank you
19 December 2022 @ 4:00 am
I loved the question, “What if?” Thank you for giving it to us and using it as a lens to reflect on Joseph’s yes! Exquisite insight!
19 December 2022 @ 9:08 am
You never fail to provide a positive challenge for the sake of enriching and understanding our Faith. Thank you, and may you have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy 2023!
20 December 2022 @ 8:51 pm
“What if…”?Thank you Ruth for this question!
Thank you Joseph for saying Yes to the Angel.
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!