While Luke’s Gospel focuses on Mary’s side of Christ’s miraculous birth, Matthew’s Gospel focuses on her husband, Joseph. As we looked at yesterday, Matthew started with Christ’s genealogy through Joseph’s side of the family, and today we see an angel asking Joseph to be a part of God’s plan of salvation.
Although not biologically his father, Joseph plays an incredibly important role in Christ’s life. When Joseph says “yes” to God and takes Mary into his home, he becomes the earthly father of Christ. Through this adoption, Jesus enters into David’s lineage, allowing Him not only to fulfill God’s promise to David, but also to become the prophesied Messiah.
After the angel appear to him, Joseph became Jesus’ earthly father and took on all of the responsibilities that went along with this role. Even though we hear very little about Joseph in the Gospels, we know that as the man who filled this paternal role for Christ, he was the one who taught Jesus his trade, and was the example Jesus had growing up as what it means to be a man. When Joseph said yes to God’s plan, he was not only saying yes in that moment, but giving God his entire life.
When God calls us, He wants us to respond like Joseph did, with our whole selves without reserve. This Advent season, God is asking us to make a gift of ourselves to Him and to others.
Reflect: How can you make a gift of yourself to God, especially in this season of preparation for the birth of Christ?
