From normal people for normal people!

Matthew 1;18-24

18 The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) 19 Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced. 20 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit- conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. 21 She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus-- 'God saves'-- because he will save his people from their sins." 22 This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term: 23 Watch for this-- a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Emmanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us"). 24 Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary.

Food for thought!

In the letter to the Galatians, we read, “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman.” (4:4). What Paul is saying here is that there was a right time when God acted; when the right time came...! Well, this right time came in today’s gospel reading, it was JUST AFTER and JUST BEFORE! Just after Joseph and Mary had engaged, and just before they came together as man and woman. That’s when God’s perfect time came to be.

Why did God wait for Mary and Joseph to engage? This is what was bothering Joseph. While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. The answer is more than clear: Jesus could not have fallen from heaven; he had to come through the normal channel, the human family.

God does not want to use extraordinary ways to come to us; he uses the normal ordinary ways. Jesus was born not of angels but of normal people like Joseph and Mary (this is what we saw yesterday). Joseph was a very normal guy just like the rest of us; he struggled with the idea of a pregnant Mary. Today's gospel says that he did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

Mary was also a normal woman like the rest of women. When the angel came to her to break the news, she got “Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.” (Lk 1:29). The angel had to assure her: "Don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end! Mary asked the angel, "But how can this happen?” (Lk 1:31-34).

Yes, like we said from yesterday’s gospel reading, Jesus came FROM all kinds of people, and came FOR all kinds of people. Today, we are saying that Jesus came from ordinary and normal people like Joseph and Mary, people who were in LOVE and ROMANCE and set for MARRIAGE. Jesus came from normal people for normal people.

"Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married...! Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary.”