The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be open to unexpected directions in our journey with Christ.
Journey in faith
The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah calls for faith in a future righteous branch of David to bring new life to the Babylonian exiles.
* [23:1–8] With the false rulers (shepherds) who have governed his people the Lord contrasts himself, the true shepherd, who will in the times of restoration appoint worthy rulers (vv. 1–4). He will provide a new king from David’s line who will rule justly, fulfilling royal ideals (vv. 5, 6). “The Lord our justice” is an ironic wordplay on the name of the weak King Zedekiah (“The Lord is justice”). Unlike Zedekiah, the future king will be true to the name he bears. Verses 7–8 may have been added during the exile.1
Psalm 72 is a prayer for guidance and support for the King.
* [Psalm 72] A royal Psalm in which the Israelite king, as the representative of God, is the instrument of divine justice (Ps 72:1–4, 12–14) and blessing (Ps 72:5–7, 15–17) for the whole world. The king is human, giving only what he has received from God. Hence intercession must be made for him. The extravagant language is typical of oriental royal courts.2
In the Gospel of Matthew, the birth of Jesus the Messiah is revealed to Joseph in a dream.
* [1:18–25] This first story of the infancy narrative spells out what is summarily indicated in Mt 1:16. The virginal conception of Jesus is the work of the Spirit of God. Joseph’s decision to divorce Mary is overcome by the heavenly command that he take her into his home and accept the child as his own. The natural genealogical line is broken but the promises to David are fulfilled; through Joseph’s adoption the child belongs to the family of David. Matthew sees the virginal conception as the fulfillment of Is 7:14.3
Steve Titus imagines Joseph was caught off guard when he learned this news. From Joseph’s perspective, Mary must have been with another man. When we are caught off guard, it is easy to lose perspective, to see things narrowly, and to be closed off to possibility or alternatives. It is easy to become afraid when we feel confused, hurt, betrayed, angry or embarrassed.
Perspective can help in these times. Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem, “You are the future”, is one of my favorites with respect to perspective. The final two lines of the poem reminds me that “…how you look depends on where you are: from a boat you are shore, from the shore a boat.” I don’t know if Joseph is the boat or the shore. But we know that Joseph was awake, open and obedient to new perspectives. In difficult times, Joseph widens his perspective to include hope and new possibilities by trusting that God was with him and with Mary. Mary will bear a son through the Holy Spirit and they shall name him Emmanuel, meaning “God is with us.” This is the best news I’ve heard all year. Thanks, Joseph, for helping to widen my perspective and sense of gratitude for the gifts and graces of this year amidst the confusion, hurt, anger, and uncertainty.4
Don Schwager quotes “The righteous branch of David is Christ,” by Leo the Great, 400-461 A.D.
"There was only one remedy in the secret of the divine plan that could help the fallen living in the general ruin of the entire human race (Jeremiah 23:5-8). This remedy was that one of the sons of Adam should be born free and innocent of original transgression, to prevail for the rest by his example and by his merits. This was not permitted by natural generation. There could be no clean offspring from our faulty stock by this seed. The Scripture says, 'Who can make a clean thing conceived of an unclean seed? Isn't it you alone?' (Job 14:4) David's Lord was made David's Son, and from the fruit of the promised branch sprang. He is one without fault, the twofold nature coming together into one person. By this one and the same conception and birth sprung our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom was present both true Godhead for the performance of mighty works and true manhood for the endurance of sufferings." (excerpt from Sermon 28.3)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 1:18-25 comments there must have been something very unusual and convincing about Joseph’s dreams for him to follow them. But still, as powerful as those dreams were, he must have still had doubts. Was it crazy to think that they were really from God? Maybe people around him questioned his judgment. It would have been a leap of faith to take Mary as his wife and then, later, leave family and friends behind to start a new life in a foreign country. These choices took Joseph in directions that were completely unexpected and unplanned. But Joseph trusted God, and the world is different because of it.
When you have a big decision to make, you can trust God to help you, just as Joseph did. Look for the signs that he may put in your path. They may not be as obvious as a vivid dream, but he has other ways to reach you—maybe through the advice of a good friend or with a passage of Scripture that tugs on your heart. And if you’re still not sure what to do, trust that God will guide you along whatever path you take. If you seek his guidance and try your best to follow him, God will not condemn you, even if things don’t work out the way you planned. He will still continue to bless you. That’s how faithful and loving he is. “God, help me to discern your plans for me.”6
Friar Jude Winkler connects the words of Jeremiah to a Second Exodus and he explains the geography of the captives being in the land of the north. As a righteous Jew, Joseph could have sought stoning for Mary. Friar Jude reminds us of the connection of Matthew’s Gospel to Isaiah’s son, Emmanuel.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that the art of letting go is really the art of survival. We have to let go so that as we age, we can be happy. Yes, we’ve been hurt. Yes, we’ve been talked about and betrayed by friends. Yes, our lives didn’t work out the way we thought they would. Letting go helps us fall into a deeper and broader level at which we can always say “Yes.” We can always say, “It’s okay, it’s all right.” We know what lasts. We know who we are. And we know we do not want to pass our pain on to our children or the next generation. We want to somehow pass on life.
I think we need at least six kinds of liberation:
Inner liberation from ourselves (letting go of the centrality of the small self)
Cultural liberation from our biases (which involves letting go of the “commodity” culture and moving into the “personal” culture) [1]
Dogmatic liberation from our certitudes (letting go of the false self and discovering the True Self)
Personal liberation from the “system” (letting go of dualistic judging and opening to nondual thinking)
Spiritual liberation for the Divine (some form of letting go happens between each stage of spiritual growth)Liberation for infinite mystery (the mystery that what looks like falling is in fact rising), which is really liberation for love.7
The openness of Joseph to move on in faith and let go of natural human understanding is a model for our creation of life from faith in God.
References
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