Readings: Jeremiah 23:5-8
Matthew 1:18-24
"Joseph, son of
David, do not be afraid
to take Mary your wife into your home.”
Yesterday, we learned that from the genealogy of
Jesus, the God-made-man has been given a particular historical context. He has
a lineage to point out to and a family to belong to. But as we know, Jesus is
not only human, he is divine, too, Let us,
then, meditate on the two aspects of
Christ’s sonship in relation to the Holy Spirit through whom he was conceived
and in relation to Joseph who stands for his human fatherhood.
1. “It is through the Holy Spirit that this
child has been conceived in her.” First and foremost let us not try to
understand the role of the Holy Spirit according to pure human standards. There
is no way of understanding the role of a male character be fathering Jesus that
can be attributed to the Third Person of the Trinity. On the first place, even
in biblical literature, the Holy Spirit is not masculine in gender but either
feminine (in Hebrew) or neuter (in Greek). So, a better understanding can
perhaps be drawn if we take the role of the Third Person of the Trinity in the
economy of salvation as our basis for reflection.
In the Bible, the personifications of the Father
and the Son are quite easy to think and imagine. More often and more likely,
they are portrayed to us in human form. But this is not so in the case of the
Holy Spirit. Unlike the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is not portrayed in
a more sensible human form. Perhaps, the only sensible images of the Holy
Spirit, which we may usually think of or associate with is the figure of a dove
(which appeared at Jesus, baptism, cf Mt3: 16) or the tongues of fire (which
descended upon the apostles on Pentecost, (cf Acts 2; 1-4). But more often, the
Holy Spirit is presented in the Scriptures as a principle or a divine agent
that works not sensually but spiritually. So, the Holy Spirit is that breath,
which gives life (cf Gen 2:7; Ps 104:29-30), the energy that propels the courage
of the prophets, that principle, which animates Jesus in his ministry, and
which Jesus himself gives to his apostles after the resurrection (cf Jn 20:22; Acts 1:8). And in the relationship itself of
the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit is that infinite and unfathomable love,
which binds the Father and the Son in unity.
It is in such context that we understand Mary as
the virgin conceived through the Holy Spirit. We must not falsely think
that Mary’s conception was something sexual. The fruit in Mary's womb proceed
from the creative love of the Divine Person of the Holy Spirit such that Jesus,
the Son, is also a Divine Person. Nonetheless, we, Catholics, are firm in faith
that Mary's virginal conception is not just a matter of a theological statement
but also a matter of fact.
2. "Joseph, son of David, do not be
afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.” It is precisely at this
difficult human situation of Mary that the irreplaceable role of Joseph enters.
The virginal conception of Mary was out of the Jewish vocabulary. Nobody would
believe that. Nobody would dare take it, even as an excuse. Even Joseph himself
would be tormented with this dilemma and would decide to divorce her secretly.
But behold, the divine intervention comes to calm Joseph down. And perhaps, it
was again the touch of the Holy Spirit that would soften Joseph's heart and
broaden his mind to accept the great unfolding of the Incarnation.
However, it is the response of the human Joseph
that makes his role exemplar and meritorious. The gospels call Joseph as a just
man. Meaning, a righteous person. This righteousness of Joseph seems to
found itself on his consistent submission and obedience to the will of God, not minding how difficult the situation he finds
himself in. But this particular stage of his relationship with Mary, what seems
to characterize Joseph as a righteous person is the virtue of kindness. Before
that present status of Mary, Joseph seems to refuse to entertain unkind
thoughts about Mary and makes no uncharitable judgment regarding the case-an
attitude, which can only come from a person with a kind heart. If ever Joseph
comes up with a decision to divorce her
quietly, it seems not because of malice but more because of his inadequate and
uncomfortable thoughts and feelings that he has no right over the child. To
Joseph's kind evaluation, it would be much better for him to give Mar the
freedom without any public trial. And this kindness of Joseph docs not end with
his kind thoughts: Especially after the angel’s revelation, Joseph becomes even
much kinder. He now takes Mary into his home.