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LECTIO DIVINA :18-24 4th Sunday of Year A Fr. Michael Brizio, IMC www.frmichaelbrizio.com

1) OPENING PRAYER: Come , fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, , who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Our Lord. Amen.

2) READING OF THE (What the Word says): Matthew 1:18-24

18 Now this is how the birth of Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.

19 Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.

20 Such was his intention when, behold, the of appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of , do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

21 She will bear a son and you are to him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

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22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the :

23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

24 When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

3) EXPLANATION (What the Word means):

We usually think of the word “,” in connection with the announcement to Mary that she will bear a child (Luke 1:26-38). However, in Matthew’s Gospel, it is Joseph to whom the angel appears.

Luke tells us of Mary’s obedience (Luke 1:38), but Matthew tells us of Joseph’s obedience (v.24).

Luke features Mary prominently in his account of Jesus’ birth (Luke 1-2), but Matthew brings Joseph to the forefront. Joseph is important to Matthew’s Gospel, because Jesus becomes part of David’s lineage through Joseph (1:1-17). “Although the gospel reading for today purports to be an account of the birth of Jesus, it is really an explanation of his descent” (Bergant, 26).

However, Matthew includes five women in his genealogy, so he is not trying to diminish the role of women. The particular women mentioned in the genealogy are interesting.

Tamar had a sexual relationship with Judah, her father-in-law (Genesis 38).

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Rahab was a harlot (Joshua 2:1).

Ruth was a foreigner ( 1:4).

Bathsheba is identified here only as “the wife of Uriah” (1:6), but David’s adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah constitute one of the most sordid chapters in the (2 Samuel 11).

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Finally, there is Mary, a fine, Godly woman. But even Mary had a problem with public reputation because of her pregnancy. Perhaps Matthew included these women in his genealogy to illustrate God’s grace, and to give us hope.

This annunciation has deep roots.

There an angel announced to Hagar that she would bear a son whose name would be Ishmael (Genesis 16:7-14);

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God announced to that Sarah would bear a son whose name would be Isaac (Genesis 17:15 - 18:15);

an angel announced to the wife of Manoah (and later to Manoah) that she would bear a son (Judges 13:2-25).

Also, “the role of Joseph as a ‘righteous man’ guided through dreams to protect the life of the helpless and so further God’s purposes is not unlike the role of the patriarch Joseph in Genesis” (Gardner, 35).

Matthew’s purposes in this Gospel passage are to show that: Jesus is of the house and lineage of David through Joseph; Joseph, a righteous man (v.19), is righteous by obeying God’s command instead of rigidly observing a law requiring him to divorce Mary - or worse. v.18a: Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.

Matthew began this Gospel by asserting that Jesus is “, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (1:1). Now he reasserts that Jesus is the Messiah.

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In his description of Jesus’ birth, he gives none of the details about the or the shepherds that we find in Luke. His account of Jesus’ birth focuses primarily on Joseph, through whom Jesus will become a son of David (1:1-16).

v.18b: When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together,

Jewish marriage starts with an engagement arranged by parents, often while the boy and girl are still children.

Prior to marriage, couples begin a yearlong betrothal similar to marriage, but the marriage feast and living together was a matter for later date.

Betrothal is binding and can be terminated only by death or divorce. So it is clear that from that moment on Joseph is called Mary’s husband (v.19); Mary is called Joseph’s wife (v. 20).

According to the Old Testament regulation unfaithfulness in a betrothed woman was punishable with death (Deuteronomy 22:23-24).

v.18c: she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.

Now it was before Joseph and Mary had begun to live together, with all this implies both as to domestic and sexual relations, that Mary discovered her pregnancy.

She was still a virgin, and not yet “married” in the full sense of the term. She knew immediately that the cause of her condition was the powerful life-imparting operation of the Holy Spirit. She knew it because the angel Gabriel had told her that this would happen (Luke 1:26-35). She knew that Joseph had not made her pregnant.

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There are numerous stories in Greek and Roman mythology of such conceptions, but “it is most important that we not lapse into paganism by … presenting Jesus as a demigod, half human by virtue of birth from a human mother, half god since begotten by a god” (Hare, 11). Christian doctrine affirms Jesus’ full humanity and full divinity.

v.19a: Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,

Not knowing the reason for Mary’s condition and drawing the natural conclusion, namely, that Mary had been unfaithful to him, Joseph could not see his way clear to take Mary home with him and live with her in the usual marriage relationship.

Joseph must have agonized about the proper thing to do under these circumstances. He loved Mary and wanted to have her with him as his wife, but, above all, he was a righteous person (Job 1:8; Luke 1:6), a man of principle, one who with his whole heart wanted to live in accordance with the will of God - the God who took so very seriously the breaking of the marriage vow.

Joseph is described as righteous - he lives by God’s law. However, he is not “self-righteous,” a quality that would cause him to demand harsh .

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v.19b: yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.

Under Deuteronomy 22:25-27, Mary was subject to death by stoning. However, by the time of Jesus’ birth, the Romans are in charge, and will not allow to impose the death penalty (John 18:31).

According to the custom of the day, Joseph could have either instituted a lawsuit against Mary; or he could have handed her a bill of divorce - thus dismissing her quietly, that is, without involving her in any juridical procedure.

But this would nevertheless have exposed Mary to public disgrace and scorn - the very thing which Joseph wanted by all means to avoid.

Joseph decided upon the latter alternative, namely, to send her away quietly so that he might not cause her unnecessary pain, though even this was not at all agreeable with his strong inner yearning for her.

v.20a: Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream

Though Joseph has decided on the action he must take, he finds it almost impossible to make the transition from resolve to deed.

This is the first of three occasions in which an angel appears to Joseph in a dream. In this first appearance, the angel commands Joseph to take Mary as his wife. In 2:13, the angel will tell Joseph to take the mother and child to to escape Herod’s wrath. In 2:19, the angel will, at the death of Herod, tell Joseph to return to Israel. In a fourth obedience, after being warned in a dream (no angel this time), Joseph will go to (2:22).

In each instance, the angel calls Joseph to action, and Joseph obeys.

Joseph has no speaking part - Matthew does not record one word that Joseph says.

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v.20b: and said, “Joseph, son of David,

To strengthen and comfort Joseph, the angel addresses him as “son of David,” alerting us to Joseph’s lineage.

It is through Joseph that Jesus will be of the house and lineage of David.

v.20c: do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.

The angel will repeat “do not be afraid” to the women at the tomb following Jesus’ (28:5). Jesus will use the same words on several occasions (10:31; 14:27; 17:7; 28:10).

Joseph is not to be afraid of the angel - or of his neighbors’ opinions - or even of the requirement for punishment. He is not to hesitate, but is to wed Mary.

This implies that there was something Joseph in his heart of hearts really wanted but did not quite dare to do. Now he should shrink no longer from fulfilling his, and Mary’s desire, for the one and only obstacle has been removed: Mary had not been unfaithful after all! Joseph can safely take his wife into his home; in fact, he is even directed to do so.

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v.20d: For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

The contents of this angelic must have been very startling, for the idea of a virgin birth is found nowhere in old Jewish literature.

The Jews were firm believers in marriage and the family, with all this implies (Genesis 1:27, 28; 9:1; 24:60; 25:21; 30:1; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 5:18).

To Joseph, then, this very idea of a virgin conceiving was altogether new. He would never have accepted it had not an angel sent by God conveyed this information to him.

At the same time, this angelic revelation must have been filled with joy, for the sake both of Mary and of himself. He understood that he could now be Mary’s protector, providing for her physical needs and defending her honor over against all malicious slander. The child, too, would now have a “father.”

Most of all, involved in this truth of the virgin birth is the guarantee of salvation for God’s people, for, apart from this kind of birth it is difficult to understand how Christ could be their Savior. v.21a: She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,

Mary’s role is to bear a son, and Joseph’s role is to name him. By naming him, Joseph will make Jesus his son and bring him into the house of David.

The name Jesus, “is the Greek form of the Hebrew Yehosua, which means ‘YHWH is salvation’” (Bergant, 27). It is related to the name Joshua – Moses’ successor.

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v.21b: because he will save his people from their sins.”

The first Joshua saved the people from their enemies;

the second Joshua (Jesus) will save the people from their sins.

“It is ever God alone, who in and through his Son, saves his people. While some trust in chariots and some in horses (Psalm 20:7)... none of these, whether operating singly or in conjunction with all the others, is able to deliver man from his chief enemy, the foe that is little by little destroying his very heart, namely, sin” (Hendriksen, 132).

In this Gospel, Jesus makes heavy ethical demands. We must be perfect, even as the Heavenly Father is perfect (5:48), or a man who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart (5:28).

It is therefore reassuring to see, at the outset, that Jesus has come to save us from our sins.

The people do not expect a messiah who will save them from their sins, but one who will deliver them from their oppressors. However, “the angel’s words ... signal at the start that any political euphoria which may have been evoked by the Davidic and royal theme of the ‘book of origin’ is wide off the mark of what Jesus’ actual mission will be” (France, 54).

Jesus would be far more popular if he would focus on relieving the people of Roman oppression instead of delivering them from their sins.

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Jesus not only fails to address the political grievances, but also commends the faith of a (8:5-13) and teaches people to render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s (17:24-27). In Luke’s Gospel, he will even forgive those responsible for his death (Luke 23:34).

v.22: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

This is the first of a long list of prophecies to which Matthew refers in order to show that Jesus is really the long-expected Messiah.

The fulfillment of prophecy is important to Matthew. He mentions it eleven times (1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:56; 27:9).

Matthew makes clear that the prophecy about to be quoted had its origin in God himself, not in the mind of the prophet. In fact, in the present case the prophet’s name is not even mentioned - the words were spoken by the Lord through the prophet. The prophet functioned as God’s mouthpiece.

v.23a: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,

The verse cited is Isaiah 7:14.

A little over seven centuries before the birth of Jesus the of , king of Judah, was being threatened by a coalition of the king of Israel (Pekah) and the king of Syria (Rezin). The threat of these two conspirators was to destroy David’s dynasty and to establish a king of their own choice, “even the son of Tabeel” (Isaiah 7:6).

What was, then, to become of the glorious Messianic prediction found in 2 Samuel 7:12-13 if this plot were to succeed? Would the coming ever be born as the son and legal heir of David? Everything was at stake.

At this critical juncture Isaiah is sent to Ahaz to admonish him to place his trust in the Lord, and to ask for a sign of God’s protecting care. But Ahaz, who placed his trust in Assyria rather than in the Lord, feigned a pious excuse and in mock humility refused the sign.

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Isaiah, revealing his indignation (7:13), then prophesized: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin, an , shall be with child and bear a son.”

The prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled. Tiglath Pileser came, within a very short time after the prediction was uttered. He carried away a portion of the inhabitants of Pekah’s realm, and did not at all object when Pekah himself was murdered by Hoshea (2 Kings 15:29, 30). He also advanced against Rezin’s kingdom, took its capital Damascus, deported its people, and slew Rezin (2 Kings 16:9).

In the Isaiah context there is no reference to any miraculous or “virgin” birth. In speaking of an almah the prophet was referring to a young woman of marriageable age who, having married, would conceive and give birth to a son and would name him Emmanuel, that is, “God with us.”

By thus naming the child she would be confessing her trust in God. She would be saying that even in the midst of troublous times she was firmly convinced that the Lord would not forsake his people but would provide for them and protect them against their enemies.

Had it been Isaiah’s intention to underscore the of the child’s mother, he would have used the word bethulah instead of ‘almah.

The , the Greek version of the Old Testament, uses the term parthenos, which means “virgin,” in Isaiah 7:14.

Matthew’s ho parthenos clearly means virgin. Matthew sees in this passage the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy.

Because Christians applied this text of Isaiah to Mary, the Hellenistic Jews in a new Greek version of the at the end of the first century, translated the word almah with the word neanis which simply means a young woman, thus eliminating the term parthenos which was at the root of the Jewish-Christian controversy.

Neither Mark nor John addresses the issue of the virgin birth, nor do the . However, both Matthew and Luke makes it clear that the child is from the Holy Spirit and that Joseph is not the father (Matthew 1:18, 21; Luke 1:35) - and that Mary is a virgin (Matthew 1:23, 25; Luke 1:34).

“Mary had to be a virgin, because Jesus is the . There is no way to prove Mary’s virginity other than to observe that without Mary’s virginity the story cannot be told. Mary’s virginity is simply required by the way the story runs. The one to whom she gave birth is none other than Emmanuel, ‘God with us,’ and such a one can have no other father than the Father who is the first person of the Trinity” (Hauerwas, 36).

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v.23b: and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

In the , the angel tells Mary to name the baby Jesus (Luke 1:31), but this angel does not tell Joseph to name the baby Emmanuel.

Instead the angel says that “they” will name him Emmanuel - “they” presumably being the people whom the baby will save from their sins (v.21).

In Hebrew, El is a short form of Elohim, a name for God.

Immanu-El means “God with us,” a meaning which Matthew spells out for non-Hebrew readers.

Emmanuel is not a second name by which friends and neighbors will know Jesus. Jesus is his name, and Emmanuel describes his role. Matthew thus begins his Gospel with the promise that Jesus is God-with-us, and will end the Gospel with the promise that Jesus will be with us “always, to the end of the age” (28:20).

v.24: When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

As noted above, an angel appears to Joseph three times and, on each occasion, Joseph obeys the angel without question or pause. “His hallmark is obedience - prompt, simple, and unspectacular obedience. And in this sense Joseph prefigures the Gospel of Matthew’s understanding of righteousness: to be righteous is simply to obey the Word of God” (Bruner, 36).

“Joseph’s obedience allows Jesus to be adopted as a true Son of David; it is Mary’s role that allows Jesus to be born Son of God” (Boring, 138).

4) MEDITATION (What the Word suggests to me): a) We read the Word again. b) Select the word or a brief phrase which touched you or impressed you. Repeat this word/phrase aloud and slowly 3 times. Between each repetition allow a moment of silence for the Word to penetrate into our hearts. c) We will remain silent for 3 minutes, and let the Lord speak to us.

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d) We now share what the Lord has given us in this word. We avoid discussions or or comments on what others have said. We share what the Lord has told us personally by using such expressions as, “To me this word has said …”

5) QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: (What the Word asks me) a) How can I imitate St. Joseph in his faithfulness and acceptance of God’s will? b) Are mercy and compassion my supreme laws? c) What difference would it make in my life if I were more aware that Jesus is the God-with-us? d) How can I grow into greater devotion to Mary?

6) WORD OF LIFE (What the Word reminds me):

“God is with us”

7) ACTION (What the Word invites me to do):

I will often think of St. Joseph’s silent witness.

8) PRAYER (What the Word makes me pray): PSALM 24

Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory. The LORD'S are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it. For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? Or who may stand in his holy place? One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.

He shall receive a blessing from the LORD, a reward from God his savior. Such is the race that seeks for him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

And may the blessing of , the Son and the Holy Spirit descend upon us and with us remain forever and ever.