Bishop Glen John Provost
Bishop of Lake Charles
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 22, 2013
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1:23
We are just a few days away from Christmas, and I am reminded of Psalm 40: “I waited, waited for the Lord; who bent down and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:2). Advent is a time of waiting, and the Jews knew what it was to wait.
They were waiting for a Messiah. The prophets had foretold the coming of a Messiah, and we have been hearing some of those beautiful prophecies throughout Advent. One of them comes to us in our first reading today from Isaiah, a rich source for these prophecies. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The repetition of this prophecy in St. Matthew’s Gospel emphasizes the true identity of the child to be born of Mary. None of this is accidental. All of this has been part of God’s plan from the beginning. There is no need to wait any longer. The Messiah is here. God is with us.
Waiting can be frustrating, especially when we wait without faith. This is not the case with St. Joseph in the Gospel. His waiting is hopeful because he knows that God will fulfill His promises. God will not disappoint. St. Matthew asserts that in the very first sentence of the Gospel today: “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about” (Matthew 1:18). There is something definite about that statement. The proclamation is clear, certain, and without hesitation. I think this teaches us something about prayer.
How do we pray? All praying involves an attitude. But what kind of attitude do we bring to prayer? Is it hesitant? Is it tentative, filled with doubts that God will actually answer us? This is not the attitude of St. Joseph in the Scriptures. I return to Psalm 40. “I waited, waited for the Lord.” Then, what happened? The Lord “[d]rew me out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud of the swamp” (Psalm 40:3). This prayer could very well have been the prayer of St. Joseph. It is a prayer of confidence. The person praying does not doubt in the least that God will answer his needs. As a matter of fact, God has answered so many times it is hard to keep track of His generosity. “[I]n your plans for us,” the psalm continues, “there is none to equal you. Should I wish to declare or tell them, too many are they to recount” (Psalm 40:6). “Too many… to recount”—how often have we marveled at God’s generosity to us?
This attitude of trust in God’s solicitude imbues St. Joseph. Does St. Joseph question? Does he doubt? No. In fact, he says nothing. I like to think that St. Joseph says nothing to highlight how acquiescent he is to God’s will. The Gospel concludes, “When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home” (Matthew 1:24).
On this eve of Christmas, there are many troubles in the world. There is the larger picture and the one closer to home. Sometimes the problems at home are so serious that we can’t be bothered with what is going on in the world. Regardless, whether near or far, there is much to worry us. But we should learn the lesson of St. Joseph. He trusted that God knew best. He did what he had to do. He followed instructions. He was obedient and open to God.
Perhaps this is what we should have learned from this Advent—to be open to God. God is God of surprises. He did marvelous works bringing about salvation in Jesus Christ, and He continues to do marvelous things for us through Jesus Christ. No prayer goes unanswered. “I waited, waited for the Lord; who bent down and heard my cry.” All things are possible with God. I hear echoes of this faith in the silence of St. Joseph.