Have you ever asked yourself: Who am I? This day the Church revisits the Gospel of Matthew 1:18-24. Asking yourself, “who am I?” will be the challenge! Fasten your seatbelt.
matthew 1:18-24
This is how the birth of Jesus 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. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, 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. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
I recently read about why Joseph may have sought to “divorce her quietly.” It’s called the Reverence Theory. Apparently, it’s not the most popular theory. However, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bernard of Clairvaux were proponents of it.
Reverence theory
To follow is the Reverence theory, as written in Rejoice! Advent Meditations with Joseph and taken from The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (click here for more info):
Still others hold that Joseph knew the miraculous cause of Mary’s pregnancy from the beginning, i.e., he was made aware that the child was conceived ‘of the Holy Spirit’….Faced with this, Joseph considered himself unworthy to be involved in the Lord’s work, and his decision to separate quietly from Mary was a discretionary measure to keep secret the mystery within her. On this reading, the angel confirms what Joseph had already known and urges him to set aside pious fears that would lead him away from his vocation to be the legal father of the Messiah….Joseph is said to be righteous because of his deep humility and reverence for the miraculous works of God.
joseph remembers uzzah
Rejoice! makes reference to the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant and 2 Samuel. There we read about Uzzah dying after he touched the Ark of the Covenant. Page 47 of Rejoice! continues with:
As a just man, Joseph would have been steeped in the truths of the Old Testament, and, therefore, Joseph would have been very familiar with Uzzah’s death. Even more sacred than the Old Testament vessel that contained the words of God, Mary is the new vessel that is holding the Word made flesh. Mary is the New Ark of the New Covenant, and perhaps Joseph knew it. Perhaps Joseph’s decision to divorce her, and to do so quietly, is because he felt unworthy of such a blessing in his life. Perhaps, Joseph was overwhelmed with humility. Joseph felt unworthy because Joseph was a man of profound humility.
WOW, right? Fascinating ideas that I had never heard of. The book states that true humility is knowing who you are. Joseph knew EXACTLY who he was.
ask yourself this……
Have you ever asked yourself: who am I? In just a few days we celebrate the birth of the Light of the World. What a great time to ask ourselves the deep question: Who am I? Take your time. Really think about it – and when you think you’ve come up with an answer, ask yourself the question again and again! Strip yourself of every attachment and title you can come up with and get down to basics. WHO ARE YOU?
God bless you!
O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; o Keystone of the might arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.
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