We share in the call of Mary and Joseph

Homily for December 18, 2016 (4th Sunday of Advent)
Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalm 24; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24

“Pick your poison!” 

We’ve probably all heard that phrase at one time or another.  Its origins go back to the 19th century, when “poison” was used as a slang term for alcoholic drinks.  Taverns in Australia were even referred to as “poison shops.”  Today, the phrase is used more generally when we are faced with two or more choices—all of them unpleasant.

St. Joseph lived in a culture with strong currents of honor and shame.  When he discovered that Mary his betrothed was pregnant and he knew that he wasn’t the father of the child, he was forced to pick his poison.  He could publicly denounce Mary for her apparent infidelity, “expose her to shame” and even have her stoned under color of law (Deuteronomy 22:20-21). He could otherwise “divorce her quietly” and send her out, leaving her to bear and raise her child on her own with all the stigma and lack of social support that entailed.  His own sense of mercy and compassion, along with his righteousness, made that seem like his best choice, as bad as it was.

Then an angel in a dream gave him another option:  take Mary as his wife.  However, the timing of her pregnancy and their marriage made that tricky, too.  Everyone in town would eventually figure out that he wasn’t the father of the child that Mary was carrying.   That didn’t seem like a great idea, either.  But the angel also told him something else:  Mary hadn’t been unfaithful!  Rather, she had conceived the child through the Holy Spirit and this child, Jesus, was destined to save his people from their sins.  To believe that required an incredible leap of faith. 

Then the angel added four words of reassurance: “Do not be afraid.”  It’s interesting and perhaps not too coincidental that in the Infancy Narrative in the Gospel of Luke, the angel Gabriel offered Mary those same words of reassurance when he appeared to her to announce that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, she would bear the Son of God (Luke 1:30). 

Joseph’s and Mary’s fears were understandable.  They were called to do something unique in all of history.   But their fear is also something very human: when any of us are called to do something new and unexpected, it’s natural to feel some anxiety.  In addition, most of us receive those calls in circumstances and through people that are, well, a little less than angelic!

Yet we need not be possessed or controlled by our fears, as King Ahaz was in our first reading.  God is with us, if not giving us special signs then giving us the graces that we need to be faithful to what we have been called to do.  God is also present in and around us through the Holy Spirit, ready to guide our thoughts, words and actions, especially when we, too, must pick our poison. 

In a sense, we share in the call of Mary and Joseph:  to help bring Christ into the world.  We do it through the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. We do it through the love that we share with our families, friends and neighbors.  We do it when we share in the evangelical work of St. Paul as missionary disciples.  We do it by growing and living in holiness.  We do it by nonviolently working for justice and peace in our world.  What seems like poison can be transformed into life-giving water when we are willing to reach down into the wells of the Spirit we have received through God’s grace. +