The Love of Joseph

This is the fourth Sunday in advent, and in the scripture from Matthew 1, Joseph has found out that his betrothed, Mary, is pregnant, the only logical cause is that she has been unfaithful. In effect, Joseph is a minor character in the Gospels with no speaking lines at all, but this reading gives a chance to focus on his character. Here, he is faced with a problem for which the law says he can publicly disgrace Mary and her family. He has been building a future for them, but this changes everything, and, instead, he chooses to dismiss her “quietly.” Then, in a dream he is visited by an angel who explains the origin of the pregnancy, and Joseph went even farther in an act of mercy and “took her as his wife.” The question for us is how have we experienced the loss of a future, and how should we act in that moment so as to ensure the coming of God into the world?