Wednesday of the
Third Week of Advent
(Jeremiah 23:5-8; Matthew 1:18-25)
Everyone dreams. Not
only that, but people have different kinds of dreams. At night a person’s dreams contain the
overflow of emotions experienced during the day. If one was threatened during the day, the
person may dream of being pursued by a ruffian.
Dreams during the day envision the culmination of one’s hopes efforts. Martin Luther King dreamt of a nation which judges
persons by their character, not skin color.
Today’s gospel tells of another type of dream, rare but not unheard of
in salvation history.
Joseph, the husband of Mary, is not the first dreamer
with that name in the Bible. Joseph, the
son of Judah, had dreams of his family submitting to his authority. These dreams revealed the future of Israel. The dream of Joseph in today’s gospel reaches
even farther into the unknown. It tells
of how Joseph’s wife will conceive a child through the Holy Spirit. The child will save people from their sins so
that they may live holy lives. For this reason God will never leave His
people. Thus the child, named Jesus, may
also be called “God with us.” This dream
is neither the overflow of emotion nor the high hopes of a people. It is God revealing His audacious plan to give
humans everlasting life.
We should never separate Christmas from the Easter
event. Jesus was born to suffer and die
that sin and death might be overcome. There
is plenty of reason for joy in Christmas.
But there is also motivation to contemplate the ultimate purpose of Jesus’
birth.
