THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD
25 DECEMBER 2025
As
we reflect on the Christmas story, Saint Joseph can teach us how to enter into
it today, and how to live it in our daily lives. As he was preparing for marriage, he must
have developing his own plans and dreams about what it would be like to live as
a husband with Mary. But those plans and
dreams were unexpectedly destroyed when he discovered that his betrothed was
pregnant. We can’t imagine his
feelings: betrayal, horror, anger, and
countless other emotions. Even though
the law allowed him to have his betrothed stoned to death for her infidelity,
Joseph was a righteous man who decided to show mercy. One definition of mercy is to enter into the
chaos of another person. In deciding to
divorce Mary quietly, he would enter into the chaos of her life by allowing the
real father to come forward and take care of his betrothed and her child.
When Joseph
went to bed, he had a dream. God had
spoken in a dream to his ancestor, Joseph, and told him how to handle food
insecurity in Egypt. Now, he speaks to
Joseph in Nazareth to tell him the truth.
Mary has been chosen to be the Mother of God, and she has conceived
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph immediately abandoned his own dreams and embraced God’s dream in
a way that completely changed his life.
He would accompany Mary on a long journey to Bethlehem to be counted in
the Roman census. Because they could not
find a room in the inn, Mary will deliver her child in a stable with animals. Joseph will be amazed by the visitors: shepherds who heard the news from angels, and
Magi from the east. He obeyed his next
dream and became a refugee in Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous wrath. In returning, he would search for their
12-year-old child for three days until they would find him in the temple. He may not have understood what his son was
talking about. But he took him back to
Nazareth to continue to care for this remarkable teenager.
Joseph has
a very important role in the Christmas story, because he abandons his own plans
and dreams and enters into God’s dream.
Joseph invites us to do the same.
All of us have our own plans and dreams for the year ahead. And that is fine. We can leave our celebration of Christmas to
pursue them. But we never know what will
happen to us in the future. Events beyond our control can change our lives in
unexpected ways. We can suffer the loss
of someone we love very much. Injuries
and illnesses and tragedies can always affect us. Job losses and financial disasters can have
devastating effects. Instead of cringing
in fear and worry about what might happen, we can follow the example of
Joseph. Because he abandoned his own
dreams and plans, he was instrumental in making the Incarnation a reality. Joseph never said one word in all of
Scripture. But because of his trust and
willingness to trust God’s dreams, instead of his own, he became an integral
part of the Incarnation, of God dwelling in our midst.
I often
think of Joseph. When I retired, I had
my own plans and my own dreams about how to live as a very old retired priest. But at this time a year ago, I received a
call from Bishop Rhoades. It was not
exactly a dream. But he asked me to take
care of Saint Augustine Parish on the west side of South Bend until assignments
could be made in June. So, I abandoned
my own plans and agreed to do it. In
June, he appointed Deacon Mel Tardy as administrator and asked me to stay on as
canonical pastor. Never in my wildest
dreams could I have imagined moving from a suburban parish of 3,000 families and
being part of an urban parish with 150 families.
But, I am fine with it, precisely
because of what we celebrate today. Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, “God with us.” Be sure to trust that the Lord will be with
you, no matter how you may have to abandon your own plans and dreams. He will be with us, no matter what
happens. And that is what Christmas is
all about.
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