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| Dream of Joseph by Brian Whalen |
Scriptures for today's Mass
Audio for homily
But we can dream can’t we?
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
just like the ones I used to know,
where the treetops glisten and children listen
to hear sleigh bells in the snow.
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
with every Christmas card I write.
May your days be merry and bright
and may all your Christmases be white.
just like the ones I used to know,
where the treetops glisten and children listen
to hear sleigh bells in the snow.
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
with every Christmas card I write.
May your days be merry and bright
and may all your Christmases be white.
Well, we might be dreaming of a white Christmas
but the gospel tells us
clearly
that Joseph was having a
very different kind of dream.
Joseph’s waking and
sleeping hours found him
anxious, afraid,
embarrassed, worried, disappointed and sad.
Mary, his betrothed, was
pregnant and he knew it was not his child.
Her explanation was a
story of an angel’s visit and
message
that she would conceive a
child through the Holy Spirit.
I’m sure Joseph’s nights
found him
anxious, afraid,
embarrassed, worried, disappointed and sad.
(Sometimes our nights find
us with the same emotions…)
Joseph was ready to
quietly break off his betrothal to Mary
until one night in his
fitful sleep he was lulled by a dream
and in the dream, an angel
came to visit
and from the angel came
the message, “Joseph, don’t be afraid…”
Don’t be afraid - of what?
Of taking Mary into his
home as his wife? Yes, that.
Of caring for a child he
knew he had not fathered? Yes, that too.
But most of all, the angel in the dream was telling Joseph,
“Don’t be afraid of how the mystery of God
is weaving itself into your life,
into your heart, your love, your desires, into your whole future.
into your heart, your love, your desires, into your whole future.
“Don’t be afraid, Joseph,
of how the mystery of God
will touch your life, shape your life, turn your life around
and stand you on your head.
will touch your life, shape your life, turn your life around
and stand you on your head.
“Don’t be afraid, Joseph
no matter what comes your way,
because in everything -
and in all things,
good and bad, sad and
happy, joyful and painful -
in all things, God will be
with you.”
None of us is asked to face what Joseph faced.
But all of us, like Joseph, face times in our lives
when God has allowed things to happen,
or has allowed things to fail to happen,
that would intimately touch, shape and turn our lives around,
things that would stand us
on our head,
in ways we never dreamed
and sometimes in ways we had hoped and prayed
in ways we never dreamed
and sometimes in ways we had hoped and prayed
would never happen.
There is perhaps no time
in the year more than Christmas
when we are so keenly
aware
of dreams that have
happily come true
and dreams that have sadly
failed or slipped from our grasp.
The song may tell us we
dream of a white Christmas
but our hearts tell a
different story.
Our hearts tell the story
of hopes and disappointments,
of joys and sorrows, of
blessings and losses.
And often this season
finds us to be, just like Joseph:
anxious, afraid,
embarrassed, worried, disappointed or sad.
Whether in a dream or more
bluntly right here in the scriptures,
whether in an angel’s
message or in a simple homily,
the word to each of us is
precisely the word spoken to Joseph,
“Don’t be afraid… because in everything,
and in all things,
(good and bad, sad and happy, joyful and
painful)
in all things: God Is with you:
EMMANUEL.”
As it was for Joseph in his days, so it is for us every Christmas.
Being truly ready for Christmas has little to do with
presents to buy and wrap, or trees to decorate,
or cards to write, or baking to do…
Being ready for Christmas means renewing our faith and our trust,
in all the ways the mystery of God’s presence
is weaving itself into our lives:
touching and shaping and turning our lives around
in ways we may never have imagined or hoped.
As it was for Joseph in his days, so it is for us every Christmas.
Being truly ready for Christmas has little to do with
presents to buy and wrap, or trees to decorate,
or cards to write, or baking to do…
Being ready for Christmas means renewing our faith and our trust,
in all the ways the mystery of God’s presence
is weaving itself into our lives:
touching and shaping and turning our lives around
in ways we may never have imagined or hoped.
And most of all, being ready
for Christmas
means trusting that God is with us, Emmanuel,
in everything and in all things.
Consider Joseph’s doubts, his anxiety, his anger…
his regrets, his concern for Mary, his fears…
his wonder, his confusion, his awe…
means trusting that God is with us, Emmanuel,
in everything and in all things.
Consider Joseph’s doubts, his anxiety, his anger…
his regrets, his concern for Mary, his fears…
his wonder, his confusion, his awe…
Imagine him handing his troubles over to God and trusting,
putting his fears aside…
Imagine Joseph as the patron saint
of all who find the
holidays to be a difficult time
and of all who are
preparing to celebrate Christ’s birthday…
The Child born in Bethlehem is still weaving his way into our lives.
The name Bethlehem means “House of Bread.”
And even in this very hour,
the Lord weaves the mystery of his presence
into our prayer, at his table, in the sacrifice of the Eucharist
and makes of our place of prayer - the House of God’s Bread.
Come, Emmanuel, God with us,
and weave into our lives the mystery of your presence,
the mystery of your love, the mystery of your peace…
into our prayer, at his table, in the sacrifice of the Eucharist
and makes of our place of prayer - the House of God’s Bread.
Come, Emmanuel, God with us,
and weave into our lives the mystery of your presence,
the mystery of your love, the mystery of your peace…
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel…
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