If you would like to catch up on some recent posts, here is a place where you can easily access some posts you might have missed. I hope it helps… enjoy.
Continue readingA quick look back
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The Obedience of Faith
The second reading today is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans. By any measure Romans is a complex book with enough theological content to last a lifetime. But in our reading, taken from the opening chapter, there is a phrase, often overlooked, which captures the heart of the Christian life: “the obedience of faith” (Rom 1:5). The “obedience of faith.” It almost seems like a contradiction. Obedience can sound passive or forced – something from the exterior. Faith is something we associate with the interior life, but Paul joins them together. For St. Paul, faith is not merely believing certain truths. Obedience is not blind submission. The two acting together is to entrust one’s life to God so that our interior and exterior are in harmony with God’s will. In the gospel, St. Joseph is a living example of the obedience of faith.
Joseph is in a bit of a pickle. Somehow, he has come to know that Mary is with child and he knows he is not the father. From Joseph’s perspective, Mary’s pregnancy made no sense. The situation threatened his honor, his future, his reputation, and his understanding of God’s plan. Matthew then reveals something about Joseph’s character: “Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly” (Mt 1:19). That’s the plan anyway. It was not sinful. It was a plan that merged mercy and obedience to the Law. All things considered, it was a reasonable plan. Quietly stepping away seemed the most just and compassionate solution.
And yet—God interrupts Joseph’s good and reasonable plan with a greater one.
In a dream, the angel tells Joseph: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home” (Mt 1:20). I think we are conditioned to react, “Huh…OK, an angel… don’t overthink this … I mean it’s an angel of the Lord and everything… just do it, just obey.” But if we pause for a moment we might notice what the angel does not say. He does not explain everything. He does not promise it will be risk free, easy or even give a hint as to the next step beyond taking Mary into his household. But he does reveal a great plan in the works: This child is from the Holy Spirit. This child will save his people from their sins.
And Joseph must decide whether to entrust his honor, future, and reputation to God’s plan. Will he entrust his life to God?
Matthew’s description of Joseph’s response is striking in its simplicity: “When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him” (Mt 1:24). There is no indication of questions, there is no bargaining, no conditions or stipulations. There is simply the obedience of faith.
Joseph surrenders control, not because he understands everything, but because he trusts the One who speaks. His obedience is not weakness. It is courage. It costs him security, reputation, and the comfort of certainty. But through that obedience, Joseph becomes guardian of the Redeemer and spouse of Mary.
Advent is not only preparation for Christmas; it is a season for us to learn about trust. Like Joseph, many of us enter Advent with our own plans, expectations, and hopes. We are regular people who want clarity before commitment. We want certainty before agreement or surrender. But Advent teaches us that God often asks for obedience before understanding.
What might the obedience of faith look like in our lives? It may look like:
- Trusting God when our plans fall apart.
- Choosing fidelity to our commitments when walking away seems easier.
- Accepting a responsibility we did not choose and might really rather avoid.
- Remaining faithful when the future is unclear and circumstances reveal an easier path.
- Saying “yes” to God without seeing the full picture, without bargaining, and despite our fears.
Faith does not eliminate fear. Faith acts despite those fears.
Joseph never utters a single word in Scripture, but his actions have a lot to say. A lot to teach us. He shows us that holiness often can be found in the quiet places, the hidden places, when good people act in faith when “reasonable” people caution and direct you to a safer path.
The lives of the Saints tell the stories of the obedience of faith. One day in an abandoned chapel outside Assisi, the Word of God came to St. Francis: “Rebuild my church.” He obeyed in faith. One night long ago in Nazareth, the salvation of the world entered history not only through Mary’s “yes”, but also through Joseph’s obedience.
Here in these final days of Advent, the Church invites us to ask where God is asking each one of us to trust Him more deeply. Sometimes that will ask us to name our fears (loss of honor, an uncertain future, etc.). Sometimes it asks us to let go of our reasonable and prudent plan in exchange for the unknown.
The readings remind us that we are called to a life lived in the obedience of faith.” Joseph shows us what that looks like in flesh and blood.
To live that life, we don’t have to have everything figured out, but we are asked to be ready to obey when God speaks. For when faith obeys, Christ is born anew in the world and in us.
Amen
Image credit: Ceiling detail Battistero di San Giovanni | Florence | 13th century | photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen | Wikimedia Commons | CC-BY 2.5
Such a Simple Verse
24 When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. 25 He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.
All Christian denominations adhere to the Virgin Birth of Jesus; it is essential orthodoxy. The controversy about the perpetual virginity of Mary arises out of later interpretations of “until” in v. 25. Some argue that afterwards normal marital relations existed. In the English use of “until” something is negated up to a point in time, occurrence after that time is normally assumed. However, the expression (heōs hou) and its Semitic counterpart have no such assumption. In any case, the immediate Matthean context should be taken as silent on any future implication given Matthew’s stress on Mary’s virginity so that the Isaian prophecy is fulfilled.
The Virgin Birth was universally held in the earliest Church and confessed in The Apostles’ Creed and The Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) and its expansion at Constantinople (381 A.D.). These creeds enshrine the doctrine, showing it was not under dispute at the time but affirmed as essential to Christian faith — particularly as a testimony to Christ’s true humanity and divine origin. To be clear, The Nicene Creed says:
“He was incarnate and was made man.” The phrase “born of the Virgin Mary” appears in the expanded Creed of Constantinople. The council was not addressing the Virgin Birth itself but the Arian heresy, which denied the full divinity of the Son.
Continue readingContrasts
Today’s first reading is taken from Judges 13:2–7, 24–25 and talks about Samson. The paired gospel is from Luke 1:5-25 in which an angel of the Lord comes to Zachariah to tell him that he and his wife Elizabeth, long considered barren, would have a child. At first blush it is an odd pairing – at least to my mind.
Samson was the last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges; he appears in chapters 13 to 16. The “judges” were leaders (often military leaders) that the Lord appointed to deliver the Israelite people out of their current predicament with hostile neighbors. This is the age before the monarchs of Israel.
Samson’s mother was thought unable to have a child but in a miraculous turn of events she gives birth to Samson and dedicates him to the Lord. As a result he possessed immense strength enabling him to perform seemingly superhuman feats, including slaying a lion with his bare hands and single handedly killing an entire Philistine army with a donkey’s jawbone. These are the episodes most often featured in Christian comic books. In the final scene of his life, betrayed by his close associates, he is captured by the Philistines and is about to be offered as sacrifice to the pagan god Dagon. He used his superhuman strength to bring down the columns – collapsing the temple and killing both himself and the Philistines. Superhero action aside, Samson is a vengeful bringer of death; there really is nothing in his character and life that is anything we would consider Christ-like. And yet the readings are juxtaposed in a way that calls for reflection of what we are to understand from the pairing. Both readings point to God’s saving plan beginning with a miraculous birth, but in what ways does Samson foreshadow John the Baptist or Jesus and in what ways is Samson different? Perhaps the pairing of readings is to cast Samson and John the Baptists as the ones who point to Jesus. In any case, both readings present the same divine pattern: God begins salvation not with armies or institutions, but with a child announced by God.
In Judges 13 Samson’s mother is barren but an angel of the Lord announces the birth. One sees the pattern to be repeated in the annunciation to Zechariah. In each instance, the child is chosen before conception for a role in the Divine Plan – a plan that the parents do not initiate. It is God’s initiative by which the child is set apart before birth and his life is meant to serve God’s saving purpose for Israel. In his role as deliverer Samson imperfectly foreshadows Jesus in his role as Savior. We can compare and contrast this and perhaps tease out an understanding of why these readings are paired in Advent.
- Samson is dedicated by his mother and is consecrated to God’s purpose. Jesus is not consecrated by vows, rather by his identity.
- Samson’s role is partial and incomplete: “He shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (Judg 13:5) – limited to a single nation. Jesus comes to save Israel and the world from sin and death. His salvation is total and definitive. Samson points to a “deliverer,” but not the final one.
- In Judges 13:25 we are told that “The Spirit of the LORD stirred him.” But as the story unfolds it is not clear Samson let the Spirit lead him. Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit, anointed at baptism by the Spirit and acts consistently under the Spirit’s guidance.
- Samson is physically strong but spiritually weak. His strength is external and he repeatedly gives in to lust, anger, revenge, and impulsiveness. He breaks the very vows that consecrate him. Jesus, by contrast, shows strength through obedience, triumphs through humility, resists temptation in the wilderness, and is faithful unto death It might be said that Samson saves by force; Jesus saves by fidelity.
- And consider the way Samson “delivers:” he kills enemies directly, his victories increase conflict, and his final act is destructive to others and himself. His death is simply tragic as he dies in despair and vengeance. Samson dies with his enemies.
- Jesus refuses violence, heals enemies, absorbs violence rather than inflicting, and saves via his own death on the cross – a gift that leads to resurrection – all given in love. Jesus dies for his enemies and his gift becomes the source of new life.
- Samson is morally inconsistent. His life is marked by compromise. His calling is real, but his obedience is partial. Jesus is the faithful Son who completes the Father’s will perfectly and as a result brings salvation to completion.
I think the Church gives us Samson during Advent to teach us something essential: God has always worked through human weakness, but that is not enough to save us. Every flawed deliverer increases our longing for the true one. Samson shows us how far God’s grace can take a person and how incomplete salvation remains without perfect obedience. Jesus is what Samson points toward but cannot become.
The readings remind us God is ever active in history, consistent in promise and covenant, and loved the world so much He would send his only Son – not to deliver us, but to redeem and save us.
Image credit: Samson slaying the lion | Peter Paul Rubens | El Imparcial, Madrdi | PD-US
God’s Plan
Joseph’s plans are interrupted in vv.20–23 by the appearance of a messenger from God in a dream — a device familiar from the Old Testament account of the birth of Samson (Judges 13). The first words uttered are “do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.” The angel gives an explanation for Mary’s pregnancy, announcing the divine plan is already in motion. The angel also informs Joseph of his part in the divine plan: “you are to name him Jesus.” As explained above, this simple directive makes clear to Joseph that he is to claim Jesus as his own. As the legal son of Joseph, Jesus will be a “Son of David” (v. 20).
In first-century Judaism the Hebrew name Joshua (Greek Iesous) meaning “Yahweh helps” was interpreted as “Yahweh saves.” The language reminds us of similar revelations in the Old Testament (Gen. 16:11; 17:19; etc.), as well as of Isaiah 7:14, soon to be quoted. Names, especially divinely revealed names, are full of meaning, and this is often revealed by a word-play which need not always correspond to the actual etymology of the name. In the case of Jesus (the Greek form of Joshua or Jeshua, a common name) both the sound (cf. Heb. yôšî’a, ‘he will save’) and the probable etymology contribute to the explanation for he will save his people from their sins (v.20).
Continue reading22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.”
On their own land
The first reading today is from Jeremiah, the prophet to the nation during times of crisis in the final days of the kingdom of Judah. The prophet was given the daunting task of prophecy to Jerusalem who was at the end of a “death spiral” of horrible leadership under the kings of Judah, the descendants of King David. In the midst of his oracles against and city, king and people, the prophet proclaims: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; As king he shall reign and govern wisely.” (Jer 23:5).
Here is the season of Advent we hear and understand Jeremiah as speaking of “the days” being some 580 years later long after the crisis of the Babylonian Empire and the coming Exile. We hear the trace of the messianic prophecy of Jesus – the “righteous shoot” that will bloom from the stump of Jesse (cf. Isaiah 40). In Jeremiah’s day, I suspect the people knew their days were numbered as none would be able to stand against the power of Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian armies. They were sure to be dispossessed of the land and their inheritance. But to them Jeremiah says that the children of Israel “…shall again live on their own soil.” (Jer 23:8). Even if dispossessed, they would return to claim their inheritance.
In our days, the Righteous King has already come, bringing the Kingdom of God to those who claim their inheritance – and so it has been for more than 2000 years… There are certainly days when here in the United States we can feel like the faithful remnant of Jerusalem in Jeremiah’s day. According to Pew Research landscape studies, Christianity has been declining in America. In 2007, 80% of people identified as Christian; by 2024 that number had decreased to 62% of the population. By 2024 only 45% of young adults identified as Christian. In that same period between 2007 and 2024, the share of U.S. adults identifying as Catholic declined 21%.
As I read Jeremiah and consider the Pew Studies, one can be disheartened that, as a people, we are being “dispossessed” of our inheritance of faith. But at the same time, I am encouraged. All across the United States, Catholic parishes are experiencing a phenomenon of increased numbers of people in the OCIA programs, the means by which people come into the Catholic faith as adults. It is a movement in which I hear the echo of Jeremiah: “they shall again live on their own soil.” (Jer 23:8)
My unscientific sampling of Catholic parishes points to a doubling of the numbers of participants in OCIA just from last year with a marked increase in the numbers of adults seeking the Sacrament of Baptism. A statistical blip? Time will tell. A renewal of faith? I certainly hope so. Time will tell. But it strikes me that we need to be people that are not satisfied that the Messiah has come but even if we are but a faithful remnant, to be aware that the promise of the Messiah and the Kingdom are everlasting and we are called to witness to those signs among us.
Jeremiah | detail of Sistine Chapel | Michelangelo | PD-US | Pexels CC-0
The Virgin Birth
That Jesus was conceived by a virgin mother without the agency of Joseph is clearly stated throughout this section, and is the basis for the introduction of the quotation in vv. 22–23.
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.”
In the text this not so much argued or even described, but assumed as a known fact. There may be an element of apologetic in Matthew’s stress on Joseph’s surprise, his abstention from intercourse, the angel’s explanation of Jesus’ divine origin, and the scriptural grounds for a virgin birth, due perhaps to an early form of the later Jewish charge that Jesus’ birth was illegitimate (see Brown, pp. 534–542). But the account reads primarily as if designed for a Christian readership, who wanted to know more precisely how Mary’s marriage to Joseph related to the miraculous conception of Jesus, and Christians who would find the same delight that Matthew himself found in tracing in this the detailed fulfillment of prophecy.
The suggestion that the virgin birth tradition is an imaginative creation by Matthew or his predecessors on the basis of Isaiah 7:14 is precluded not only by this assumption of it as a known fact in Matthew’s narrative, but also by its appearance in a completely different form in Luke 1:26–56; 2:5. Further, vv. 22–23, where Isaiah 7:14 is introduced, are clearly an explanatory addition to the narrative, which would flow smoothly from v. 21 to v. 24 without these verses, and not the inspiration for it. Suggestions that the tradition derives from pagan stories of gods having intercourse with women ignore both the quite different tone of such stories, and the impossibility of their being accepted in a Palestinian Jewish setting; yet the Gospel accounts are both intensely Jewish in their contents and expression.
Continue readingA call to remember
Today you might ask a new neighbor or a new parishioner, “Where are you from?” It is a normal question. Growing up in the South it was equally likely for someone to ask, “Who are your people?” Today’s gospel is the answer to that question, which at first hearing, sounds like just a long list of names—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, and those are just the ones you recognize. It is the kind of passage we are tempted to skim over quickly or just flat out skip all together. But St. Matthew begins his Gospel in this way for a reason: he is showing us that Jesus is not an isolated figure who appears out of nowhere. Rather, He is the fulfillment of God’s promises, and His life is deeply rooted in the history of Israel.
Each of these names carries a story. Abraham reminds us of the promise that God would bless all nations through his descendants. David points to the royal line and the expectation of a Messiah, a son of David who would shepherd God’s people. Even the less famous or less noble figures—like Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba—remind us that God works through unexpected people, through sinners and outsiders, to bring about His plan.
Matthew is teaching us that the Old Testament is not just background information; it is a living testimony to who Jesus is. Without Abraham, we don’t understand what it means that Jesus is the fulfillment of the covenant. Without David, we don’t grasp why the Messiah must be a king. Without the prophets, we would not recognize in Jesus the one who is born of a virgin and called Emmanuel, God-with-us.
This passage invites us to treasure the Old Testament as the story of God preparing the world for Christ. The genealogy reminds us that our faith is not built on myth or imagination, but on real people, real history, and a real promise fulfilled in Jesus.
So when we read the Old Testament—whether it’s the faith of Abraham, the courage of Ruth, or the prophetic hope of Isaiah—we are not just reading ancient stories. We are hearing witnesses who point us to Christ. They remind us that God has been faithful throughout history, and that He remains faithful in our lives today.
May this genealogy, then, not be for us a list of names to hurry past, but a call to remember: the whole story of Israel is our story too, and it leads us to Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us.
Image credit: Pexels, CC-0
A New Testament Contex
The two previous posts did a “deep dive” into the first reading for the 4th Sunday of Advent (Isaiah 7:10-14) – “the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel” – as a means to provide the Old Testament background for Matthew’s use of the quote as fulfillment. Keep in mind that our passage follows immediately upon Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (1:1-17) – which notably says in v.9, “Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.” Our gospel and Matthew’s genealogy are intentionally connected by Matthew. Our translation in Mt 1:1 is “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” A more literal translation would be, “A book of the genesis of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.”
Matthew could have used other words for “genealogy” or “birth,” but he used this word, which is also the Greek title of the first book of scriptures. Similar wording is in the LXX at Gn 2:4 “This is the book of the genesis of heaven and earth;” and in 5:1 “This is the book of the genesis of human beings. In the day God made Adam, according to the image of God he made him.” Matthew intended a connection between these two sections of chapter 1 and with the first book of scriptures. This is a new beginning, a new creation.
Continue readingKing Ahaz and the Prophet Isaiah
In the previous post we spent a good deal of time introducing King Ahaz – he was not the best of kings. That was being nice. He was awful. He was judged to be comparable in wickedness to all the wretched kings of Judah and Israel. In this context it is easy to see why the prophet Isaiah views Ahaz as one who lacks faith and trust in God, and in this way the king becomes a symbol of the people of God, who in the face of the Assyrian threats are becoming a people who also lack faith and trust in God. The king and the people depended upon the legacy of the Davidic dynasty as the sign of their “covenant” with God. Their ideology professed a sublime confidence God would protect his chosen king and city…no matter what. This can be seen in Psalm 46:1–4:
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea . . . .
The Lord of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Such a profession is easily made when there is no immediate danger. Faced with an actual invasion, however, “the heart of the king and the heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind” (Isa 7:2).
Continue readingThe First Readings in the 3rd Week of Advent
The Catholic first readings for daily Mass for Dec 15 – 19, 2025 (in the third week of Advent) are taken from Numbers 24, Zephaniah 3, Genesis 49, Jeremiah 23, and Judges 13. At first glance it seems kinda random and taken plucked from here and there, but there is a logic and wonderful story when you connect the dots. And while it seems random, in fact, the readings are very deliberately chosen.
Each reading has some element of prophecy within the particular narrative but the readings are not random prophetic texts. Together they tell a cohesive story of salvation history, a story that deepens Advent’s focus as Christmas approaches. What unites them is this theme: God’s promise of a saving ruler is spoken gradually through blessing, prophecy, lineage, shepherd imagery, and miraculous birth. And often given in moments of weakness or threat. Here is a “roadmap” for the coming readings of this week.
The larger arc of Advent readings can be thought of as the first and second halves. In the first half of Advent, the readings focus on repentance and vigilance with stories of John the Baptist. As we move into the second half, in the third week, the focus shifts to God’s promise taking shape in history. Within that “second half” context, the first readings of this third week of Advent move from stories that set expectations, to making those expectations concrete in accounts of lineage, and then moving to the moment when expectations are fulfilled. In a way the first readings tells a mini–salvation history
- A distant, mysterious promise
- A promise spoken over Israel
- A promise tied to a royal line
- A promise of a righteous king
- A promise of a child born by God’s initiative
Monday, December 15: Numbers 24:2–7, 15–17a – “A star shall advance from Jacob”
In this scene Balaam is a pagan diviner, hired to curse Israel. Instead, God forces him to bless Israel and prophesy its future. The message is that God’s saving plan cannot be stopped or manipulated. Balaam speaks of the promise of a ruler (“star,” “scepter”). The Messiah is promised before Israel even has a king and the promise is announced from “outside the family” leaving no doubt of God’s sovereignty. God’s unfolding plan is older and larger than human politics. Salvation is already on the horizon; even when God’s people are unaware. A distant and mysterious promise.
Tuesday, December 16: Zephaniah 3:14–18a – “The Lord, your God, is in your midst”
Zephaniah preaches during a time of corruption and coming judgment. Zephaniah’s prophecy of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem emphasizes, perhaps more than any other prophecy, the devastation and death that divine judgment will bring. Described as the day of the Lord, the day of judgment is pictured as a time of darkness, of anguish and distress, of destruction and plunder of cities, and of threat to all life, human and animal alike. And yet, the book ends in joy: “For I will give you renown and praise, among all the peoples of the earth, when I bring about your restoration before your very eyes, says the LORD.” (Zep 3:20)
Zephanian makes clear that God does not rule from afar; He dwells with His people. In the end God’s promises are everlasting and so Jerusalem is told to rejoice because God has removed judgment. In Advent, this prophetic reading carries the promise that God will always be relational and personal. When the promised One comes on the day of the Lord, God is not just sending a ruler; He is coming to be with His people. The promise will become joy, nearness, and presence. A promise spoken over Israel.
Wednesday, December 17: Genesis 49:2, 8–10 – “The scepter shall never depart from Judah”
Jacob, son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, now passed on the blessings of the Lord to his sons at the end of his life. But it is Judah who receives the royal blessing. The promise is now anchored to a specific tribe. The promised ruler’s coming is narrowing. It is no longer vague; it is genealogical. Here is Advent the message is God works through family lines, history, and human weakness. The Messiah will come from Judah, not by accident, but by promise. The promise enters bloodline and history. A promise tied to a royal line.
Thursday, December 18: Jeremiah 23:5–8 – “I will raise up a righteous shoot to David”
From the sons of Jacob we moved ahead, past the days of Moses, Joshua, the Judges, and to the last days of the Kings of Judah, who by-in-large have failed disastrously. Jerusalem is heading toward exile. And yet even in these darkest of days, God promises a new Davidic king, unlike the corrupt shepherds. This king will reign with justice and righteousness. Here is Advent the message is that God does not abandon His promises even when leaders fail and the people stray from the faith. The One promised, the Messiah, is not just a king by title, but a true shepherd. A promise of a righteous king.
Friday, December 19: Judges 13:2–7, 24–25a – the birth of Samson foretold
Moving back on the timeline to the age of the Judges (after Moses and before the Kings), Israel is oppressed by the Philistines. A barren woman conceives through divine intervention; this reading prepares us for the birth annunciations of John the Baptist and Jesus. Samson is set apart from birth for his role as one of the Judges. Despite the comic book portrayal as hero, Samson is hardly a messiah, but the pattern is revealed. God begins salvation through a miraculous birth and God saves through unexpected births. The message is that God acts when human strength fails. A promise of a child born by God’s initiative
And that is the big picture of this week’s first readings.
friarmusings 