Don’t Fear, We Have Angels Too

BY CHRISTOPHER KERR | December 19, 2022
Sunday’s Readings

Joseph has a tough decision to make in this Sunday’s Gospel. What is a 1st century (BC) man to do when he finds out his future wife is pregnant and he isn’t the father? Joseph plans to take the high road and seek divorce but to do so quietly, so Mary is not scorned. Until…an angel appears with a message: 

“Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”

The call to action from God could not have been clearer, and Joseph trusted in this call and welcomed Mary into his home. He overcame fear, listened well, and took bold action; the rest is history. Jesus is born. Emmanuel! 

But what about you or me? Do we get angels, too, to help us understand exactly what God is calling us to do? 

I am not sure that most of us have experienced God’s call through an angel in the way Joseph did. However, I think there are angel-like moments in each of our days, and we need to be ready to listen and be willing to act, just like Joseph. 

As we enter this final week of Advent, let’s be more attentive to listening for these angel-like moments in the following ways:

• What are those most vulnerable in our midst calling on us to do? (children, the elderly, and those struggling with physical or mental illness)
• Who in our community is calling out for our help and compassion? (recently arrived migrants, those experiencing homelessness, mothers and children in crisis)
• How might we hear God’s call in relation to our care for the Earth and its impact on the livelihood of our global family? (the quality of water and air in your community—especially for those most vulnerable, and the impacts of a throw-away culture on these locally and globally)

Overcome your fear, listen well, and take bold action—just like Joseph.