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Advent IV: ‘He will save his people from their sins’

‘He will save his people from their sins.’

‘am mai ef a wareda ei bobl oddi wrth eu pechodau.’ (Mt 1:21)

Of all the figures in the story of Our Lord’s Nativity, the one most often overlooked is Joseph. It is fair to say that today’s Gospel finds Joseph in a particularly awkward situation. He is described in verse 19 as a ‘just man’. Just or righteous in this context means that he obeys Jewish Law. However, Deuteronomy 22:23-24 states that:

‘If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbour’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.’ (Deut 22:23-24)

Mary and Joseph are betrothed, and preparing to be married, but strictly speaking under Jewish Law because she is pregnant, Mary is guilty of a capital crime. It is perhaps for this reason that Luke’s account tells us that Mary spends time out in the country with her cousin Elizabeth, who is also pregnant. Joseph loves Mary, and rather than see her killed or publicly humiliated, he wants to put an end to the marriage quietly, without any fuss. It is at this moment that the Angel Gabriel appears to him in a dream saying:

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Mt 1:20-21)

Joseph is a descendant of King David, a member of Israel’s Royal Family. This is an awkward fact when the current occupier of the throne is not part of that dynasty, but was put there by the Romans as a pliant puppet king. 

The angel says to Joseph: ‘Do not be afraid! Paid ag ofni!’ Again and again God speaks to His people to tell them not to fear and to be of good heart, to reassure and encourage them. God loves His people, there is nothing to be afraid about. The angel is clear: the child that will be born is of the Holy Spirit. He will be the Son of God, and His name will be Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. ‘Yeshua’ means ‘God saves’ which is exactly what Jesus does. At a practical level the angel’s message to Joseph is designed to put him at ease, to stop him worrying. The message is Good News, through the angel the Gospel of Salvation is announced.

To reinforce this fact, St Matthew then quotes a prophecy of Isaiah, which is also found in the first reading today:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (Mt 1:23)

The prophecy is being fulfilled; there will be a son born to the House of David, who will be God with us (Emmanuel), and He will save His people from their sins. This is why we celebrate Christmas, because it is the coming of our Saviour. What does is mean to say that God is with us? Is it an expression of solidarity? Or something more? In Jesus God is with us, and He shares our human life, from birth to death. Christ is not some remote divine figure, but one intimately acquainted with all of human existence. God is not distant, but instead is someone who understands us, and loves us. Christ’s entire existence is about communicating Divine Love and Reconciliation. The Church has also been proclaiming this same message of hope and salvation for the past two thousand years.

‘He will save his people from their sins’: the angel’s words to Joseph could not be clearer. Jesus is God’s rescue mission, sent to save humanity from their sins. This vocation ultimately leads to Calvary. Therefore, as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s Birth, we know that His life will end here, on the Cross. As we prepare for the most joyous of feasts, we are mindful of the cost and depth of God’s love.

It is important to notice what Joseph does when the dream is over:

‘When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.’ (Mt 1:24-25)

Joseph did what the angel commanded him to do. He was obedient. He listened and obeyed. Joseph is complete opposite of Ahaz, in today’s first reading, who neither listens to God nor obeys Him. Joseph is obedient in naming his son as he was instructed: ‘And he called his name Jesus’ (Mt 1:25). Jesus too will be obedient. His is an obedience to the Father’s will borne out through suffering, death and resurrection which characterises the mission of the Son. This is what brings about our salvation. We then, in obedience, look for His second coming as our Saviour and our Judge. As Christians, we are called to take time to ponder these mysteries — to stop for a while amid the business of our modern existence and reflect upon the wondrous nature of God’s love for us, and for all humanity. We need to take the opportunity to stop, and to ponder this wondrous fact; to reflect upon what ‘God-with-us’ means for each one of us, and for our lives.

As the people of God, members of the Christian Church, which we enter through our baptism, we have all been commissioned to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, and to live out this example in our lives. Christians urge the world to pause and to consider exactly what is being celebrating at Christmas: the free gift, of hope and salvation for all people, through a baby, born in a stable, among the poor and the marginalised.

The act of Divine love, which we experience in Our Lord’s Nativity, should draw us, in turn, to love God and to love our neighbour; to live out the love which becomes flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. This same love will become the flesh and blood that we touch and taste, here, this morning, through the bread and wine. Feeding us, so that we might share His divine life. So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us be filled with, and transformed by, the divine gift of love. Let us, like Mary and Joseph, wait on the Lord and be reshaped by Him. Let us live out our faith in our lives so that others might believe and sing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

James Tissot The Vision of St Joseph: Brooklyn Museum
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Quinquagesima – Imitate Jesus!

When we all were children, we learned through imitation, through copying others. Human beings learn to speak, and walk, and everything else, by seeing and hearing others. To imitate the actions of others is an important mechanism for social learning — that is, for acquiring new knowledge. So St Paul writes at the end of this morning’s second reading:

‘Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ’ 

‘Byddwch ddilynwyr i mi, megis yr wyf finnau i Grist.’ (1Cor 11:1)

Paul encourages the Corinthian church to imitate him, as he imitates Christ. He wants them to do so in order that they all might live out the love of God in their lives, for the glory of God, and to proclaim the truth of the Gospel to the world. This too is our calling as Christians. We are charged to follow the same example , live out the same faith, and proclaim the same truth in our daily lives. 

Today’s readings focus on leprosy, an infection of the skin which usually placed the sufferer on the margins of society. The position adopted in Leviticus is clear:

‘He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.’

‘aflan yw efe: triged ei hunan; bydded ei drigfa allan o’r gwersyll.’ (Lev 13:46)

This verse is used by the author of the Letter to the Hebrews to describe Christ’s Crucifixion and death:

‘So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.’

‘Oherwydd paham Iesu hefyd, fel y sancteiddiai’r bobl trwy ei waed ei hun, a ddioddefodd y tu allan i’r porth. Am hynny awn ato ef o’r tu allan i’r gwersyll, gan ddwyn ei waradwydd ef. Canys nid oes i ni yma ddinas barhaus, eithr un i ddyfod yr ŷm ni yn ei disgwyl.’ (Heb 13:12-14)

The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews encourages us to follow Christ’s example and to become outcasts — unclean in terms of Jewish ritual purity — to share in Christ’s suffering and to be united with Him. Something previously seen as being shameful has now become glorious. This is a demonstration of God’s love and healing, where once there was condemnation there is now reconciliation.

Our gospel reading this morning continues the accounts of miraculous healings by Jesus, which we have encountered over the past few weeks. This morning Our Lord is met by a man who is suffering from leprosy, and who begs to be healed. Given the purity code in Leviticus, we can understand why the leper longs to be healed, and restored to his place in the community. The man suffering with leprosy kneels before Jesus, performing an act of submission, putting himself entirely at Christ’s mercy, and says:

“If you will, you can make me clean.”

‘Os mynni, ti a elli fy nglanhau’ (Mk 1:40)

Jesus is filled with emotion and touches him. Rather than simply saying, ‘Be healed’, or ‘Be clean’, Our Lord stretches out His hand and touches the man with leprosy. In Jewish ritual terms, by doing this Christ makes Himself unclean. He breaks the rules. and does what no-one would do. Instead of casting the man out, or ignoring him, Jesus touches the man and heals him. Here we see God’s healing love in action. The proclamation of the Kingdom of God is the proclamation of love and healing, to restore humanity. Having broken the rules, Jesus says to the healed leper:

“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 

‘Gwêl na ddywedych ddim wrth neb: eithr dos ymaith, dangos dy hun i’r offeiriad, ac offryma dros dy lanhad y pethau a orchmynnodd Moses, er tystiolaeth iddynt hwy.’ (Mk 1:44)

Jesus tells the man to comply with the Law, to show himself to a priest. This is so that the former leper can undergo a ritual bath, and be restored to his rightful place in society. This also acts as proof to the religious authorities that a miraculous healing has taken place. God is announcing His Kingdom and the fulfilment of messianic prophecy. God is healing His people. 

Jesus wants the man not only to be restored, but also to enjoy life in all its fullness. This is why the religious authorities need to be aware of the fact that a man who was deemed unclean can now be pronounced clean. However, the man does not listen, and instead proclaims his miraculous healing to all and sundry. His actions, while understandable, are problematic. The man does not listen to what Jesus says, he does not obey Our Lord’s instructions. Jesus is not simply a charismatic healer seeking to garner popular support through miracles. The miracles are a sign of the Kingdom of God becoming a reality. The man’s exuberance does, however, cause problems:

‘so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter’

‘fel na allai’r Iesu fyned mwy yn amlwg i’r ddinas; eithr yr oedd efe allan mewn lleoedd anghyfannedd: ac o bob parth y daethant ato ef.’ (Mk 1:45)

Jesus has become a celebrity, and people longing for healing flock to Him. This speaks of the deep and widespread need for healing in Galilee. As it was there then, so it is here, now. We long for God to heal us, to take away our fears, and fill us with His love. At a practical level this is bound to be exhausting for Our Saviour, so He goes out to desolate deserted places, in other words, the desert. Jesus retreats to the wilderness to be alone with God, to rest and to pray. This reminds us that in the Church’s calendar we are about to enter the season of Lent. The season of prayer and penitence which leads to Our Lord’s Passion. By going to the Cross Jesus makes His dwelling ‘outside the camp’. He becomes unclean to make humanity clean through the shedding of His Blood. During Lent we imitate Christ’s example, and go with Him to the desert and the Cross.

Christians prepare for Easter by going out into the desert with Jesus to be close to God, through prayer, fasting, and deeds of charity. We follow Jesus’ example, we imitate Him, so that we may draw closer to Him and experience His healing love. By journeying with Christ, we prepare to enter into the mystery of His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, so that we may rise with Him to new life. Let us then imitate Our Lord, by proclaiming to a world, longing for healing and wholeness, the love of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

James Tissot – Healing of the lepers at Capernaum (Brooklyn Museum)