The readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year A) May be found at:
Despite what we may think. We are more powerful than we know.
Back in March, we heard in the gospel, the angel Gabriel come to Mary and announce that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would bear a son - the son of God.
In today’s gospel, we see that Joseph is now in on this little secret and that very soon - everyone else would be too.
Now, Mary was betrothed to Joseph. This means that Mary and Joseph had exchanged vows before witnesses.
Mary was living with her parents, and after a year, Joseph would take her into his own house. In the meantime, Mary was to be called the wife of Joseph.
Any violation of Joseph’s marital rights could be punished as adultery - a very serious offense.
Then, suddenly, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary becomes pregnant. Seriously? Who would believe that story?
Mary knew...Joseph knew...everyone knew how babies were made. What would she tell Joseph? What would she tell her parents?
And imagine how Joseph felt. He had been betrayed. Would people think he did it? He must have been disappointed, confused, angry and worried.
Despite these feelings, Joseph didn’t want to expose Mary; he didn’t want to cause her any shame and he didn’t want to see her harshly punished.
But he wasn’t going to take the hit either.
I’m sure, Joseph didn’t want to support someone else’s child.
But with total trust in God, Joseph agreed to become the foster father of Jesus.
Mary’s pregnancy was a surprise that could have led to swift and harsh judgment.
Instead, Joseph made a compassionate choice.
He had a choice, as we all do many times a day, to deliver judgement or compassion. Thankfully, Joseph chose compassion.
Now Jesus desires compassion - he calls us to it. As he said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.”
So why does Jesus recommend compassion over judgment?
Because as flawed human beings, compassion is the unexpected choice, based in love and it creates new possibilities for the future when we choose it.
Joseph chose compassion and look at the difference that made on all of human history!
God often asks us to make a choice. And we have the power to decide how to do that.
We can judge the people around us, or we can show them compassion.
Obviously, that doesn’t mean that everything is ok.
Actually, many things are not ok and we know that, don’t we? We have rules, laws, the Ten Commandments, the Church and our conscience to guide us, but at the end of the day each of us has a choice to make in how we respond to others in our lives.
People will disappoint us - people will do things we don’t approve of. That doesn’t mean we are called to be judge, jury and executioner.
Jesus calls us to love, to call out, to correct, yes - but also to help and to do each of these things from a place of compassion, not condemnation.
In the upcoming season of Christmas that starts in just a few days, we may come across many family members and friends.
They may be guilty of immoral behavior.
They may have made poor life choices.
They may be struggling with issues that make us want to judge them.
Making matters even worse, we may have made choices that make us worried about how we will be judged.
In each of these situations, we should remember that Joseph showed compassion.
Who knows what would have happened if Joseph operated from a place of ego, wanting to be right or worry about what others thought, rather than operating from a place of compassion?
Each of us has the power to react, judge, condemn and end; We also have the power, as Joseph showed, to be merciful, to show compassion and to love and as a result, create new beginnings as we go.
Despite what we may think. We are more powerful than we know.
Let us appreciate that power, and wherever possible use it to operate from a place of compassion, rather than judgement.
