Advent Four | Author: Bruce Smith
Reading: Matthew 1:18-25
Meditation
Like for many, the pandemic years were difficult for me. During that time both my parents became ill and eventually passed. Additionally, my youngest daughter was diagnosed with cancer. And the small business I had built over 30 years suffered a downturn that forced me to downsize and let go of several employees. While my family and friends were supportive, I can’t say I was feeling the love from above. I prayed often but only heard crickets.
Similarly, I’m sure Joseph wasn’t feeling the love from above just before the first Christmas. When he discovered that Mary was expecting a child—and that he wasn’t the father—his world must have fallen apart. The dreams he had built for their life together were shattered; so much so that he “planned to dismiss her quietly.” Yet in that confusion, God sent an angel to him with a message: “Do not be afraid.” What looked like betrayal was actually the beginning of redemption for the entire world.
It would have been easy for Joseph to have rejected the angel’s word. But Joseph chose to trust in God rather than his feelings. He chose to stay, to believe, and to love Mary. That was faith in its purest form.
Looking back on my own dark years, love was there for me even though I couldn’t see it. It came through in my wife’s steady belief when mine wavered; in the care of friends who reached out with encouragement; and in the peace I finally realized that helped me accept what I could not change. Love was present, just not in the way I expected.
So when love feels far away, we can remember Joseph. God’s greatest work often begins in our most uncertain moments. Love is not gone when we can’t feel it. It’s simply waiting to be revealed.
Prayer
Loving God, when life leaves us weary, remind us that your love always holds us together and never drifts away. Teach us, like Joseph, to trust your quiet work unfolding beneath our fear. Strengthen us to recognize love’s presence in the care of others and moments of courage. Hold us close especially when we feel alone and reveal your amazing love in only the way you can. Amen.
