1 text and 2 readings
Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew*
Now this is how Jesus Christ was born: Mary, his mother, had been given in marriage to Joseph; before they lived together, she was pregnant by the action of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her husband, who was a just man, and did not want to denounce her publicly, decided to send her away in secret. As he had formed this plan, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said to him: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home, since the child who is begotten in her comes from the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you will name him Jesus (that is, The Lord Saves), for he will save his people from their sins. » All this happened to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by the prophet: Behold, the Virgin will conceive, and she will give birth to a son; we will give him the name Emmanuel, which translates: “God-with-us”. When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him: he took his wife into his home.
* Chapter 1, verses 18 to 24.
Other readings: Book of the prophet Isaiah (chapter 7, verses 10 to 16); Psalm 23 (24); Letter of Saint Paul to the Christians of Rome (chapter 1, verses 1 to 7).
Confident with Joseph
Vincent, retired physics researcher (Orsay, 91)
The angel’s announcement puts Joseph in an impossible situation.
“A just man”, he is attentive to doing the will of the Lord. But the fact that Mary was pregnant before they lived together exposes her to stoning for adultery, if Joseph denounces her. They are indeed committed to each other. I imagine his dismay. He says nothing – Joseph is the great mute of the Gospel – but he acts: he takes Mary into his home.
Sometimes the Lord also puts us in incomprehensible situations. With my wife, we often pray to Saint Joseph to comfort us in our trust in God.
A joyful announcement
Laurent, chemist in industry (Orsay, 91)
Hearing this gospel read by Vincent (I read it before for him), fills me with joy: the written text becomes a shared word, an announcement, an event, a presence. He invites us to a beginning, as in the Book of Genesis. After their fall, Adam and Eve hide.
And God questions the man: “Where are you? » I hear in this gospel the answer to God’s question. And it is he himself who gives it and repairs the original fault. Man moves away from God, but in Jesus, God joins us. He is Emmanuel, God-with-us, and thus saves us. So, it’s up to us to adhere to this creative word.
