4th
Sunday of Advent Year A – Dec. 21, 2025
Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24
Theme:
Let us not be Afraid to Take Mary, who Carries our “Salvation” in Her Womb, into
our Hearts and Families
A. A Brief Exegetical Analysis of Matthew 1:18-24
1. Historical and Literary Contexts
Matthew
opens his Gospel with the infancy narrative (1:1–2:23), composed of a genealogy
account (1:1-17) and five stories, of which our Gospel passage is the first.
Therefore, our text is preceded by the genealogy account and followed by four
other stories, namely, the visit of the Magi (2:1-12), the flight to Egypt
(2:13-15), the massacre of the infants (2:16-18), and the return from Egypt
(2:19-23). In this infancy narrative, the evangelist’s objective is to present
“the coming of Jesus as the climax of Israel’s history, and the events of his
conception, birth, and early childhood as the fulfillment of Old Testament
prophecy.”[1]
2. Form, Structure, and Movement
This
Gospel text is a narrative story. V. 18a introduces the story, and v. 24 (with
v. 25 that the lectionary has omitted) concludes it. The body of the text (vv.
18b-23) contains two movements. In the first movement, the narrator describes
Joseph's relationship with Mary and how Joseph plans to deal with Mary because
of her mysterious pregnancy (vv. 18-19). The second movement recounts the
intervention of the angel of the Lord and his advice to Joseph (vv.
20-23).
3. Detailed Analysis
V.
18a. Matthew’s objective in this story is to inform his readers that Jesus’s
birth fulfills the Old Testament’s prophecy.
Vv.
18b-19. The narrator describes the why and how of Joseph’s plan to dismiss his
fiancée Mary in secret. First, he highlights the conflict surrounding Mary's
divine pregnancy. The people who lived with Mary, including Joseph, could not
believe it because such a miracle had never happened before to anyone.
Understanding the traditional marriage in first-century Palestine is essential
to comprehend the implications of this scene.
At
that time, the elders of both families, the bride and groom, usually arranged
the marriage. It took place in two steps. First, a formal betrothal ceremony is
held in the presence of witnesses. That was legally binding. At this point, the
bride had to remain at her parents’ home (usually for a year or so) until the
ceremony of the second step of marriage, which is the bride's transfer to her
husband's home. It is between these two stages that Mary was found to be
pregnant (see v. 18b). Luke is the only Evangelist who tells his readers that
Mary had already dealt with this emotional situation on her own when the angel
Gabriel came to announce this news to her. With her “yes” to the angel, Mary
had already accepted this divine pregnancy, along with all its perilous
implications (see Lk 1:26-38). In our passage, Matthew focuses only on Joseph’s
emotions and decisions. What was Joseph’s dilemma?
Matthew
says Joseph was “a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose [Mary] to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly” (v. 19). The term “righteous man” implies that
Joseph is a devout observer of the law of Moses. Hence, in the situation
regarding his fiancée Mary, he is obligated to observe strictly the law that
prescribes the death penalty by stoning for approved adultery (see Dt
22:21-27). In this dilemma, the decision he finds fair for him and Mary is to
divorce her quietly, meaning in secret, to preserve Mary’s life. However, it is
impossible to divorce in secret because witnesses are needed since the first
step of traditional marriage is concluded before witnesses. Additionally, all
of Mary’s relatives and townspeople will eventually learn about her pregnancy.
Perhaps, by divorcing her quietly, Joseph means not stating the reasons and not
initiating a public trial as was the custom in the Old Testament (see Number
5:11-31).
Vv.
20-23. The angel delivered four messages to Joseph. (1) He asks him not to be
afraid to take his wife Mary into his home (v. 20a). He first identifies Joseph
as the “son of David” because Joseph was the heir to the throne of David. Here,
Matthew emphasizes Joseph’s connection to the promises and covenant associated
with the House of David.[2]
Although Joseph’s decision to divorce Mary quietly without exposing her to the
death penalty is taken with “good heart,” it still does not prevent Mary from
being exposed to public shame. The only thing that Joseph can do to save Mary
from everything that can harm and dishonor her is to complete the second part
of their marriage process, which is accepting Mary into his home and adopting
Jesus as his own child. This is what the angel of the Lord asks him to do.
(2)
The angel of the Lord reveals to Joseph that the child in Mary’s womb is
conceived through the Holy Spirit (v. 20b), which means she did not commit
adultery. There are two possible interpretations of why Joseph is afraid to
spouse Mary: because either he suspects that Mary committed adultery (so he
does not believe in Mary that her pregnancy is from the Holy Spirit) or because
he is hesitant to get married to “a holy woman” which will result in him too
being set apart for the fulfillment of God’s saving plan for the world.[3]
(3)
Joseph is told to be the one who will name the son when he is born, and the
name is already revealed: Jesus (v. 21a). From Hebrew, “Josua,” and Greek,
“Iēsous,” the name is interpreted as “Yahweh is Salvation.”[4]
(4)
The angel foretells the mission of the Son to be born. As his name, Jesus,
means “salvation,” his mission is “to save his people from their sins.” (V.
21b). This means Jesus’ mission is not merely to save the people from hell but
to save them from sinning; he came to enable people to live holy lives.[5]
V.
24. Joseph abandons his plan of divorcing Mary and agrees to accept her into
his home as the angel of the Lord commanded him.
4.
Synthesis
Matthew’s
goal in telling this story is to let readers know that Jesus’ birth fulfills
the Old Testament’s prophecy. Mary’s pregnancy is claimed to be divine, but
Joseph does not know or does not believe. He decides to divorce Mary in secret
without exposing her to shame and death. Why? Because either he believes Mary
committed adultery and he does not want to be ridiculed by the people for
marrying an adulterous, or perhaps because he believes that Mary’s pregnancy is
from the Holy Spirit, consequently, he is hesitant to get married to “a holy
woman” which will result of him too being set apart for the fulfillment of
God’s saving plan for the world.
In
this confusion, the angel of the Lord gets involved through a dream. He
delivers four messages to Joseph. First, he asks him not to be afraid to accept
Mary as his wife. Second, he confirms that her pregnancy is divine. Third,
Joseph will be the one to name the Son to be born, and the name is already
given: Jesus, meaning “Yahweh saves.” Fourth, the angel of the Lord reveals the
mission of the Son, which is to save his people from sins. Joseph abandons his
plan to divorce Mary secretly; he agrees to take her into his home, as the
angel of the Lord had advised him.
B. Pastoral Implications
1. Liturgical Context
Today’s
liturgy prepares us to know what celebrating Christmas really means. At
Christmas, God will take our human flesh and come to “invade” our lives. By
“invasion,” I mean God plans to transform us, to lead us in his direction, and
to use us for his salvific plan of saving the world. Hence, celebrating
Christmas is an act of accepting God’s divine intervention. Are we ready to let
God invade us, as he did with Ahaz (first reading) and Joseph (Gospel)? Let us
imitate Joseph (Gospel) and Saint Paul (second reading).
2. What the Church Teach Us Today
Let
us first analyze our first reading to grasp what the Church teaches us today.
Isaiah encouraged Ahaz to remain steadfast in the face of the Assyrian threat,
which aimed to destroy the kingdom of Judah. Moreover, he suggests giving him a
miraculous sign to reinforce his faith (v. 11). Ahaz responds with false piety,
quoting Deuteronomy 6:16: “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!” (v. 12).
Note that Ahaz’s response is hypocritical because he is not faithful to God.
This justifies Isaiah’s reaction to him, “Is it not enough that you weary human
beings? Must you also weary my God?” (v. 13). Then, Isaiah announces that God
himself will give this sign to Ahaz: “The virgin shall conceive, and bear a
son, and shall name him Emmanuel” (v. 14).
The
fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy could be interpreted in light of the birth of
Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, who was born to the virgin mother Abijah, who may have
been betrothed to Ahaz at the time. Because the name “Emmanuel” means
“God-is-with-us,” Hezekiah could be the “Emmanuel” because he was a sign and
confirmation that God was still with the people of the kingdom of Judah and had
not abandoned them. However, Hezekiah fell short of being the “Emmanuel”
because, after his death, God’s people continued to look for a perfect
fulfillment of the Son of David, who would mediate God’s presence to them as
promised in Isaiah. Therefore, the prophecy we heard in Isaiah 7:14 applies to
Jesus, the name the angel gave to Joseph and Mary in our Gospel passage. Therefore,
the “Emmanuel” that Isaiah prophesied is not Ezekiah but Jesus, as Matthew
explains in our Gospel.[6]
Matthew
quotes Isaiah’s prophecy, the passage we heard in our first reading, to teach
us that the Child who will be born on Christmas is the Messiah and Emmanuel
foretold by the Old Testament. Unlike Hezekiah, who was just a sign of
“Emmanuel” (the sign of God's presence among the people of Israel), as we heard
in our first reading, Jesus is “Emmanuel” in a much more profound sense; he is
not merely a sign of the presence of God, but he himself is God’s presence in
the flesh.
Thus,
on Christmas, (1) we celebrate the presence of God with us and among us. Since
the name Jesus means “Yahweh saves,” Jesus’ mission, as revealed by the angel
of the Lord, is to save us, his people, not merely from hell but also from
sinning. In other words, the Child Jesus comes to enable us to live holy lives.
So, on Christmas, (2) we celebrate our salvation and the beginning of our holy
lives. (3) On Christmas, we also celebrate our “yes” to God, allowing his Son
to “invade” our lives and transform us into “the other Jesus” to save our
brothers and sisters wherever we live. In our second reading, the Church calls
us to imitate Saint Paul, who allowed God to invade his entire life. He calls
himself “a slave of Christ Jesus.”
Before
all these things happen on Christmas, the liturgy of this fourth Sunday of
Advent exhorts us, like Joseph, to welcome the Blessed Mary, who holds our
salvation in her womb, into the “home” of our hearts and families. Devotion to
the Blessed Mother Mary brings us closer to her Son Jesus and makes us more
holy. Amen.
Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD
Pastor of Holy Family
Catholic Church, Jackson, MS &
SVD USS Biblical
Apostolate Coordinator
[1]
NABRE, note to Mt 1:1–2:23.
[2]
John Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Reflection on the Sunday Mass Readings
for Year A (Steubenville, Ohio: Emmaus Road, 2022), 42.
[3]
John Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Reflection on the Sunday Mass Readings
for Year, 43.
[4]
Ian Boxall, “Matthew” in the Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First
Century. Third Fully Revised Edition, 1176.
[5]
John Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Reflection on the Sunday Mass Readings
for Year A, 42.
[6]
John Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Reflection on the Sunday Mass Readings
for Year A, 40.
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