Do it Afraid Anyway!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Beloved in Christ, today is the Fourth and last Sunday of Advent. In today’s Gospel (Mt. 1:18-24), Matthew begins the story of Jesus’ birth by telling of Mary’s betrothal to Joseph. It is important to point out that the Jewish custom of betrothal is not the same as today’s understanding of betrothal or engagement. In the marriage customs at that time, Mary and Joseph had only completed the first stage of marriage, and were considered husband and wife, although not yet living together. Often due to the youthfulness of the woman, she will remain with her parents at home until the public ceremony took place. As someone from the Igbo tribe of Nigeria, I can relate to this marriage custom. Marriage in my tribe has similar structure. The first stage is the inquiry stage. Here the man visits the girl’s parents and community, and asks for her hand in marriage, from her parents, as well as her community. Even if the woman and the man had previously agreed to get married, the man must visit the woman’s family and formally ask her parents, as well as her kindred, to allow him to marry their daughter. It is not enough for the woman to inform her parents about her intention to marry her sweetheart. Marriage is a communal thing in Igboland, and in indeed in many African communities. After the first stage, it is generally believed that they are married, but the woman will not move in to live with the man until the traditional marriage (public ceremony), which is the second stage is done and completed. So, the marriage rites among the Igbos of Nigeria are very similar to that of the Ancient Jews. 

Now, Joseph had only performed the first stage of the marriage rite when he discovered that Mary was pregnant but not by him. As an upright man, a man who loved God and respected women, he decided to take the quietest and most merciful path— to divorce her quietly. Why quietly? According to the law, Mary was guilty of adultery and was therefore subject to stoning. So, Joseph did not want to make a public ridicule of Mary. He did not want to expose her to shame, disgrace and by law, death by stoning. However, before he could carry out his plan, God intervened and saved the situation. Through an angel, God said to Joseph, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Upon waking up, he did as the angel had asked him to do. He completely obeyed! He put aside his own plan and made God’s plan his own plan. Although the child wasn’t Joseph’s biological son, God still asked Joseph to be the one to name him. By doing so, Joseph accepted the baby Jesus as his legal offspring. 

Friends, we are blessed, delivered and redeemed primarily because of God’s love and compassion. God is the initiator of the plan to save humanity. God started it all, but God also needed human instruments to bring about his plan. When God approached Mary, she allowed God’s love to become enfleshed for the transformation of the world. When God reached out to Joseph, he forfeited his own plan, made God’s plan his only plan, and became the human father of Jesus. Because Jospeh and Mary cooperated with God, a new era of grace upon grace, deliverance and salvation was born. Because Jospeh acted according to God’s plan, the Blessed Mother Mary gave birth to Jesus— God is our salvation. Because Joseph didn’t allow his fears to prevent him from accepting God’s will and plan for him, Mary gave birth to Emmanuel— God with us.

What is God asking us to do that we are afraid of doing? Are you afraid of losing something (freedom) or someone ( a friend) if you accept the metanoia message? Do you think life won’t be fun anymore if you surrender totally to Jesus and become a firebrand instrument of his? Are you afraid of losing power, wealth, pleasure and honor if you start living the good news life? By the way, power, wealth, pleasure and honor, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, are people’s substitutes for God. None or a combination of them can truly satisfy us. It was the great St. Augustine who once said, “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Everybody in the world is wired for God. Why? Because no matter how much truth science delivers to us, we are hungry for more. No matter how much truth philosophy opens us to, we are still unsatisfied. No matter how much good we achieve doing acts of love and justice, we are still not at rest. No matter how much beauty we experience, how much power we have, how much wealth we acquire, the extreme pleasure we enjoy, and how much we are highly honored, we still have a sense of emptiness. We want more. I am here to tell us that the more that your heart truly seeks is God. If God is asking you to do something you are afraid of doing, I urge you to do it afraid anyway. Mary and Joseph may have surrendered to God’s will unsure and fearful of the outcome, but still  yielded to God’s way. Their YES is part of the reason we are here today. Your own Yes can unlock the gate of heaven for someone else as well.