“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 1:18, Authorized Version). So begins the story about Joseph, the guardian of our Lord.

Joseph is a man with a choice. He can either take Mary as his wife and provide for a child that is not his own, or dismiss her. He is leaning toward a dismissal, although without making charges of adultery. Then in a dream an angel tells him to take Mary as his wife because her child is of the Holy Spirit. Is his dilemma resolved? Of course not. If Joseph does what God asks him to do, he will look to the world like a fool for raising a child that isn’t his.

It’s a very peculiar situation that  everyone faces. If you do what God wants, you look like a fool. In the world’s view we are fools for wasting time in worship, for giving our hard earned money to the poor, for returning good for evil. And we are fools for believing that there is a God who loves us so much that he became flesh for our sake in the infant Jesus. But as Paul wrote: “For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:25).

Advent is a time to celebrate God’s foolishness. It’s a time for us to be fools not by eating and drinking and spending ourselves into oblivion, but by worshiping our Savior and spreading the Good News of his coming.

Read Matthew 1:18-25 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

Today’s Reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1%3A18-25&version=NRSV