Advent Reader: Expect the Unexpected

Matthew 1:18-25

This passage begins with disruption. Joseph’s life is upended when he learns that Mary is pregnant. He intends to end the betrothal quietly, but God interrupts this plan. The angel tells Joseph that through the Holy Spirit, God was doing something entirely new, which cannot be explained by human reasoning. Joseph must simply trust, the angel does not give him God’s whole plan up front!

The angel’s words do explain the mission of this child: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The problem at the centre of the human condition is not political, psychological, or social - it is sin. And God’s answer was neither advice nor a set of rules (they only served to illustrate our hopelessness all the more). Instead, God’s plan was a person. Jesus comes not just to teach or to inspire as many might regard Him today, but He comes to save.

Joseph’s story shows that real faith often begins when our plans collapse. God’s grace enters our lives not when we have everything sorted, but when we are confused and afraid. Like Joseph, we are called to trust that the God who comes near in Jesus is working out something far greater than we can see.