Mary Said Yes. Joseph Said Yes. Now It’s Our Turn
Fourth Sunday of Advent – December 21, 2025
The last Sunday of Advent focuses on Mary, waiting for Jesus to be born. The First Reading is difficult to relate to without the context: set in 736BC, King Ahaz of Judah wanted an alliance with neighbouring armies rather than trusting in God (this when Babylon was rising to power).
Isaiah warns King Ahaz that any alliance will be fatal and that it’s better to trust in God. Although Isaiah offers the opportunity for a sign, Ahaz refuses: it’s like, he’s afraid to trust God. The sign is that ‘a girl is with child and will bear a son’: the meaning is that within a few months the threat will vanish and Jerusalem will know that God is with them.
The symbolic name of Emmanuel becomes the promise of God-with-us in the world. And this is supported by St Paul in the Second Reading where the two natures of Christ are emphasised: human and divine: God made flesh, but still divine. The Gospel focus is on Mary and Joseph as the great cooperators with God: Mary as mother, and Joseph as the adoptive father.
Joseph receives the Holy Spirit as a Jewish man, not as a Christian. “According to the Jewish idea, the Holy Spirit was the person who brought God’s truth to men; who taught the prophets what to say; who taught men of God what to do.” [William Barclay, 1975]
The emphasis on Joseph being the “father” was to ensure that Jesus became part of David’s line through adoption: the lineage is maintained, without inheriting the sins of King David, and those who followed him, through the blood line.
The Gospel focuses on the action of the Holy Spirit, not Mary’s virginity. What is important is that Jesus is the Word brought by the Holy Spirit, and not a human being: thereby stressing the Divinity of Jesus, while Mary, receiving Jesus in her womb, confirms His humanity.
Until the 1850’s, science always taught that children come from the man as fully formed miniature beings, and that the woman was simply a fertile field which receives the fully formed miniature human being, allowing it to grow into a baby before birth.
Now that science has proven the 50% contribution of a woman in the creation and development of a child, it enhances the full humanity of Jesus; strengthening the Church’s teaching about our closeness to God: in good times and in bad: when we are good and when we are not so good! So, what’s the deeper message for us today? Here are just three:
1) the worry and threats you face today will not last for long: remain faithful to God;
2) in the face of danger, the image of a pregnant woman brings to mind the cooperation between God and the parents to create new life: and through new life the crisis is overcome.
3) We rightly say that Advent is about waiting for God, but have you ever thought that God is waiting for us? For us to say YES, as a mother, and YES, to adopting a “son” or “daughter”.
I’ve been saddened this last week to hear that a fine young man died: he finished at a Children’s home some years back, had a good job, but gave up his HIV medicine and died after 12 months.
It was shared with me that, for orphans with no extended family, they feel a great sense of aloneness: there is nobody they belong to and nobody to back them up: so they give up.
Someone told me of a lovely 7 year old boy somewhere, whom the dad has rejected: the dad is not HIV+ so the boy inherited it from his mother. She’s now deceased. Is it a sign from God that his name is actually Emmanuel? Who will say YES, I will accept him as my son? Who will say YES, I will nurture him like a mother?
Thank God for the Children’s Home all over the world where, every day, religious, staff, benefactors and supporters all say YES to be a father and mother to so many children in need. If we cannot do so personally, can we support those who are able to say YES?
Whether in developed or developing countries, many young people need a ‘father’ to adopt them and a ‘mother’ to nurture them. The reason we celebrate Christmas every year is not only to remind ourselves that God is with us, but it should call us to be Mary and Joseph, today, for the young people of our communities: how many children feel abandoned or alone?
Today we are encouraged to imitate God: to be creative in bringing new life for our community and ourselves. What does that mean? Here are some examples: 1) Be a mentor to a child in a single parent family; be a mentor to children in situations of domestic violence.
2) Develop new ideas that help the community to reduce labour, increase food production, or reduce sickness. 3) Become a leader in support groups for the elders, youth or children, to give them a place of belonging, with space to make contributions.
This 4th Sun of Advent opens our eyes to know that the time to act has arrived: for every older person to become Mary or Joseph to the vulnerable people in our communities.
By Gerard Conlan, OMI
