Scripture Reflection - December 21, 2025

Fourth Sunday of Advent

First Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14

Second Reading: Romans 1:1-7

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24

The quote “the better angels of our nature” comes from Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address in 1861.  In this phrase, he appeals to people to respond to divisions with sympathy and cooperation rather than fear or anger.  Better angels suggests that not all angels are created equal.

With this in mind, we find a troubled man named Joseph faced with a critical decision, one that will determine how the birth of Jesus comes about and how God’s only begotten Son is raised amid the challenging circumstances that shape life in the village of Nazareth.

Let us slow down and consider Joseph’s state of mind as he drifted into sleep. The passage tells us that Joseph had made the decision to divorce Mary quietly.  What we may not realize is that he and Mary were officially betrothed and regarded as husband and wife. Thus, the angel refers to Mary not as fiancée, but as wife.

Joseph goes to sleep and has the mother of all dreams! An angel of the Lord, perhaps a better angel, tells him to change his mind: “Take Mary into your home.” It is the Holy Spirit, not Joseph, that caused her pregnancy. “You will name him Jesus, and he will save his people from their sins.” In this moment, the dream becomes reality, and Joseph awakens fully aware of the command he received.

Think of yourself as the dreamer. Do you even remember your dreams?  What prompts them? Could they be meant to bring about change in your life, as they did in Joseph’s?

Harvard researcher Deidre Barrett, in her work The Committee of Sleep, notes that your final hours of sleep are the most important for dreaming, and that people tend to remember the last dream of the night.  There is a connection between dreams and memory.

Some say they do not remember their dreams. What would have happened if Joseph had never remembered his?

There is so much on our minds, so much to learn, and scripture - read in light of today’s understanding - invites the Holy Spirit to enter into our lives, if only we slow down and pay attention to what is happening, even while we sleep.

It is a familiar passage, one among many in a Bible full of stories.  What have you been missing?

Sr. Dorothy Maxwell, OP