4th Sunday of Lent
Sunday, March 19 2023

First Reading:  Isaiah 7:10-14
Psalm # 24 R: May the Lord come in, He is King of glory
Second Reading:  Romans 1:1-17
Gospel Acclamation Verse: The virgin shall be with child and bear a son;
and they shall name him Emmanuel: God is with us.
Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24
Theme:  God chose a family for Jesus

Commentary by Jane Prini

Have you heard the story of your birth? Do you have details of the kind of day or night it was, the hour you were born and who your parents first told that you had arrived? I know our sons still like to hear their birth story even now that they are fathers themselves. 

In Matthew’s telling of the birth of Jesus, we learn that the Word truly dwelt among us, that he was part of a long family line of both good and bad characters,(1:1-17) and in a few short sentences, we learn a little bit about Mary and Jospeh; the couple God chose to be parents for Jesus. The focus is on Jospeh, a righteous man from the house of David. We meet Mary, who is pregnant before she and Joseph are married, and we learn what Joseph decides to do. God has a better plan. He sends an angel to appear to Joseph in a dream. This angel calls him, “Joseph, son of David”, showing us that it is through Joseph that Jesus will be from the house and ancestry of King David. Then the angel tells him that ‘she shall bring forth a son. You shall call his name, Jesus, for it is he who will save his people from their sins’. (Verse 21a) Mary is to give birth to Jesus and Joseph is to name him. All Joseph is told is that this child will ‘save his people from their sins.’

Joseph is called righteous because he chose to obey God rather than observe a law requiring him to divorce Mary. He would rather be looked down on by his community, than put Mary and her child in danger. The scriptures never mention any words of Joseph, only his actions. Joseph trusts God, even when he has no idea what will happen or understands how everything will turn out. He paid attention to his dreams more than once, saving both Mary and Jesus’ life. (See Matt.2:13-23)

Sometimes you and I may find ourselves in a situation where we don't know what to do. Like Joseph, we might ask ourselves, "What do I do now?" If we listen, God will tell us what to do. He probably won't speak to us through an angel, but he will speak to us through His Word in the Bible! It is up to us to listen and obey. We know that God’s plan is always the better plan. We can choose to trust that God always takes care of us, and we can obey him. 

Prayer for Families: Heavenly Father, we are filled with joy by the many lessons we learn when we accept Jesus as God’s Son. Help us read Your WORD and listen as you give us the answers to life’s difficult questions. We pray this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever, AMEN.

CLICK,  MUCH,MUCH, MORE FOR FAMILY RESOURCES, Colouring Page, Cross Word Puzzle and Word Search
 

CLICK HERE, THERE IS MUCH, MUCH MORE FOR FAMIY RESOURCES