Love is … Silent? (Advent Week 4)
Matthew 1:18-25
18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 “Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Jesus.
The Gospel of Matthew presents a different version of the Christmas story than the one found in the Gospel of Luke.
This version in Matthew is… quieter.
It’s missing so many of the big, dramatic moments that we often think of as integral to the Christmas story.
There’s no Magnificat.
No angel choir.
No song.
Instead, Matthew gives us the Christmas story through Joseph.
And Joseph never says a word.
That silence matters, especially today, because throughout Advent this year in blog posts and emails, we have been discussing fear. How fear relates to us and how it influences our perception of God's presence with us.
In the first week, we listened to Zechariah, struck silent by fear and disbelief, as we learned that fear and longing share a common border. The next week, we watched John the Baptist sit in a prison cell, sending his followers to Jesus, discovering that a bruised faith is still faithful. Last week, we followed Mary as she ran toward Elizabeth, responding to fear not with certainty, but with joy.
Now we arrive at Joseph.
And Joseph responds to fear with love.
Not spoken love.
Not explained love.
Acted love.
Matthew tells us that Mary is pregnant, and Joseph knows exactly what that means. He knows what people will assume. He knows what shame can do in a small community.
So Joseph makes a plan.
A simple plan.
To dismiss her quietly.
To step away without making things worse.
This is not cruelty.
This is fear doing what fear often does.
Trying to reduce damage.
Trying to protect what little control remains.
And then God meets Joseph there.
Not with a public announcement.
Not with a spectacle.
But with a dream.
And with words we have heard again and again in this season of God’s incarnation.
Do not be afraid.
Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.
Do not be afraid to stay.
Do not be afraid to share the risk.
And when Joseph wakes up, the Gospel writer in Matthew tells us something striking.
Joseph does exactly what he is told.
No questions.
No recorded prayer.
No song.
He takes Mary as his wife.
He names the child.
He places his life alongside hers.
Love, in this story, is almost completely silent.
But it is not passive.
Joseph does not remove the danger.
Empire is still watching.
The road ahead will still be hard.
Fear does not magically disappear.
But Joseph chooses faithfulness anyway.
The Gospel of Matthew calls Joseph righteous. Not because he is perfect, but because he is faithful. Righteousness in scripture is not about moral superiority. It is about keeping covenant – even when it becomes costly.
Joseph keeps the covenant by staying.
By protecting.
By lending his body, his name, his future to someone more vulnerable than himself.
This is love that moves toward risk, rather than away from it.
And it prepares us to understand the identity that this Gospel works so hard to solidify for Jesus.
Emmanuel.
God with us.
Not God talking to us from a distance.
Not God explaining everything.
Not God fixing the world all at once.
But God choosing presence.
God choosing to stay.
Isaiah puts it this way:
“Don’t fear, because I am with you.
Don’t be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you.
I will surely help you.
I will hold you with my righteous strong hand.”
Notice what God does not promise.
God does not promise that nothing frightening will happen.
God promises presence.
Joseph lives that promise before Jesus ever speaks a word.
And that matters for us.
Because fear does not end at Christmas.
There are still people among us carrying something sacred and heavy.
A truth.
A calling.
A grief.
A hope.
Something that puts them at risk.
Joseph shows us that love does not need many words.
Love needs a body.
Love needs proximity.
Love needs someone willing to stand close enough to share the risk.
Love needs action.
And that is what we anticipate and remember at Christmas.
That God is with us.
That God came to us in the body of Jesus.
That God has always chosen proximity.
That God has always been willing to stand close and share the risk.
That God’s love is love in action.
So close.
So near.
So committed to us.
Active.
That God did not remain distant but came to us.
That God did not stay removed but became human.
Came to us.
Became one of us.
Became active in us.
Do not fear.
God is with us.
This is the meaning of the season.
God is already with us.
Now and always.
Amen.
Bibliography
Allen, Ronald J. “Commentary on Matthew 1:18–25.” Working Preacher. December 18, 2016.
https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-of-advent/commentary-on-matthew-118-25-5.
Lee, Boyung. “Commentary on Matthew 1:18–25; Isaiah 41:5–10.” In What Do You Fear? When You’re Afraid, Give Me Your Hand: Fourth Sunday of Advent Sermon Planning Guide. Sanctified Art, 2025.
United Methodist Discipleship Ministries. “Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A: Preaching Notes.” In An Advent Song of Ascents. Accessed December 2025.
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/an-advent-song-of-ascents/fourth-sunday-of-advent-year-a-lectionary-planning-notes/fourth-sunday-of-advent-year-a-preaching-notes.
