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Back in November, Well I don’t remember if it was the third or fourth time Today\u2019s gospel is like an overture. Recognizing those themes will not only help us The first theme in this overture from Matthew hits us immediately: Jesus\u2019 life begins in what seems to be a scandal. But what appears to be a scandal is revealed by the angel The word scandal comes from the Greek word \u201cskandalon,\u201d He will eat with tax collectors and sinners. These are all scandals, stumbling blocks. We have no need to fear stumbling blocks The second theme we hear in Matthew\u2019s opening overture We hear in the first reading from Isaiah a prophecy Later in Matthew\u2019s gospel we will read This theme reassures us that God keeps his promises. And that loving plan is revealed in the third theme we hear In Matthew\u2019s gospel This theme that shows up here in the overture to Matthew\u2019s gospel God is with us.<\/p>\n This is what we are about to celebrate at Christmas: As Christmas approaches, we need to move Because there is one more theme in the overture from Matthew\u2019s gospel, \u201cWhen Joseph awoke, This is our part of the overture, our theme to play.<\/p>\n It is time for us to awaken,
\nBrenda and I got to see our daughter Teresa perform
\nin Gonzaga Prep\u2019s production of The Sound of Music<\/em>.
\nI know some of you here are theater moms or dads,
\nand your kids have been in shows too,
\nshows like Ferris\u2019 The Addams Family<\/em>, Fiddler on the Roof<\/em>, or Shrek<\/em>.
\nOr maybe some of you are theater kids
\nand have seen your parents perform in Ham on Regal<\/em>.
\nSo you know how it is
\nthat you end up seeing the same show multiple times.
\nYou end up noticing things that you didn\u2019t see
\nthe first two or three or four times.<\/p>\n
\nI saw The Sound of Music<\/em>,
\nbut at one point I remember paying particular attention
\nto the overture that played at the beginning.
\nAnd I remember thinking how important the overture is to the whole show.
\nAn overture sets the tone
\nand gives you a hint of what you\u2019re going to be hearing later on.
\nSo for instance, in the overture to The Sound of Music
\nyou hear bits of \u201cDo-Re-Mi,\u201d \u201cMy Favorite Things,\u201d \u201cClimb Ev\u2019ry Mountain,\u201d
\nand of course, \u201cThe Sound of Music.\u201d
\nThe overture ties the entire show together
\nand prepares the audience for what\u2019s about to happen.<\/p>\n
\nand if we pay particular attention to it,
\nthen we can hear several themes
\nthat Matthew is going to come back to time and again.<\/p>\n
\nto prepare for entering more deeply into the mystery of Christmas,
\nbut it will also help us prepare for the coming year,
\nsince we\u2019ll be reading almost exclusively from the gospel of Matthew.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhen his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
\nbut before they lived together,
\nshe was found with child through the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMary was betrothed to Joseph\u2014
\nsolemnly promised to him in a contract
\nthat was just as binding as marriage;
\nthey\u2019re not yet living together as man and wife,
\nbut Mary becomes pregnant.<\/p>\n
\nto be the work of the Holy Spirit.
\nThis is a theme that is repeated throughout the gospel of Matthew,
\nthat what at first glance seems to be a scandal is really the work of God.<\/p>\n
\nwhich means \u201cstumbling block.\u201d
\nThroughout Jesus\u2019 ministry he will be a stumbling block
\nto those who meet him.<\/p>\n
\nHe will challenge the way Pharisees understand the law.
\nAnd finally there will be the great scandal of the cross:
\nThe Messiah will be handed over to the Roman authorities and be crucified.<\/p>\n
\nBut in every case,
\nwhat seems to be a scandal is revealed as the work of God.<\/p>\n
\nwhen it comes to following Jesus.
\nThis is what the angel tells Joseph: \u201cDo not be afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nis a melody that we will hear over and over again
\nas we read through his gospel in the coming year.
\nWhere the first theme is full of tension and conflict,
\nthe second theme is steady and comforting,
\nthe kind you can hum along with:
\n\u201cAll this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet.\u201d
\nMatthew\u2019s gospel tells us over and over
\nthat Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises.<\/p>\n
\nthat the virgin will conceive and bear a son.
\nAnd we see in today\u2019s gospel
\nthat Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise.<\/p>\n
\nthat Jesus is born in Bethlehem in fulfillment of the prophets<\/em>.
\nHe lives in Nazareth in fulfillment of the prophets<\/em>.
\nJohn the Baptist prepares his way in fulfillment of the prophets<\/em>.
\nJesus drives out demons and cures the sick,
\nhe speaks in parables, he enters Jerusalem on a donkey,
\nhe is betrayed by Judas, all in fulfillment of the prophets<\/em>.<\/p>\n
\nWe hear in Matthew\u2019s gospel over and over
\nthat all of this is part of God\u2019s loving plan.<\/p>\n
\nin this overture to Matthew\u2019s gospel:
\n\u201cThey shall name him Emmanuel.\u201d
\nThis is the joyful trumpet blast that declares
\n\u201cGod is with us.\u201d
\nThis is the theme that all of scripture has been trying to get through to us;
\nthis is the message that the prophets spoke of;
\nthis is the message John the Baptist prepared us for;
\nthis is the great theme of our lives:
\nthat God loves us so much he came down from heaven
\nand was born of the virgin Mary,
\nin order to be Emmanuel, \u201cGod with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nhe is \u201cGod with us\u201d when he calls the disciples,
\nwhen he preaches the Sermon on the Mount,
\nand when he feeds the five thousand.
\nHe is \u201cGod with us\u201d when he walks on water
\nand when he is transfigured.
\nAnd he is \u201cGod with us\u201d when he blesses the bread,
\ngives it to his disciples saying, \u201cTake and eat, this is my body,\u201d
\nand when he dies on the cross between two thieves.<\/p>\n
\nis also the theme that brings everything to a conclusion.
\nAt the very end of Matthew\u2019s gospel,
\nJesus is risen from the dead and stands with his disciples
\nat the top of a mountain.
\nAnd the final line of Matthew\u2019s gospel
\nexpresses that theme one last time when Jesus says,
\n\u201cBehold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nthat what seems like a scandal is really the working of the Holy Spirit;
\nthat Jesus is the fulfillment of a God who keeps his promises;
\nand that God\u2019s greatest promise
\nis that he is with us until the end of the age.<\/p>\n
\nfrom our place in the audience to the orchestra pit
\nwhere the musicians play.<\/p>\n
\nand that belongs to us.
\nWe might call it \u201cJoseph\u2019s Theme,\u201d and it goes like this:<\/p>\n
\nhe did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
\nand took his wife into his home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nto do as the Lord commands us,
\nand welcome Mary and her divine son into our homes.<\/p>\n