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Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹ Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth ² before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! ³ Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

⁴ O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure.⁶ You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.

⁷ Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

^---17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. ¹⁸ Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.

¹⁹ Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Matthew 1:18-25

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

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.

Today’s readings are shaped by longing.

Psalm 80 is a communal cry from a people who feel forgotten and worn down by suffering.

Three times we hear the plea:“Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.”It is the prayer of people who believe God can save, but who are unsure when—or how—that saving will come.

Today’s readings pair this psalm with a gospel passage that has long been understood as an answer to that cry. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth draws deeply from Hebrew scripture. 

Embedded in Matthew’s text is a verse from the Prophet Isaiah:“Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son… Emmanuel—God is with us.”

But when we pause and look more closely, Isaiah’s original Hebrew text does not say virgin. It says ‘almah—a young woman, married or unmarried. When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek, ‘almah became parthenos, or virgin. That translation shaped how Matthew—and later Luke—told the story of Jesus’ conception.

Of our four canonical gospels, only Matthew and Luke include a virgin birth narrative. Mark, the earliest gospel, begins with Jesus as an adult. John offers a cosmic vision: “In the beginning was the Word…” Each gospel proclaims truth, but in different ways, for different communities, facing different questions.

Matthew’s gospel was carefully shaped to show that Jesus stood within Israel’s story—fulfilling prophecy, embodying hope, lifting up the poor and marginalized. It mattered to Matthew that Jesus, who was executed as a criminal, be seen as God’s anointed one.

So we might ask:Is it essential for us to know exactly how Mary became pregnant?Is it essential to know who the father was?

Or is it more important to recognize that the Holy Spirit was at work in a world crying out for change; for restoration?

Matthew’s community was searching for a new explanation—a new way of seeing God at work amid suffering, occupation, and injustice. And that brings us to Joseph.

Joseph faces an impossible situation. He knows the law. He knows what society expects. And yet Matthew tells us that Joseph is righteous—not because he strictly enforces the law, but because he acts with compassion. He plans to dismiss Mary quietly, protecting her from shame and danger.

Only then does the angel appear.

Joseph’s story invites us to ask the same questions he must have asked:

• What does the law require of me?

• What does my heart tell me?

• What would Love do here?

• What if we treated one another the way Joseph treated Mary?

What if compassion guided us when situations are unexpected, unorthodox, or uncomfortable?

What if we showed compassion—to our partners, our families, strangers, and even ourselves—when circumstances carry shame, fear, or risk?

What if we listened for the angels among us—the quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit—and chose to interpret laws with mercy?

As Joseph did, we are invited to accept the unexpected as a sign that God is still at work—still restoring, still shining God’s face upon us.

Throughout the season of Advent, we have waited together to celebrate—again—the birth of Jesus. We have waited with hope, peace, and joy, preparing ourselves for love. And love comes not as certainty, but as vulnerability. Love comes to us as a child. God-with-us. Emmanuel. 

Like the psalmist, we are waiting for restoration. Like Matthew’s community, we are waiting for love to prevail. And like so many that have come before us, we are discovering that God is already here—working quietly and compassionately, doing something new among us, and through us. 

As we have learned from our “All Creation Waits” Children’s Messages the past four weeks, we can be assured that these dark times are not an end. They are a door. The way a new beginning comes. 

This is our prayer. This is what we are longing for.

“Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.”

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – December 21, 2025