With Joseph, being attentive to God’s will in our lives

The second Sunday of Advent invites us to be converted, to adjust our lives to what God wants from us.

When we look at the life of Joseph in the Gospels, there is a first thing we can observe: Joseph leaves the field open to God’s action in his life, even if it upsets his plans. Joseph acts by allowing himself to be guided by the Spirit of the Lord of which Isaiah speaks in the first reading of this Sunday: a spirit of wisdom and discernment, a spirit of counsel and strength.

Joseph is the one who welcomes Jesus, who listens to Mary. Joseph is also the one who remains attentive to the Spirit. God speaks to him through dreams. Joseph understands what the Lord wants and obeys him with confidence. He is an upright and just man, “tuned, adjusted to God”; he has the faith of Abraham. Joseph listens to what God wants from him and does it. Whereas we often do something and then sometimes ask the Holy Spirit if it is right… We don’t always have the reflex to say: what does the Lord want me to do? Joseph gives us the example. He let himself be guided by the Spirit of the Lord. To people who asked Brother André to advise them on the choice of a state of life, or on how to behave in certain difficult circumstances, he answered them to pray to the Holy Spirit.

There is another thing we can observe: when Joseph agreed to take Mary and the child she was carrying into his home, this greatly upset his plans. Thanks to his faith, he was able to discern God’s will and to deal with this new reality by making himself available to God’s plan. Joseph’s courage and generosity are there to inspire us. We are often very generous: we want to give everything to God, to do everything for God; and we are right. And at the same time, sometimes, in our “generosity”, we make so many plans for God, that God has no more room to act!

Joseph, will we know how to convert ourselves and like you learn to discover and listen to what the Spirit is saying in us? Teach us to leave the field open for God’s action in our lives.