My Dear People,
We read just before Christmas that familiar story of St. Joseph: his problem, his decision, and his dream that turned his world upside down.
Scholars remain perplexed by St. Luke’s text. They find it next to impossible to know what really happened. May I suggest one possible way of looking at it?
It may well be that Joseph was tapping into his unconscious, that border-place where God and man meet. He was in the twilight state between sleeping and waking: that state in which the deep fears, and the deep hopes, and the deep feelings jostle and jockey for position.
It was there that the Angel approached him, touched him, and told him what to do about Mary. His admirable response was instant obedience: no more dilemma, no more decision, just prompt obedience.
May I suggest a way of re-living the Joseph experience in this Christmas season? Get up an hour early, and go immediately go to the liturgical readings of the day. Read them slowly, once, twice, a third time. Do not struggle to decipher their meaning, just absorb the words. You are in the twilight state between sleeping and waking. Let the words you read sink into that creative swirl. Let them rest there a while, and a while-and-a-half.
Then take up your pen and begin to write about the first reading. Write whatever comes into your mind. Write quickly. Write automatically. Do the words trouble you? Write it down. Do the words charm you? Write it down. Do the words inspire you? Write it down. Write it all down.
Then take up your pen and begin to write about the Gospel. Write whatever your unconscious gives you. Write whatever comes into your mind. Can you see the Gospel scene? Write it down. Can you hear the Gospel word? Write it down. Does the Gospel touch off fears, and wonders, and hopes? Write them all down without thinking.
Do you not see that you are doing what Joseph did? You are allowing the sleeping unconscious to emerge in your waking life. You are inviting the Angel to approach you, to touch you, and to tell you what to do. We can refuse to do what we are told, we can sin, of course. But the only real answer is Joseph’s answer: instant obedience.
Repeat this exercise on each day of the Christmas season, and you will find your prayer life recharged and rejuvenated. May Joseph the Dreamer fill your twilight time, and call down the Angel to touch you.
Bishop of Dodge City