‘An angel of the lord was manifest to him in a dream saying, “ Joseph son of David, may you not be afraid to companion Mary your wife…”’

Joseph is called to embrace Mary’s pregnancy as an act of the Holy Spirit – which means, among other things, to follow God by not following the law. That strikes me as a powerful statement of what it means to follow the living God that is actively at work in the world.

When looking for the hand of God:

When confronted with the horrors of the world we inhabit…

Confronting violence with further violence will perpetuate violence.

I know that: you do also.

There is such sadness.

There is such grief.

But there at the heart of the Bondi story is the moment, overlooked once the politics of blame reared its ugly head: and I’m yet to hear it reported.  That at the heart of this horror is the Samaritan.  The One least likely of all, who saved so many people.  I’ve not heard someone describe this in the media.  I have heard the words hero, and selfless, and brave. And all of them are true.  But I have not heard a better description: Good Samaritan.  The One least likely of all, who saved so many people.

There is such sadness.

There is such grief.

“May you not be afraid to companion Mary your wife, for the one having been begotten in her is out of a spirit of holiness;  Yet she will bear a son and you will call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.”

So, what does this Bible story do for us today in our context: and in the face of such circumstances where there is unspeakable sadness and a grief so deep?  

Be not afraid to follow God: the One who works in the least likely to bring salvation: 

Be not afraid to follow God: be the one close enough to their dreams to change your minds: 

Be not afraid to follow God: be the one close enough to their hearts to be the hands and feet of Christ in the every day.