The simple story of the prelude to Jesus’ birth told in Matthew 1 puts the emphasis on Mary and Joseph, and especially Joseph.

This is a simple story of a man who had a huge dilemma, and how God sent an angel to speak to him in a dream, calming his fears and making his path forward clear to him.

That’s what God does. He calms our fears, if we let him. If we don’t insist on drowning him out with hand-wringing and doomsday-ing, we will hear God speak to our spirit and lead us forward. Not usually in a dream, although that is entirely possible, but somehow – through a person, a song, a thought, a memory, a prayer – God will get through the clutter and we will recognize his small, still voice, if we are open to it.

Today, as we reflect on our need for God – manifested in his Son, Jesus – we often look at the chaos all around and ask, where are You? The responsorial psalm talks about justice flourishing and the fullness of peace forever, and we are tempted to cry out: Justice? Peace? Today, in this crazy world?

But if we look at Joseph, we can see that we CAN trust God. That he WILL be there. That he is at work all around us; quietly, but steadily. And we can let go of our worries and thank God that all is well. Indeed, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”