SPEAKER_00: Years ago in a Catholic school it was time to cast their annual Christmas play.
SPEAKER_00: And there was one kid who everyone was worried about, Wally.
SPEAKER_00: Sweet kid, shy, awkward, the kind of kid who always stood on the edge of the group.
SPEAKER_00: The teacher stared at the list and the roles and thought to herself, Well, what do I do with Wally?
SPEAKER_00: She finally decided to make him the innkeeper.
SPEAKER_00: It seems safe enough.
SPEAKER_00: One line, no speeches.
SPEAKER_00: All he has to do is open the door, shake his head, and say, sorry, we have no room.
SPEAKER_00: When Wally found out he had an important role, his face lit up like Christmas morning.
SPEAKER_00: He practiced his line for days, and then came his moment.
SPEAKER_00: Everything was going smoothly.
SPEAKER_00: Mary and Joseph made their way across the stage.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph knocked on the door and Wally opened it, took a breath, added his line perfectly.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, we have no room.
SPEAKER_00: Now, unfortunately, the boy playing Joseph was very confident, and maybe he was too confident, and instead of following the script, he decided to add lib a little.
SPEAKER_00: And instead of walking away, he was improvising.
SPEAKER_00: He says, But sir, my wife is about to have her baby.
SPEAKER_00: Surely you can find us a place.
SPEAKER_00: Wally froze.
SPEAKER_00: This was not in the script, it was not practiced.
SPEAKER_00: His face turned pale, and after a long pause he shook his head again and repeated, I'm sorry, we have no room.
SPEAKER_00: But Joseph pressed on.
SPEAKER_00: But what do you mean we've traveled so far?
SPEAKER_00: My wife is exhausted.
SPEAKER_00: Please do something about it.
SPEAKER_00: Any place at all?
SPEAKER_00: Wallie's eyes filled with tears, his voice trembling.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph and Mary began to walk away.
SPEAKER_00: And then, forgetting the script entirely, being wrapped up in the moment, Wally blurted out loud enough for the whole church to hear.
SPEAKER_00: Wait, wait, wait, come back.
SPEAKER_00: You can have my room.
SPEAKER_00: The audience laughed, then fell completely silent like you just did, because in that unscripted moment, Wally preached the Christmas gospel better than anyone on that stage.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to keep that in mind while we turn our attention to Saint Joseph.
SPEAKER_00: He steps into the light on this fourth Sunday of Advent, not with words, not with speeches, not with explanations, but with a decision.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph is one of the most fascinating figures in all of Scripture, precisely because he says nothing, and yet he does everything.
SPEAKER_00: If the gospel were honest about noise, Joseph would be easy to miss.
SPEAKER_00: But if the gospel is honest about holiness, Joseph becomes impossible to ignore.
SPEAKER_00: Scripture tells us only a few times about him.
SPEAKER_00: He was a carpenter, he was engaged to Mary, and today we hear that line that defines his entire life.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph was a righteous man.
SPEAKER_00: That word, righteous, that word does not mean pious in a shallow way.
SPEAKER_00: Does not mean naive or passive.
SPEAKER_00: In the Bible, a righteous man is someone who orders his life around God's will, and even when it costs him something.
SPEAKER_00: And make no mistake, this moment was devastating for Joseph.
SPEAKER_00: Mary is pregnant.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph knows the child is not his.
SPEAKER_00: And the law gives him some options.
SPEAKER_00: He could expose her publicly, he could protect his reputation.
SPEAKER_00: He could walk away in bitterness and self-justification.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, Scripture tells us something extraordinary.
SPEAKER_00: He decides to divorce her quietly.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, Joseph chooses mercy before he understands the miracle.
SPEAKER_00: He chooses love before there's clarity.
SPEAKER_00: He chooses righteousness before he has all the answers.
SPEAKER_00: And that's where Saint Joseph becomes relevant for all of us.
SPEAKER_00: Because Joseph shows us something most of us resist with every fiber of our being.
SPEAKER_00: Holiness is not control, holiness is surrender.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph's greatness is not that he understands God's plan, it's that he trusts God enough to obey it without understanding it.
SPEAKER_00: The angel does not give Joseph a roadmap.
SPEAKER_00: The angel does not explain how people will react.
SPEAKER_00: The angel does not promise things will get easier.
SPEAKER_00: No, the only thing that the angel says is, do not be afraid.
SPEAKER_00: And Joseph obeys.
SPEAKER_00: That obedience cost him everything.
SPEAKER_00: Modern people cling to predictability, reputation, control of the narrative.
SPEAKER_00: From this moment on, Joseph's life is one long act of trust.
SPEAKER_00: He will take Mary into his home.
SPEAKER_00: He will raise a child who is not biologically his.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.