Gospel for December 21 2025 – Luke 1:26-38
Gospel Reflections for December 21 2025
Mary is in trouble…
The Gospel affirms she is seriously close to losing her life. She knows it …and Joseph does too.
Archaeologists affirm that in the ancient world the most important thing of all was the public honor and prosperity of your family. You ensured your family would have both …by passing on your family assets to your own children. However, you also had to ensure that everyone knew the origin of every child. No one wanted to pass on the family farm to someone else’s kid! That would be a fatal family dishonor.
The penalty for any woman with a child of uncertain origin could be death. That is how important this issue was. As Mary is approaching the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Mary is facing death, which would have brought everything, and your salvation, to a halt! She is in serious trouble!
The Angel Gabriel made it clear to Mary how her child would conceive, and the Angel in today’s Gospel assured Joseph that all was well, but no one in their hometown of Nazareth, or their relatives in Bethlehem had this knowledge. For all they knew, this was a child of unknown origin, the worst shame for any family at that time.
This is where the honorable character of Joseph came to the rescue. Most likely, and the Church allows this possibility, Joseph might have been married before, had several children, but became a widower. Now he is an older and much respected person in Nazareth. It was his honorable character that enabled him to hold off harm to Mary. He found the courage to do so because of the Angel’s message.
That message also reveals that both the actions of God and your own character count! The Christmas events that we too often take for granted only happened by the actions of both the Holy Spirit and honorable people like Joseph and Mary.
Christmas will happen in your life today with that same cooperation. God will do His part, and you must do yours.
Advent is a thoughtful time every year to reflect on your own character and openness to the Holy Spirit acting within you. Where can you show that courage and openness to the Holy Spirit now?
Your behavior just might make a new Christmas birth of Jesus happen in your life today!
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
The Jewish People were under the control of a foreign Country in those days and living was not easy. Herod was fearful that He would lose his position to a new King and would kill to protect the position he held.
A new Kingdom was being proclaimed and he was concerned. Thus creating a dangerous time for Jesus to be born.
John was telling all that a new Kingdom was coming and that created fear of losing that position. Wow! What a time for a savior to appear! Fortunately He did and we are the better for it. Let us give Thanks and Praise for this Birth and the courage of Mary and Joseph and the support they received.. Merry Christmas to All .
Merry Christmas and a New Year of blessings.
I wish the same for you as well!
All the people connected to the coming of Jesus were incredibly brave!
The Christmas rush is on, making sure all we wanted to give to are taken care of!
We pick and choose who gets what. Some get better gifts than others.
Of all the gifts given at Christmas God’s gift is still the greatest ever given and the greatest
our hearts will ever receive.
Merry Christmas and a new year of blessings!
Yes, never lose sight of the reason for the season!
Our precious Faith is so beautiful!!It would be so lovely to give our loving Jesus a precious gift of loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee OUR HEARTS for our Jesus to live forever in our hearts!! And we share His love with others and make our world soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo beautiful!! MERRY CHRISTMAS OUR LOVING JESUS!! WE GIVE YOU OUR HEARTS AND WE LIVE IN YOUR LOVEEEEEEEEEEEE FOREVER AND SHARE IT WITH EVERYONE!!!
Merry. Christmas and a year of blessings!
Thank you!
Dear Father Dave,
Thank you, once again, for this reflection.’
Courage in the face of death is an overarching giant of strength. Would that we demonstrate the same beauty of faith in our daily lives.
May the baby Jesus shower His holiness on you at Christmas and always.
Kathleen
Yes, a great prayer at this time.
Hi, Hope you had many blessings this Christmas.
I just thought I’d let you know I am re-reading your book Physics and Faith. Seems like as I grow in my faith I come back to questions to be answered in a deeper way. I am back to “Who is God”. Your book is speaking to me in a new way.
With gratitude, Joyce