Love That Listens in the Night

The fourth Sunday of Advent invites the church to reflect on love—not as sentimentality or romance, but as costly, faithful commitment shaped by God’s presence among us. Matthew 1:18–25 offers a profound picture of this kind of love through an unexpected lens: Joseph’s dream.

Joseph does not begin this story with certainty or joy. He begins with confusion, disappointment, and the slow ache of plans undone. Matthew tells us that Joseph is “a righteous man” (Matt. 1:19), meaning he is committed to living faithfully within God’s covenant. His decision to dismiss Mary quietly reveals a love already at work—one that refuses cruelty and seeks mercy, even at personal cost (Keener, 1999). This is not passive love; it is deliberate, restrained, and ethical.

Yet it is not the fullness of love God desires.

God speaks to Joseph not in public proclamation, but in a dream. Dreams in Scripture are often moments of divine interruption—times when God redirects human intentions toward deeper participation in God’s purposes. Matthew’s Gospel intentionally recalls the Old Testament Joseph, whose dreams also shaped the future of God’s people (Gen. 37–41). In doing so, Matthew signals that this birth is part of a much larger story of God’s redemptive love unfolding across generations (France, 2007).

The angel’s message reframes Joseph’s understanding of love itself. “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife,” the angel says, grounding the command not in emotion but in divine action (Matt. 1:20). The child is conceived by the Holy Spirit; this is God’s work, not human failure. Love, in this moment, becomes trust—trust that God is present even when circumstances defy explanation.

Joseph’s response is striking in its simplicity: “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him” (Matt. 1:24). There are no recorded words, only action. Joseph’s love is shown through obedience—through choosing relationship over reputation, faithfulness over fear, and God’s promise over social expectation.

This is Advent love at its most honest. It is love that risks misunderstanding. Love that bears inconvenience. Love that makes room for God’s future even when it disrupts our own.

Matthew deepens this vision of love by connecting Joseph’s obedience to Isaiah’s prophecy: “They shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us” (Matt. 1:23; Isa. 7:14). Joseph’s love becomes the human space in which divine love takes flesh. By welcoming Mary and naming the child Jesus, Joseph participates in God’s decision to dwell with humanity—not from a distance, but within the fragility of human life.

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas describes Joseph as a model of discipleship shaped by quiet faithfulness rather than heroic certainty. Joseph does not control the story; he consents to it. His love is expressed not through power, but through presence (Hauerwas, 2006). In Advent, this reminds the church that love is not something we generate on our own—it is something we receive and then live out in response to God’s initiative.

For the church today, Joseph’s dream challenges common assumptions about love. Advent love is not always loud or immediately joyful. Sometimes it is found in listening deeply, in changing course, in staying when it would be easier to walk away. It is love that trusts God’s word enough to act, even before everything makes sense.

As we approach Christmas, Joseph invites us to ask not only how God came into the world, but how love makes room for God to dwell among us still. In the quiet obedience of one man who listened in the night, we glimpse a love strong enough to carry the promise of Emmanuel—God with us.

Bibliography

France, R. T. The Gospel of Matthew. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007.

Hauerwas, Stanley. Matthew. Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006.

Keener, Craig S. A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.

The New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition Bible. National Council of Churches, 2021.