Why did the angel wait to tell Joseph?; Angels: Day 174

St. John Chrysostom  answers an obvious question: why  didn’t the angel tell Joseph about the coming birth of Jesus at the same time he told Mary? In his explanation,  he points out the value of  discretion, not just truth, in choosing what we say and when we say it.

It’s worth asking why the angel didn’t speak sooner, before the husband had such thoughts, but came when he thought about it, and not until then—for it is said, “as he considered this,” the angel comes (Matt. 1:20). And yet to her he declared the good tidings even before she conceived. Here’s another difficulty; for even though the angel had not spoken, why was the Virgin silent, who had been informed by the angel; and why, when she saw her betrothed husband in trouble, did she not put an end to his perplexity?

Well, then—for we must explain the first difficulty first—why didn’t the angel speak before Joseph became troubled? What was the reason? It was so that Joseph wouldn’t be unbelieving, and the same happen to him that happened to Zechariah (Luke 1:18-20). For when the thing was visible, belief was easy from then on; but when it had not yet begun, it was not as easy to receive the angel’s saying.

This is why the angel didn’t speak at the first, and for the same reason the Virgin too held her peace. She didn’t think her betrothed husband would believe her when she told him something no one had ever heard of before. She was afraid she’d provoke him even more, as though she were concealing a sin she had com- mitted. After all, if she herself, who was to receive so great a favor, reacted more or less like an ordinary human being, and said, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” (Luke 1:34), he would have doubted much more—and especially when hearing it from the woman who was under suspicion.

That’s why the Virgin says nothing to him, but the angel presents himself to him when the time is right. –St. John Chrysostom, Homily 4 on Matthew,  8

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .

Angels never err in discretion because they are always attentive to God. How can I make sure I am attentive to God during all of my human interactions?

CLOSING PRAYER

Holy angels, my world is so big and I have no attention for it. Help me to have a mind that is always  attentive to divine things, even when I am busy in the earthly work that needs to be done.

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