A young boy walking down the road saw a beautiful Ferrari in a parking lot. A car is the dream of most young boys. He immediately went to it, walked around it, and looked at it. After a while, the owner arrived at the car. “You like it, right?” he asked the boy. “Of course. It must have cost a lot of money,” the boy said. The owner said with a smile, “But why, I have a brother in America who is very well off there, he bought it for me.” The boy looked enviously at the shiny car and said, “If I had…” The owner pointed out, “You mean, if you had a brother in America, you would also have such a beautiful car?” The boy thoughtfully says, “No, no, not at all. But if I were such a brother in America, I would also give my brother such a supercar. You know, I have a brother who uses a wheelchair. If he had such a car, he could go wherever he wanted.” The owner of the car looked at the young man and said, “It’s lovely that you think like that. You can see that you have a good heart.” He got into the car and drove away. We are struck by the genuine goodness of the heart and the willingness to help those who do not have it, and therefore also the openness to actual human values that are directed towards God’s affairs. We can also see this in today’s Gospel.
Joseph was worried about how to handle the situation without hurting his fiancée, Mary. He must have had his head full. His worries were swirling around in his head. In a dream, he received a clear invitation: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Jesus… When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took his wife” (Mt 1:20-24).
He made this decision not for himself, but for the good of his fiancée and also for God’s work of salvation. God also speaks in a dream… through his works, but mainly through the language of goodness, care, and love.
There was a meeting of charismatic movements. The question was raised about which languages God speaks. Everyone claimed that the language of God was his own, because he had heard him speak in his native language. One of the participants said nothing, and therefore they asked him as well. He expressed himself as follows: “God does not speak—he is silent. His works speak for Him, he speaks in the heart, in the conscience, and most of all he speaks through the Holy Spirit.” This is how he spoke to Joseph.
Let us pray for such sensitivity to God’s promptings.
