#AdventWord #Message

When Joseph obeyed the angel’s message, “go, take Mary who is with child as your wife,” the Holy Family came into being–Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Too often we overlook Joseph who was given a vocation and accepted it. Who else do we overlook, seeing them as “minor players?” The message of Advent is clear, there are no people who should be overlooked or marginalized. Our vocation as Christians calls us to see the Babe of Bethlehem in each and every person. That is the message of Advent.

The Rev. James Barney Hawkins IV, Ph.D., Co-Director, Bicentennial Campaign and Arthur Carl Lichtenberger Professor Emeritus of Pastoral Theology.

The Copper Nativity at Chester Cathedral