If respect and reverence were afforded the Christ before he was even born, how much more should he be received with respect and reverence today! For his body is no longer humbled, and his majesty is no longer concealed; but he is glorified and lives in heavenly glory! Will you not stand in awe of the one who on Christmas became like you? Will you not revere him who is God’s handiwork, and who therefore—as God’s handiwork—displayed in living colour the image of his Father in the midst of a corrupt and dying world, for our salvation? If Joseph had such respect, such reverence for the sinless, developing Christ in utero, let our respect, our reverence for the sinless, fully vindicated Christ in gloria be all the more!
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,