NOTES for Mat 1:18-25
Matthew, recounting the Annunciation, reveals to us this incomparable event through the person of Joseph, leaving Mary as if in the background. What moved the evangelist: only the patriarchal mindset characteristic of Israelites at that time, or was the less detailed account of Mary prompted by a delicacy that is hard for us to appreciate after many centuries of deserved glorification of the Mother of God? In any case, while giving thanks to the One who became the Mother of our Savior, let us not forget the one who was protector and provider: Joseph.
The account of the Annunciation lets us see that one can memorize the literal wording of an important text and still not understand its real meaning. For those who awaited the coming of a savior with the name Emmanuel, the sound of the name became more important than its meaning. Yet the meaning of the name Emmanuel, God with us, was revealed with the coming of the One whose name sounded different. Here we see one example of how, by being immoderately concerned with observing the form, one can miss the essence. This, however, does not cancel the importance of properly observing the form.