A young woman gets pregnant before her wedding day. The father of the child wants to send her away. An angel appears out of nowhere and tells the father that although the story seems to be heading in a difficult direction, he should marry her. It reads like a daytime soap opera, yet it is in Matthew’s Gospel. The father, Joseph, must choose - does he risk his entire reputation just on someone else’s hope? On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we will all come close to this story and ask ourselves, is hope worth the risk?
