What are we supposed to do during Advent? One thing we are called to do is to listen. In today's Gospel reading, Joseph does just that. Joseph is confronted with the puzzling reality of a pregnant fiancé. Most of us would probably think of a variety of ways we might respond to this situation. Joseph chooses to listen.

My seven-year-old son learned a new riddle last week. "What did the plus sign say to the minus sign?" he asked. "You're so negative" is the answer. That pretty much describes me. I tend to plan for the worst and hope for the best. When faced with a situation like the one Joseph found himself in, I would most likely assume the worst, and start acting on that assumption without asking very many questions, and without listening to alternative explanations. Joseph doesn't assume the worst. Or if does, he doesn't act on that assumption. Joseph keeps an open mind, and he is able to hear the voice of God.

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home," the Spirit tells him. "For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." The redemption of the world by God was enabled, in part, because ordinary people listened to God and responded to what they heard.

The same is true for us, of course. We might be tempted to think that it was somehow easier to hear and respond to God in ancient times. After all, those folks lived in a more religious culture, and didn't fight the constant secularization of society. Yet Israel had been overrun by a pagan nation - Rome -- that was imposing its own values on that society. And even in the most religious culture, a pregnant bride to be would not be a welcome event.

In most relationships, we have many opportunities to assume the worst about one another. The holiday season seems to offer an abundance of opportunities. Yet we are called not to jump to conclusions but to look and listen for the presence of God. It is hard to do. There are so many other voices and demands this time of year. But this is the time of year we are to be especially prepared for the arrival of God in our world.

If Joseph can hear and respond to God in the midst of what had to feel like a massive personal crisis, you and I can listen to and respond to God in the smaller crises we all face. All that is happening in our lives is not necessarily what it seems. A pregnant finance is not a betrayal. A star in the sky is not a mere astronomical phenomenon. A wandering family with no home and no place to stay are not vagrants. Like Joseph, we are told not to be afraid. If we assume we know all there is to know about the situations that we experience, we may miss the saving power of God.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.