Free & Fit Fourth Advent Reflection - Husserl Intentionality

Free & Fit Fourth Advent Reflection Husserl Intentionality

Final Project: Advent Sermon Reflections

As part of my research and reflection assignment project I am going to write three sermons, short homilies, based upon three of my personal reflections from class this past Fall. They will include the Holy Spirit prayer we pray at the start of class from Augustine, the intentionality and focus of Husserl through creating mental brackets and direct intentionality and then, finally, Hegel and his perspective on how all Art has meaning and that its original creator has a design and purpose for its existence

Final Project Sermon Two - Husserl Intentionality

Husserl defined intentionality as the “fundamental property of consciousness”. That one could focus on one thing at a time, without distraction or brackets as he would call them, and direct intentionality was “principle theme of phenomenology”.

Selected Lectionary Reading Fourth Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 7:10-16

7:10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying, 7:11 Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. 7:12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test. 7:13 Then Isaiah said: "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel. 7:15 He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 7:16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

Matthew 1:19-25

1:19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 1:20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 1:21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 1:22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:1:23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." 1:24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 1:25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Reflection by Tim Cheux

The faithfulness of Joseph in the build up to Jesus is often overlooked. A mere carpenter and humble local man in good standing he planned to cancel his engagement with Mary and to separate from her quietly so as not to draw attention to her or cause her public disgrace. However, when the angel of the Lord came to him, he was faithful to the end. In a dream in the middle of the night an angel came to him and said “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”

The angel identifies with David, Joseph as a Messianic Jew, in the bloodline of King David, and to fulfill the prophecy of our Old Testament reading today from Isaiah. The angel continued “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.” As a faithful servant to the Lord, to Mary and to all humanity Joseph kept his word, fulfilled his role as husband and Father and overcame what must have been some difficult conversations with family and friends. It would have been difficult to explain the conception of a baby born of the Holy Spirit and to convince other people that an Angel of the Lord came to him and that Mary remained a virgin. Quite impossible to explain and justify, even more difficult to live out and faithfully observe every day for nine months.

Perhaps it would have been even more difficult during this time and preparation for the Birth of a Child for Mother Mary. As the Mother she also would have faced difficult questions, insults and opposition to their relationship and the Birth of their child. Indeed, both Joseph and Mary would have both faced oppression, opposition and challenge about the new baby and its conception. As a result, Mary and Joseph as a couple would have had to unite, reconcile and stand firm in their faith to protect Jesus and provide a safe passage way for him to be born that night in a stable in Bethlehem; that we now celebrate every Christmas. So how would have Mary and Joseph been able to guard the baby, protect the innocent child and fulfill the Angels demands of them, especially Mary, whilst carrying an infant baby child conceived of the Holy Spirit. Husserl’s approach of intentionality, being able to focus on one such phenomenon as the birth of Jesus and ignore the distraction of family and friend’s opposition, would have been a very important focus. If Mary and Joseph could almost compartmentalize their distractions and ignore people’s potential judgments, opposition and challenge to baby Jesus they could fulfill what is now such an awe-inspiring story. This was not simple and as describe by Husserl would have involved being able to direct intentionality and follow the principle theme of phenomenology, the birth of Baby Jesus.

How do we respond? How can we bring our own faith into the same intentionality of Mary and Joseph? We are all called to protect Jesus, to present him as holy and blameless this Christmas to all our friends and family. Although we may not be physically carrying Jesus as his heavenly Mother and Father, we are all his brothers and sisters. Called, challenged and convicted by the Angel of the Lord this Christmas to present the Jesus story to our work colleagues, our friends, our family, those we encounter on the street and in our everyday lives. We are all called to share Immanuel, God with us, this Christmas.

In Jesus name. Amen.

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