One thing I notice this year, throughout Advent and Christmas, is how different folks receive divine revelation. Specifically how sometimes it’s the angel of the Lord directly and sometimes it’s in dreams. Could be that I think of this because this year is year A, year o’ St. Matthew, whereas last year was year C, of St. Luke. St. Luke’s Gospel begins with the angel of the Lord appearing to Zechariah and then the angel Gabriel appears to Mary.

But the infancy narrative in St. Matthew sorta switches perspective, in that the angel appears to Joseph instead of Mary, and not directly but in a dream. And last year in St. Luke, the angel appeared to the shepherds and told them the good news. But now in St. Matthew, as we see in today’s Gospel reading, it’s magi seeing a star and then being sent by King Herod. But they’re warned in a dream not to return to Herod.

Then Joseph is warned, yet again in a dream, by the angel of the Lord, to take the family to Egypt. The angel appears again to him in a dream when Herod dies. And then again in a dream he is warned to avoid Herod’s son Archelaus and go to Nazareth.

Maybe this is just a Luke vs. Matthew thing, angels appearing directly versus in dreams. I imagine that it goes to the different audiences to whom the authors of the Gospels were addressing. Maybe one had an angel tradition where the other just dreams. Interesting.