Let us pray: May God who is Majesty, Mercy, and Mystery speak words of life, and love through these words this morning. Amen.
Well, we have made it to our fourth and final week of Advent. This Advent we have been reflecting on the theme “words for beginning.”
In this first season of the church year, we have been reflecting on familiar words and stories of hope, peace, joy and love. In these uncertain times these words can help us begin again, to step out into a new year with faith.
We have reflected on Mary’s story. Her reaction when an angel comes to tell her that she will bear a son by the Holy Spirit. We have reflected on John the Baptist and his role in the story.
This week we turn to Joseph, and his part in the unfolding drama of God’s redemptive story.
There is not a lot in the Bible about Joseph.
There is this story we read today which only appears in Matthew. Then after Jesus is born, an angel again speaks to Joseph in a dream telling him to take Jesus to Egypt because the king is trying to kill Him, which Joseph does. And then a couple of years later the angel appears to Joseph in yet another dream and tells him that they can return to Israel as the king that was trying to kill Jesus had been killed. It seems dream interpretation is not new age. I don’t know about you but I think I need to pay more attention to my dreams.
Joseph returns to Nazareth. In the North of Israel, away from the capital this is where Joseph thinks Jesus will be safest. And this is where He grows up.
It is believed that Joseph was a carpenter and that he taught Jesus his trade when he was a boy.
But even though there is only a little bit written about him he still has an significant role in the story. It’s a small and humble role but essential.
Matthew opens his Gospel not with a birth but with a genealogy tracing through the story of the Hebrew Scriptures back to Abraham. Matthew wants his readers to understand that even though something very new is happening with Jesus, this new thing is in continuity with what has gone before. And this is Joseph’s part.
For the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures the Messiah must come from the house and lineage of David. And it is not Mary but Joseph who comes from this line. And so it rests on him to give his name and his legitimacy to Jesus. But this cannot have been easy for Joseph.
When he finds out that Mary is pregnant and he knows that he is not the father, we can imagine what Joseph thought. It is what we all would have thought right? It doesn’t say how he finds out. I wonder if it was Mary who told him or someone else? Or if perhaps he just noticed her growing belly?
I wonder also if Mary tried to tell him the story about how it all happened or if she decided that, that would make it worse. He would think she was not only unfaithful but also a liar, or worse insane.
However, it happened though, we can imagine Joseph must have felt incredibly hurt and angry.
And yet he does not let this hurt and anger get out of control.
Last week I watched the Ingkintja’s Men’s March Against Domestic & Family Violence. It was deeply moving to me.
Michael Liddle spoke about the need for “more strength and more mentors and more strong men to walk the other way.”
Joseph is one such man. He doesn’t shame Mary privately or publicly. Rather he decides that he will leave her quietly. This decision possibly saved Mary’s life. Although it would probably not have saved her from a life of begging or prostitution to support herself and her child.
And so, God speaks to Joseph through an angel in a dream and tells him, Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: Look the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call him Emmanuel, which means God is with us.”
Then the passage tells us Joseph woke up, married Mary and she bore a son and he named him Jesus. Like Mary and many of the other men and women in his family line, Joseph chooses to say “yes” to God despite really difficult circumstances. And he chooses to say yes to Mary, to love her and to cherish her and their family. Joseph knew his wife had a bigger role in this story and he didn’t try to take the lead. He choose to walk with her and encourage her to live out the great calling that God had placed on her life.
And I don’t think we should underestimate how courageous a choice this was for Joseph. It was Mary’s role to bear Jesus but Joseph was also called to bear much. In the words of Debie Thomas,
“In choosing Joseph to be Jesus’s earthly father, God led a “righteous” man with an impeccable reputation straight into doubt, shame, scandal, and controversy. God’s call required Joseph to reorder everything he thought he knew about fairness, justice, goodness, and purity. It required him to become the talk of the town — and not in a good way. It required him to embrace a mess he had not created. To love a woman whose story he didn’t understand, to protect a baby he didn’t father, to accept an heir who was not his son.”
This is not something a lot of people say yes to. It is not an easy thing to do, but the bible here seems to be saying it matters a lot.
There is room in the Kingdom for non-conventional and non-biological, family – blended families, families through foster care and adoption. Long before it was the thing to do God affirmed family in different and unexpected ways.
And so I have come to love this story, and Joseph so much for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it reminds us that, all our stories matter. Sometimes we might think that only the so-called main characters matter, the rich and famous and powerful people. Or those who do BIG things with their lives. But this is not true. We all have a part to play in God’s story. Small acts of kindness and love matter too.
Secondly, it reminds us to not be afraid and to trust God. This doesn’t mean that everything will turn out exactly how we want it to, all the time. It didn’t for Joseph, things got pretty rough when his son grew up and was crucified by the Roman Empire.
The truth is that that God is not a genie whose role it is to grant our every wish and desire. Rather, God is the Creator and redeemer of the Universe. But if we step out into life with trust and faith, seeking His Kingdom, God will take us on the most extraordinary adventures. And we won’t be alone. Jesus is indeed Emmanuel, God with us and He will help us face the challenges we need to face.
It says, in Philippians 4 a verse I have been reciting a lot lately as I seek to manage my own anxiety at this time, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Yes the peace of God what we are promised. It is all we are promised and it is a good and gracious and sufficient gift. And yet often enough angels also show up and the miraculous happens. The power of God breaks in, in the most extraordinary, exciting and beautiful ways. Lives are saved or changed for the better. Things work out in ways we could not even have asked or imagined.
I am praying this over our town, again in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons. I am praying this over our church as we wait for our community engagement pastor. I am praying it over so many of you for own my family as we navigate difficult changes, family conflicts, addictions , health challenges and other things.
And finally it reminds us that things don’t have to be perfect for God to show up. Our families don’t have to be perfect, we don’t have to be perfect. As He did in that manger on that first Christmas. God shows up in the messy places, in messy people. And for this I give thanks.
Amen.
