Scripture:
Matthew 1:18-25,
Fourth Sunday of Advent focuses on love. One inspiring illustration of what love really looks like is the response of Joseph when he found out that Mary, his betrothed bride to be, was pregnant and he knew that he was not the father! Since this is a human story, the most effective way to explore the issues is to let Joseph tell the story himself. So using some Holy Spirit inspired imagination to expand upon the available information, I am turning into Joseph. All I need is a bathrobe, a towel for my head and a beard!
I am Joseph, and man do I have story to tell! It’s about my son, well my step son, but he’s mine since His birth and I am one proud papa! Well, I am now anyway. I wasn’t at first. But let me tell you the whole story from the beginning. You’ll see what I mean. First, you must know that I am no one special. Well, except that I am born of royal blood, a direct descendant of King David! But that had become a family joke really, because by rights, even though we were supposed to be heirs to the throne, we were nowhere near it.
Herod was in our place and there was no way we could kick him out. We sometimes pictured what would happen if I went to Herod’s palace to announce, “I am Joseph, Son of King David, rightful heir to that throne, so hand it over!” No, nothing good would come of that! So, like our Father, King David, as long as things weren’t in our favor, we just had to accept our fate and hang in there until God saw fit to change things.
In the meantime, I was just a carpenter. I liked to build things. I could work in wood and stone, the usual building materials in my day. I could make anything from a kneading trough to a whole house, whatever you need, or like.
So, I was getting pretty good at my work, developing my own regular customers and getting ready to move out on my own. My father had picked out a nice girl to be my bride, and I was really pleased with his choice. Mary was beautiful! What a sweet spirit she had too. We had been betrothed for a while, so you might imagine how shocked and surprised and hurt I was to hear the big news.
What news? Well, after Mary came home from a long visit with her cousin Elizabeth, we all could tell that Mary was pregnant! She was three months along! How could she do this to me? It was outrageous. At first I came to her defense and assumed that she must have been raped by some scoundrel during her journey. But no! She said everything was fine. That an angel had talked to her and explained that she would be the mother of our Messiah! But that was even more outrageous! Impossible! What a crazy way to defend her true lover from my wrath and from the law.
And Mary stuck to her story. She told me all about the angel visit, and that he said the child would be called the Son of God, who would assume the throne of our Father David! She told me why she visited Zechariah and Elizabeth, to see and hear the story of their miracle baby, and how Elizabeth’s child, still in her womb, leapt for joy when Mary came, and that Elizabeth said that Mary was most blessed among women.
It was strange how she stayed so calm and explained the whole story over and over, as often as I challenged her. She said she understood how I must be feeling and said she was praying that God would help me understand. But still, she refused to reveal the name of the man who did this. So, what could I do? I thought about how the Law of our land put her life in my hands. For this crime against my honor I could have her stoned to death. It would be within my rights to use the law to have my revenge against her for betraying me and for humiliating me so. Then too, if I had Mary executed, her lover who stole her away from me wouldn’t get to have her either.
But I was angry then. When I turned to God in prayer, my love for her won the day. I decided to give her up. She must really be in love with the other guy or she would never have risked all this. So, because I loved her, I decided to put her interests ahead of my own. So, I put her safety and security ahead of my own interests. I denied my pride’s desire for vengeance.
Since we were betrothed, Mary would be considered an adulteress and we had to go through a legal divorce process to break off our relationship. As it turns out, because I love Mary so much, I couldn’t bear to put her through anything like the humiliation she had dished out to me. I was much more concerned about her situation than my own.
I would swallow my pride and accept her rejection of my love for her. I would show her that the man she had chosen to reject was made of better stuff than any man who would steal her away from a legal betrothal. In my culture, if I were to make a big scene to salvage my pride, she would at least be shunned by the community, if not executed for her crime. The women were so vulnerable in those days. But I realized I could divorce her quietly so she could live the life she really wanted.
That way too, I would maintain my righteousness with regard to what the law required, but also save Mary from public disgrace and shame. In this way, I could at least uphold my reputation so that my father could find another wife for me. And ultimately, I would simply step out of the way so that Mary could go be with the other man, the one she must really love. This decision gave me peace. I would be patient and kind with Mary, just as God always is with his people. I remembered the story of the prophet Hosea. That inspired me to act out the same kind of compassion that he had shown centuries earlier.
Besides I also remembered the two most important commandments in all of Israel’s Law. Later I often talked with Jesus about them. “The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” So besides the natural love that a man has for a woman, I decided to also live by the higher calling of these commandments to love Mary in the best possible way. I realized if I only loved her because she loved me back, then I didn’t really love her with the kind of love God calls for in us.
With these thoughts in mind and the pain in my heart, I tried to sleep that night. As I lay there, I didn’t think I’d ever fall asleep. But I must have because I had a strange dream in which an angel spoke to me! This messenger from God reassured me of Mary’s innocence! The angel said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.” And you know, those words were exactly what I needed to hear. I mean, now I see that deep down I wanted to believe Mary’s story. Mary’s character spoke well of her and I had never expected her to tell even a fib, much less such a crazy story as an angel visit. So, as impossible as it was for a virgin to be with child, in a way, it was even more impossible that Mary would lie so blatantly.
So part of me believed her story, but if she were telling the truth, I was afraid to bear that responsibility! Sort of like Moses at the burning bush, I felt myself unworthy or incompetent to take on the task of raising our Messiah. Maybe that‘s what I was really running from when I thought I should divorce her. The angel nailed it! The real truth was that I was afraid to take this on. It was too big! But once the angel spoke to me, I knew I would have to obey. There was no longer any denying it.
When I got up the next morning I didn’t waste any time! I was going to be married to Mary after all! What joy! I was commanded by God to love the one I already loved! But we kept things pure. We had no union while she was pregnant. I love Mary. I love God. To do this thing right I had to deny myself. I was now totally devoted to caring for my wife and step son. As the story developed, I had to obey an emperor’s directive to take my young wife to Bethlehem. That’s where she had the baby. What a night it was! First there was the difficulty of finding a place to stay in the overcrowded town. Then there was accepting the fact that we would be sleeping with animals. Then the baby came! Then the shepherds came!
Soon we settled into a home and for a couple of years things were quiet. Then these Magi came from the east! A royal entourage! They came to worship my step son. They said they saw his star rise in the sky and they followed it to find our house! Once again, I saw we weren’t going to live a normal life. That night another angel dream message told me to run to Egypt. So I obeyed. A couple of years later, another dream, another message and we knew it was time to go home. I obeyed. Boy this life wasn’t going the way I had hoped when I proposed to Mary. Everything changed. When I accepted the responsibility to love and care for Mary and Jesus I gave my entire life and future into the hands of God!
It wasn’t easy, but all the thanks and praise and glory go to God who alone is making the plans and directing our steps. As it turns out, it was through my son that God saw fit to change things. My son, is to be king, the rightful heir to the throne Herod took from our family! All God’s plans are meant for our good and for the restoration of the whole world and for everyone in it who trusts in his plans for our redemption. I’ll give you some advice. Obey the commandment to love God and love each other. Through faith in Him we can know how much he loves and us and respond to that love by confidently entrusting our entire lives to God and giving Him the gift of our whole hearted, whole beinged love, living sacrifices. Just as I was told, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary home to be your wife.” God says to each of you, “Don’t be afraid to take on the challenges of ministry and of giving yourself to the call and cause of our Messiah.”
But that thought always takes me back to the beginning, when I first held him in my arms. It was amazing, to look down into his little face…(Singing) ”How could it be this baby in my arms Sleeping now, so peacefully The Son of God, the angel said How could it be? Lord, I know He's not my own Not of my flesh, not of my bone Still Father let this baby be The son of my love
Father show me where I fit into this plan of yours How can a man be father to the Son of God Lord for all my life I've been a simple carpenter How can I raise a king, how can I raise a king? He looks so small, His face and hands so fair And when He cries the sun just seems to disappear But when He laughs it shines again How could it be?
Father show me where I fit into this plan of yours How can a man be father to the Son of God Lord for all my life I've been a simple carpenter How can I raise a king, how can I raise a king? How could it be this baby in my arms Sleeping now, so peacefully The Son of God, the angel said How could it be?
Song by: Michael Card – “Joseph's Song”
The Scripture says that we love God because he first loved us. Our love for God is always a response to what he has done for us. At Christmas, we remember and celebrate that He gave us his one and only Son, sent into the world to live and die as a man who offers the gift of eternal life to all who receive it through faith I him. The manger scene is extraordinary in every way. However, we will never know the true value of this treasured moment when heaven came down to earth, if we don’t open up and receive Jesus, as Christ in the cross, into our hearts.
He’s too great, and he loves the world too much, for it to be any other way! God takes the obstacles, and makes them into His instruments! God takes the believers who offer themselves and makes us into his change agents at work in this world to do things for him great or small. Obey the commandment to love God and love each other. Through faith in Him we can confidently entrust our entire lives to God and give Him the gift of our whole hearted, whole beinged love, living sacrifices. Just as Joseph was told, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary home to be your wife.” God says to each of us, “Don’t be afraid to take on the challenges of ministry and of giving yourself to the call and cause of Christ, for lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” Amen.
Fourth Sunday of Advent focuses on love. One inspiring illustration of what love really looks like is the response of Joseph when he found out that Mary, his betrothed bride to be, was pregnant and he knew that he was not the father! Since this is a human story, the most effective way to explore the issues is to let Joseph tell the story himself. So using some Holy Spirit inspired imagination to expand upon the available information, I am turning into Joseph. All I need is a bathrobe, a towel for my head and a beard!
I am Joseph, and man do I have story to tell! It’s about my son, well my step son, but he’s mine since His birth and I am one proud papa! Well, I am now anyway. I wasn’t at first. But let me tell you the whole story from the beginning. You’ll see what I mean. First, you must know that I am no one special. Well, except that I am born of royal blood, a direct descendant of King David! But that had become a family joke really, because by rights, even though we were supposed to be heirs to the throne, we were nowhere near it.
Herod was in our place and there was no way we could kick him out. We sometimes pictured what would happen if I went to Herod’s palace to announce, “I am Joseph, Son of King David, rightful heir to that throne, so hand it over!” No, nothing good would come of that! So, like our Father, King David, as long as things weren’t in our favor, we just had to accept our fate and hang in there until God saw fit to change things.
In the meantime, I was just a carpenter. I liked to build things. I could work in wood and stone, the usual building materials in my day. I could make anything from a kneading trough to a whole house, whatever you need, or like.
So, I was getting pretty good at my work, developing my own regular customers and getting ready to move out on my own. My father had picked out a nice girl to be my bride, and I was really pleased with his choice. Mary was beautiful! What a sweet spirit she had too. We had been betrothed for a while, so you might imagine how shocked and surprised and hurt I was to hear the big news.
What news? Well, after Mary came home from a long visit with her cousin Elizabeth, we all could tell that Mary was pregnant! She was three months along! How could she do this to me? It was outrageous. At first I came to her defense and assumed that she must have been raped by some scoundrel during her journey. But no! She said everything was fine. That an angel had talked to her and explained that she would be the mother of our Messiah! But that was even more outrageous! Impossible! What a crazy way to defend her true lover from my wrath and from the law.
And Mary stuck to her story. She told me all about the angel visit, and that he said the child would be called the Son of God, who would assume the throne of our Father David! She told me why she visited Zechariah and Elizabeth, to see and hear the story of their miracle baby, and how Elizabeth’s child, still in her womb, leapt for joy when Mary came, and that Elizabeth said that Mary was most blessed among women.
It was strange how she stayed so calm and explained the whole story over and over, as often as I challenged her. She said she understood how I must be feeling and said she was praying that God would help me understand. But still, she refused to reveal the name of the man who did this. So, what could I do? I thought about how the Law of our land put her life in my hands. For this crime against my honor I could have her stoned to death. It would be within my rights to use the law to have my revenge against her for betraying me and for humiliating me so. Then too, if I had Mary executed, her lover who stole her away from me wouldn’t get to have her either.
But I was angry then. When I turned to God in prayer, my love for her won the day. I decided to give her up. She must really be in love with the other guy or she would never have risked all this. So, because I loved her, I decided to put her interests ahead of my own. So, I put her safety and security ahead of my own interests. I denied my pride’s desire for vengeance.
Since we were betrothed, Mary would be considered an adulteress and we had to go through a legal divorce process to break off our relationship. As it turns out, because I love Mary so much, I couldn’t bear to put her through anything like the humiliation she had dished out to me. I was much more concerned about her situation than my own.
I would swallow my pride and accept her rejection of my love for her. I would show her that the man she had chosen to reject was made of better stuff than any man who would steal her away from a legal betrothal. In my culture, if I were to make a big scene to salvage my pride, she would at least be shunned by the community, if not executed for her crime. The women were so vulnerable in those days. But I realized I could divorce her quietly so she could live the life she really wanted.
That way too, I would maintain my righteousness with regard to what the law required, but also save Mary from public disgrace and shame. In this way, I could at least uphold my reputation so that my father could find another wife for me. And ultimately, I would simply step out of the way so that Mary could go be with the other man, the one she must really love. This decision gave me peace. I would be patient and kind with Mary, just as God always is with his people. I remembered the story of the prophet Hosea. That inspired me to act out the same kind of compassion that he had shown centuries earlier.
Besides I also remembered the two most important commandments in all of Israel’s Law. Later I often talked with Jesus about them. “The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” So besides the natural love that a man has for a woman, I decided to also live by the higher calling of these commandments to love Mary in the best possible way. I realized if I only loved her because she loved me back, then I didn’t really love her with the kind of love God calls for in us.
With these thoughts in mind and the pain in my heart, I tried to sleep that night. As I lay there, I didn’t think I’d ever fall asleep. But I must have because I had a strange dream in which an angel spoke to me! This messenger from God reassured me of Mary’s innocence! The angel said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.” And you know, those words were exactly what I needed to hear. I mean, now I see that deep down I wanted to believe Mary’s story. Mary’s character spoke well of her and I had never expected her to tell even a fib, much less such a crazy story as an angel visit. So, as impossible as it was for a virgin to be with child, in a way, it was even more impossible that Mary would lie so blatantly.
So part of me believed her story, but if she were telling the truth, I was afraid to bear that responsibility! Sort of like Moses at the burning bush, I felt myself unworthy or incompetent to take on the task of raising our Messiah. Maybe that‘s what I was really running from when I thought I should divorce her. The angel nailed it! The real truth was that I was afraid to take this on. It was too big! But once the angel spoke to me, I knew I would have to obey. There was no longer any denying it.
When I got up the next morning I didn’t waste any time! I was going to be married to Mary after all! What joy! I was commanded by God to love the one I already loved! But we kept things pure. We had no union while she was pregnant. I love Mary. I love God. To do this thing right I had to deny myself. I was now totally devoted to caring for my wife and step son. As the story developed, I had to obey an emperor’s directive to take my young wife to Bethlehem. That’s where she had the baby. What a night it was! First there was the difficulty of finding a place to stay in the overcrowded town. Then there was accepting the fact that we would be sleeping with animals. Then the baby came! Then the shepherds came!
Soon we settled into a home and for a couple of years things were quiet. Then these Magi came from the east! A royal entourage! They came to worship my step son. They said they saw his star rise in the sky and they followed it to find our house! Once again, I saw we weren’t going to live a normal life. That night another angel dream message told me to run to Egypt. So I obeyed. A couple of years later, another dream, another message and we knew it was time to go home. I obeyed. Boy this life wasn’t going the way I had hoped when I proposed to Mary. Everything changed. When I accepted the responsibility to love and care for Mary and Jesus I gave my entire life and future into the hands of God!
It wasn’t easy, but all the thanks and praise and glory go to God who alone is making the plans and directing our steps. As it turns out, it was through my son that God saw fit to change things. My son, is to be king, the rightful heir to the throne Herod took from our family! All God’s plans are meant for our good and for the restoration of the whole world and for everyone in it who trusts in his plans for our redemption. I’ll give you some advice. Obey the commandment to love God and love each other. Through faith in Him we can know how much he loves and us and respond to that love by confidently entrusting our entire lives to God and giving Him the gift of our whole hearted, whole beinged love, living sacrifices. Just as I was told, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary home to be your wife.” God says to each of you, “Don’t be afraid to take on the challenges of ministry and of giving yourself to the call and cause of our Messiah.”
But that thought always takes me back to the beginning, when I first held him in my arms. It was amazing, to look down into his little face…(Singing) ”How could it be this baby in my arms Sleeping now, so peacefully The Son of God, the angel said How could it be? Lord, I know He's not my own Not of my flesh, not of my bone Still Father let this baby be The son of my love
Father show me where I fit into this plan of yours How can a man be father to the Son of God Lord for all my life I've been a simple carpenter How can I raise a king, how can I raise a king? He looks so small, His face and hands so fair And when He cries the sun just seems to disappear But when He laughs it shines again How could it be?
Father show me where I fit into this plan of yours How can a man be father to the Son of God Lord for all my life I've been a simple carpenter How can I raise a king, how can I raise a king? How could it be this baby in my arms Sleeping now, so peacefully The Son of God, the angel said How could it be?
Song by: Michael Card – “Joseph's Song”
The Scripture says that we love God because he first loved us. Our love for God is always a response to what he has done for us. At Christmas, we remember and celebrate that He gave us his one and only Son, sent into the world to live and die as a man who offers the gift of eternal life to all who receive it through faith I him. The manger scene is extraordinary in every way. However, we will never know the true value of this treasured moment when heaven came down to earth, if we don’t open up and receive Jesus, as Christ in the cross, into our hearts.
He’s too great, and he loves the world too much, for it to be any other way! God takes the obstacles, and makes them into His instruments! God takes the believers who offer themselves and makes us into his change agents at work in this world to do things for him great or small. Obey the commandment to love God and love each other. Through faith in Him we can confidently entrust our entire lives to God and give Him the gift of our whole hearted, whole beinged love, living sacrifices. Just as Joseph was told, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary home to be your wife.” God says to each of us, “Don’t be afraid to take on the challenges of ministry and of giving yourself to the call and cause of Christ, for lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” Amen.
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