December 22, 2013
Love – Joseph
- Matthew 1:18-25
- Dr. Teri Thomas
Since we do not have screens in our sanctuary
you will need to picture this in your mind.
Imagine a Christmas card.
On a dark and barren hill sits a tiny stable.
A single star illuminates the sky.
A dazzling angel floats just above the stable roof.
A few shepherds watch curiously as their sheep graze nearby.
In the center of it all is the baby,
a newborn, tiny, peaceful infant, swaddled in a blanket,
sound asleep in the loving arms of…..Joseph.
Stretched out in the back of the stable is Mary, worn-out and dozing.
Now I have actually never seen such a card.
Have you?
In the cards I have seen Joseph is usually standing off to one side leaning on his staff,
if he is even in the picture.
The vast majority of artist depictions are just mother and child.
The other day I was arranging the figures of a nativity set I purchased in Kenya.
I put Mary in the stable kneeling next to Jesus.
I set the three wise men carrying gifts off in the distance
since they actually don’t come on Christmas..
But then there are two male figures with staffs and they both look alike.
I assume one is Joseph and the other is a shepherd.
But which is which? They look the same.
There is nothing distinguishing about Joseph.
Let’s admit it,
Joseph doesn’t get much credit for his role in this whole Christmas story.
Since he wasn’t the REAL father he is easily deemed unimportant.
Even the Bible short changes him.
Matthew is the only gospel that deals with Joseph at all.
Luke's gospel barely mentions him.
Look him up in the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible.
Go to "J" and you'll find him listed this way:
Joseph: the husband of the mother of Jesus.
Even in Matthew, he appears in chapter one,
disappears by chapter two,
and never utters a direct sentence.
So what does scripture really tell us about this man?
Joseph is engaged to Mary
and in their day that meant they had already signed the marriage contract.
Even though they aren’t yet living together as husband and wife,
everyone knows they were a couple.
If some problem should come up in this engagement period,
you couldn't just take the ring back and cancel the florist,
you had to file for divorce.
And sure enough, Joseph has a problem.
First Mary comes to him and admits she is pregnant.
When he wants to know who the baby’s father might be
she replies- God.
At this point Joseph has to be concerned not only about her morals,
but also her sanity.
Joseph has a choice to make.
The law was clear- he has two options.
He can cast Mary out in disgrace and get his divorce,
or he can have her stoned to death.
Both options are perfectly legal and perfectly righteous.
Joseph does a remarkable thing,
he proceeds to look for a different way to resolve this awkward situation.
We can imagine Joseph tossing and turning in the dark night.
He paces the floors during the day,
shuffling through shavings of wood.
He sands too hard or carves too deep,
he is lost in anguish and worry.
On the one hand, the law.
On the other hand, it is Mary.
Joseph cannot bring himself to harm Mary,
it does not seem loving.
At last he thinks of a third way.
He will divorce Mary quietly so as not to embarrass or endanger her or the baby.
With that dilemma solved, Joseph is finally able to sleep.
Surprise!!!
An angel appears to Joseph in a dream
and the angel tells him
"what appears to be a moral outrage is, in fact, a holy disruption.
The child in Mary's womb is not a violation of God's will,
but an expression of it, a gift from the Holy Spirit."
Joseph, who is already resolved to go far beyond what the law requires,
learns that he has not gone nearly far enough
in practicing mercy and love as God intends it.
Joseph is asked to keep his marriage to Mary.
He is asked to name the baby 'Jesus'
and become the earthly father.
A baby conceived by the Holy Spirit.
An angel appearing in a dream.
The Lord of the universe incarnate in a baby.
A baby born to an unwed mother.
It is all very awkward.
Joseph would not find any of this
in the Book of rules he has followed all of his life.
Righteousness as he has been taught
is to help keep things in proper order
and in their proper place.
But here the first chapter
of the first book of the New Testament
starts out with proper orders and proper places
being wholly changed, utterly transformed.
So…Why is this story so important?
Lots of people raise children today
without the benefit of marriage.
Lots of men raise children who are not theirs biologically,
step-children, adopted children, foster children, grandchildren.
What is important in this story is not whether or not the parents are married.
It is not the question of virginity or paternity.
What makes this story so important is that there is a good and faithful man
who wakes up one day to find his entire life turned upside down.
He finds himself in a huge mess for which he has absolutely no responsibility.
He has every right, legally, morally, religiously
to just walk away from this mess, to leave Mary
and get on with an easier, more conventional, normal life.
The story is important because Joseph seems to know,
somehow, deep inside
that sometimes God comes to us
in surprising, disturbing, inappropriate ways.
He believes that God’s promises, no matter how bizarre,
are more important than social expectations and conventions.
Joseph doesn’t know what God ultimately has in store for him.
He does know that God has promised to be with him through whatever it is.
This story is important because it shows us what might be expected
when big changes enter our life unexpectedly,
when we are given circumstances beyond our control,
when we end up in lives we did not choose or create.
Joseph shows us that God can be born into some real messes.
God looks for human partners, who are willing to believe the impossible,
for believers who can accept life the way it comes, not the way we want it,
for followers who can love deeply.
Joseph shows us that sometimes the unexpected can be a sign of God at work
Can we imagine that God might be doing something new in our less than perfect lives?
Can we respond with love?
I know and you know we would really rather have the details
on how things are going to turn out.
Joseph reminds us that we already know how God acted in the past.
We already know how God has dealt with those who love and follow.
Joseph says to us-
trust the relationships, not the rules
respond to your dreams not others demands
act according to love, not law.
Act according to love.
In the end
that is what is important in this story.
Love
Thanks be to God
Amen