Fourth Sunday in Advent

Year A

December 23, 2007

All Saints’, Bentonville

Gospel:

Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 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. 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 fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

"Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,"

which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

This passage from Matthew isn’t the annunciation story with which we are most familiar.  Many of you can easily recall how, in Luke, the angel Gabriel came to Mary saying, “Greetings, favored one” and announced to her, in the most poetic language, how she was to bear a child and that she should name him Jesus.”

However in this annunciation story, the announcement is made to Joseph in a dream, and follows on the heels of his discovery that his betrothed, a woman he had not slept with, was pregnant.  Such news would result in a fitful night’s sleep for any young man – and it certainly did for Joseph.

We don’t know a lot about Joseph.  We can read elsewhere that he is a carpenter and we learn here that he is a righteous man.  As a righteous man in the Judaic culture, he would have studied the law and would have been obedient to it.  And the law, if it is to be followed strictly, required Joseph, at a minimum, to do just as he had planned - dismiss his fiancé,  Mary, quietly, because she was found to be pregnant, and Joseph knew that he wasn’t the father.

“Dismiss her quietly?”.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve yet to meet the woman that I feel that I could “dismiss quietly” – let alone Mary, mother of Jesus. 

Joseph, as a carpenter, must have spent a lot of time in his workshop planing, chiseling, sanding – tasks that gave him a lot of time to spend thinking about what he should do with this complicated relationship.  The scripture told him quite literally what action he should take.  The law, as found in Deuteronomy, told Joseph that he would be fully justified in taking a brick and knocking her in the head.  But, I think we can safely presume, that Joseph loved her and had therefore chosen to not make a spectacle of her indiscretion.

And then the angel of the Lord appears in a dream and tells Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife.  This simple man was about to make a decision of immeasurable consequence.

Joseph is usually something of a bit player in the high drama of the Christmas pageant. The baby Jesus is the focus of attention and Mary certainly has the role with the most potential for character development.  In our manger scene at home Joseph could be easily confused with one of the wise men, or maybe a shepherd.  Evidence of the truth in that old show business adage about never sharing the stage with animals or children.  Joseph is almost lost in the crowd.

Had Joseph relied on the teachings of scripture alone, had he taken the stance that “the Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it”, well, Joseph would have remained obscure, and the Christmas story would be told a little differently.  But what did Joseph, this righteous man, do?  He looked at his experience in the world, he looked at this woman Mary, whom he loved and he considered the available options.

As he plied his trade, Joseph  reflected on the tradition of which he was a part – the linage that is detailed in the verses that open the Gospel of Matthew – a linage that extends from Abraham and Isaac, through King David and Solomon and down to Joseph.  It is a heritage that is even more difficult to dismiss, than a pregnant fiancé.  As a former woodworker, I know that there are certain tasks that lend themselves to serious contemplation, so I can easily imagine how Joseph, must have spent long hours sharpening his tools, ensuring that the blade on his plane was razor sharp so that it could smoothly lift thin curling ribbons of cypress and olive wood, until he was surrounded by a carpet of shavings and a whirl of conflicting thoughts. 

It is what thoughtful people of God learn to do with complicated relationships.  We take into account scripture, tradition, experience, - and the Holy Spirit whirls her way into the mix, blending our thoughts with the thoughts of those Saints’ that have proceeded us.  It’s a cocktail made of the most flavorful ingredients.  – not a foul tasting elixir that we have to pinch our noses and swallow with distaste.  What is borne of such reflection is embodied in the name Emmanuel – God is with us. 

It may have been a difficult decision for Joseph to accept this already pregnant woman as his wife.  Just as it is often difficult for us to accept what God has in store for us.  What God wants for us might sound unappealing.  It might require us to give up our prejudices, old ways of thinking, attachment to long held desires, or goals that the world of commerce tells us are important. 

But what a deal Joseph made.  By choosing to violate the dictates of a small minded society, Joseph embraced the Divine.  In the bargain, Joseph chose to live out the rest of his days with Mary, the God-bearer.  Such a choice!  We can choose to live out our lives in small ways, or we can be vehicles of God’s love, embracing each opportunity to taste the richness of life, of love, of heaven on earth.

Joseph’s quandary reminds of the classic dilemma of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.  If you remember, Huck was in torment because he knew that he was a sinner.  He had violated the teachings of his church and the norms of his society, by helping the slave Jim escape from captivity and float to freedom down the Mississippi.  Huck knew that by freeing Jim, he was stealing Ms. Watkins’ private property. The dictates of his conscience told Huck that what he was doing was wrong.   Huck’s observation that Jim deserved freedom as much as any man led him to  made a choice that has since echoed through the pages of American literature “All right then, I’ll just go to hell”

Like Joseph, Huck chose to violate the letter of the law, and follow the more profound message.  A message that God is love.  God is acceptance.  God wants everyone.   God doesn’t “dismiss quietly” those without proper documents. God doesn’t “dismiss quietly” those who don’t conform to a narrow conception of what constitutes “family values”.  And doesn’t “dismiss quietly” those who are brave enough to choose peace, when the sabers of war are rattling.

Everything about this woman tells Joseph that she is holy, she is good, that she is to be loved, that he can expect great things from her.  Abrahamic law tells him that she is to be shunned, even to be stoned. 

And then into the mix, strolls the Holy Spirit.  Entering Joseph’s consciousness as an angel in a dream. Stirring things up as she usually does.  Questioning small minded assumptions.  Opening our eyes to the greatness that can happen when we let go of an old way of being in the world and embrace the new.  Joseph awoke from his sleep, and he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.  We too are called to awaken from our slumber.  Too often we sleep walk through life, unwilling to challenge the dictates of a world where love is a low priority.

On this last Sunday of Advent, just a few hours before we celebrate the birth of our Savior, we are called into new relationship – with God, with our neighbor, with those we love and with those we haven’t yet learned to love.

We worship a God who brings us into relationship – a God whose radical act at Christmas was to provide us with a living, breathing example of what it means for god to walk on earth. The promise of God is found in loving relationship and its fulfillment is embodied in the name - Emmanuel – God is with us.