Fourth Sunday of Advent – December 18, 2022

Matthew 1:18-25

 

There are three versions of the Christmas story.

  • There’s the Gospel According to Matthew…where we get Joseph’s dream and the wise men and the star in the East.
  • Then there’s the Gospel According to Luke…where we get the shepherds and the angels and the fact that there was no room in the inn.
  • And then there’s the Gospel According to Hallmark…in which we get a smorgasbord of all the above including the wise men…the shepherds…a host of angels…lowing cattle and a partridge in a pear tree.

If you’d like to see a visual representation of the Hallmark version…just drive by the house near the intersection of Trevesta Place and Hevena Court in my neigborhood.

  • In addition to Santa…Frosty…Rudolph and the other reindeer…it includes Mickey…Pluto and Donald Duck.
  • There’s also a nativity scene…but you’ll have to look hard to find it.

The Hallmark version is the most popular because it gives us the whole nine yards.

  • Yes…I’m mocking Hallmark…but truth be told…I have a subscription to Hallmark on my TV.
  • Also…take a good look at our Nativity in the Narthex.
  • It’s not true to the text.
  • So…let’s take a look at Matthew.

We hear a lot about Mary…and rightly so.

  • She was…after all…the mother of Jesus.
  • The only person constant in the life of Jesus from the cradle to the grave.
  • But what do we know about Joseph?
  • In all the New Testament he never utters a word.
  • Yet…he’s one of the principal figures in the Christmas drama.

Joseph was a simple man of an honorable trade: A carpenter from Nazareth.

  • Sometimes you see Sunday school pictures showing him in a wood shop making furniture.
  • But “carpenter” in Joseph’s day referred to a wide range of trades.
  • Joseph most likely worked with metal…stone and wood.
  • The Greek is “tekton” and literally means stone mason.
  • The regional capital…Sepphoris…was under construction during this time.
  • And it was within walking distance of Nazareth.
  • Joseph…and his sons…were stone masons there.

Craftsmen worked with strong shoulders and callused hands.

  • They were educated by apprenticeship.
  • Their place was respectable but not on one of the higher rungs of the social ladder.
  • Remember the flap in the synagogue in Nazareth when Jesus preached his first sermon?
  • The elders raised their eyebrows and asked: “Isn’t this the carpenter…the son of Mary and brother of James…Joses…Judah and Simon?”

Jesus’ father was neither a rabbi nor a scribe nor one of the civic leaders.

  • He had but two qualifications in the Christmas drama.
  • He was a descendent of David and he was God’s choice.
  • A common man who dared to be obedient to God.

His place in the Christmas story is that of Mary’s husband.

  • OK then…Joseph and Mary were “betrothed” but not yet married.
  • There were three steps in a Jewish marriage:
  • The engagement…which was often arranged by the parents through a matchmaker when the boy and girl were children.
  • The betrothal…which was a formal ratification of the marriage-to-be.
  • Usually done a year before the couple was married.
  • And the wedding itself…which lasted an entire week.
  • During the week of celebration…the marriage was consummated.

During the betrothal…the couple was legally bound to each other so that…if the man died before the actual wedding took place…

  • The woman became a widow.
  • They were referred to as husband and wife…though they refrained from having sexual relations.

It’s at this stage in their relationship that Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant.

  • I think it’s safe to say Joseph blew a gasket.
  • Joseph was beside himself to learn that his fiancé was pregnant.
  • He was angry and upset.
  • If Mary were pregnant…the only explanation would have been that she had been unfaithful.
  • In which case…he had a legal right to have her stoned to death.

It’s at this point Joseph proves his faithfulness.

  • First to Mary and then…to God.
  • When Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant…he was not willing to make her a public example.
  • And so…he intended to put her away secretly.

Joseph was a man of quiet strength.

  • He was a man of integrity…true to his convictions.
  • Yet…he was compassionate and considerate of others.
  • He found himself in a no-win situation.
  • He could not in good conscience…go on with the wedding.
  • Yet…he could not bring himself to humiliate Mary…much less put her to death.

Breaking off the relationship…but not making a big deal of it…seemed to be the most honorable thing to do.

  • But wait! There’s more!
  • Joseph had a dream in which an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him that the child in Mary’s womb was of the Holy Spirit.
  • And that he should become a father to the child.
  • Well…there you have it…the angel explained everything.
  • I don’t know many people who make major life decisions based upon what they think they saw or heard in a dream though.
  • Yet…Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.
  • Joseph took his wife to himself…and did not know her sexually until she had brought forth her firstborn son.

And then…in an act of faithfulness and obedience to God…

  • Joseph publicly named the child.
  • He named him Jesus…which means…the Lord is salvation.
  • In so doing…he claimed the child as his own and gave him a noble ancestry.
  • Making him a descendent of the house of David.
  • Because of the faithfulness of Joseph…
  • Jesus would have a father.
  • And Joseph would have a place in the drama of God’s salvation.

I have a friend years ago whose girlfriend got pregnant.

  • Naturally…he assumed he was the father.
  • But the scuttlebutt around school was that she’d been seeing other guys…
  • And that my friend wasn’t the father after all.
  • Of course…back then we didn’t have paternity testing.
  • So…there wasn’t any way to know for sure.
  • But there it was…enough to give him an out…if he wanted it.
  • He decided to ask his girlfriend to marry him.
  • She accepted…and they got married and shortly after…she gave birth to a daughter.
  • Who quickly became…and is to this day…the apple of his eye.

He would be the first to tell you that…beyond all his many accomplishments…

  • It was in becoming a father to this little girl that he found his true vocation in life.
  • When I think about my friend…I’m reminded of the faithfulness of Joseph.
  • It has something to do with getting your own self out of the way and putting others first.
  • It’s an exercise in humility and it’s based on a simple trust.
  • That by God’s grace…all things really do work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purposes. (Romans 8:28)

To the world…the faithfulness of Joseph may seem foolish.

  • But to those who are willing to follow his example and surrender their wills to the will of God.
  • The faithfulness of Joseph is not simply a way of pleasing God.
  • It’s a way of fulfilling your own life’s destiny.