Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and ye] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us").
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Having spent some days talking about Mary, I want now to spend some time with Joseph. Of course, as I think you know, I preached on Joseph this past Sunday; just as I will preach on Mary this coming Sunday.
As I mentioned Sunday, Joseph is to some extent a forgotten figure in the nativity saga. We Christians have tended to spend much more time focusing on Mary (as does the New Testament) than on this earthly father of Jesus. One lady tells about her four-year-old niece, Megan, who was drawing a picture of the nativity. She stayed with it for a long time, and when she completed the project, proudly showed it to her mother. Megan carefully explained each figure and character: the shepherds and sheep, the three wise men and their loaded camels, the stable with cows and even a cat and a dog and, of course, in the center of it, Mary and the baby. Her mother noticed that something was missing. "Where's Joseph?" she asked, assuming Megan would remember and sketch him in. Instead, according to Laura, Megan gave her a look of exasperation and defiantly asked, "Who needs Joseph, anyway?"
Well, that four year old probably is overstating our feelings but the fact remains that we do not give Joseph the attention he deserves.
Perhaps we should begin by recognizing that this man is the one God chose to use. That truth in itself should place Joseph front and center in our reflections this holy season. While Hebrew traditions and practices placed Mary and Joseph in the position of being formally engaged, I do see God moving them toward one another. After all, so often God's ways are to whisper, nudge, encourage, invite, even woo us toward that which is best for all. He is incessant in His efforts to bring us to the place we need to be and where He needs us to be. Yes, we have free will, but that doesn't mean God isn't absolutely persistent in guiding us toward the better good, the solution which works for all.
And, then, we need to understand that those whom God chooses don't need to meet our criteria; only His. That was true of Mary (way too young) and of Joseph (lineage of David, yes; highly influential, no). We encounter persons all the time whom God uses who don't fit our expectations and we wonder if they are the appropriate channels of His divine work. If God called and God empowered and God is using, then it doesn't matter what you and I think. God gets His work done the way God wants! That includes, again, using even you and me!
Worth our reflections this Advent season, don't you think?
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