December 18, 2022 Sermon
Sermon title: "Good, Kind Joseph"
Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25
(Other lectionary choices include Isaiah 7:10-16, Psalm 80:1-7 and 17-19, and Romans 1:1-7.)
Matthew 1:18-25
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
18Now 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. 19Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20But 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. 21She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23"Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." 24When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
We don't know much about Jesus's earthly father Joseph, but from what we heard in this morning's Scripture lesson, we have to conclude that he was at least a kind man - and that's this sermon's title, "Good, Kind, Joseph". As we know, he and Mary were engaged.....they were promised to each other. And then Mary is found to be with child. Try to imagine Joseph's heartache at finding that the girl he was going to marry was pregnant. We don't get any of that in what we heard today, but he HAD to have been hurt, and maybe just a little bit angry!
Have you ever been betrayed sexually? I know that some of you have, and I'm willing to bet there are others that I don't know about. There is real pain there, and Joseph had to have felt that pain. What's more, according to the Law of Joseph's time, he could have had Mary STONED to DEATH. But he didn't. We are told that Joseph was "a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace." And we are told that he was told in a dream that Mary's pregnancy was of divine origin. How long did it take him to accept this idea? How long would it take YOU to accept the idea that GOD had created a child in Mary's womb, not some other guy? Again, we don't get any of the struggle in today's Scripture reading, but there HAD to be some. And something else......to what extent did Mary's pregnancy create a rift between Mary and Joseph themselves? Could Joseph have thought on more than one occasion, "REALLY, Mary? Really?" And how many times did Mary have to reassure Joseph? "Look, Joe! I'm as surprised as you. I have told you what happened. How many times do I need to tell you?"
The good thing - the REALLY GOOD thing - about this whole story is that both Mary and Joseph BELIEVED God, TRUSTED God, and were obedient to God's Will. We have no idea how long each struggled with the idea, or if they struggled at all. But the good thing is that they came around to BELIEVE God and TRUST Him with their lives.
The Bishop of Durham in England, N. T. Wright, in his commentary "Matthew for Everyone", says that Luke's gospel tells the birth story of Jesus from Mary's point of view, whereas Matthew's gospel tells the story from Joseph's point of view, and, he says, "No attempt is made to bring them into line." That's interesting, isn't it? We have Luke's account, and we have Matthew's account. And there is no attempt to smooth over any rough edges, IF there are any rough edges. Says Wright, "The central fact is the same; but instead of Luke's picture of an excited Galilean girl, learning that she is to give birth to God's Messiah, Matthew shows us the more sober Joseph, discovering that his fiancée is pregnant. The only point where the two stories come close is when the angel says to Joseph, as Gabriel said to Mary, 'Don't be afraid.' That is an important word for us, too, as we read the accounts of Jesus' birth."
"Don't be afraid." Those words are said often in Scripture when a human encounters a messenger from God. So, we are told not to fear. But that's hard, especially after COVID. And who says Covid is over? It may not be yet - in fact, we may always have to live with it. That doesn't mean a death sentence, but it does mean we may have to get a shot or two every year. So, we have fear of the unknown, even if we're told NOT to fear.
Joseph had fear of the unknown. What would his friends say if they found out Mary was pregnant, and not by him? What if some of his buddies urged him to STONE her, as was his RIGHT? There is a Lutheran pastor in Wisconsin named Donald Engebretson, and he has a sermon on this Scripture passage entitled, "An Angel of the Lord Brings a Message of Hope in the Midst of Fear of the Unknown". Says the Rev. Mr. Engebretson, "Fear is a true enemy of hope. It robs us of the assurance that God is in control, that God has a plan, that even the darkness of the present might yet become the light of a better day." Joseph is told to name his son Jesus, which was a fairly popular name at the time. "Jesus" is the Latin equivalent of "Joshua", which means "Yahweh saves". Remember that in the Old Testament Joshua took over for Moses when he died and led the Hebrews into Canaan, essentially SAVING the ancient Hebrews. Well, Jesus is the NEW "Joshua", and he will save his people from their sins, as the angel told Joseph. God had a bigger plan, but Joseph could not have understood that plan at the time. He had to worry about Mary, traveling so close to her due date. He had to find a place to stay in Bethlehem. But "In all this, God was with him. And the story's twists and turns would not end. He would have to flee with mother and child to Egypt" in order to escape an enraged King Herod. There was so much change in store for Joseph. "How could he possibly entertain any real hope for tomorrow when he hardly knew what tomorrow would bring? But - once again - God was with him."
Matthew quotes a passage from Isaiah that says a virgin will conceive and bear a son, "and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, 'God is with us.'" That's the promise to Joseph, and that's the promise to us, too. "You do not have to fear. This one born of Mary is 'Immanuel', God with us. He is with you. too. You do not have to fear. And so, you can hope again. Hope not just for this fleeting moment, for today, but for tomorrow, for next year, for all eternity. Your hope is grounded in God's promised presence sent to save us and be there for us." The Rev. Mr. Engebretson goes on to say that "The Angel's Message of Hope to Joseph in the Midst of his Fear Gives US Hope as We Fear OUR Unknowns." He calls it "an eternal hope". "A hope grounded in God's assuring promise." I believe that promise, and I hope you do, too. Amen.
Pastor Skip
P.S. I know that Immanuel is spelled TWO different ways! That's because Rev Engebretson spells it two different ways, and I am quoting him! Or my Scripture spells it one way,and the Lutheran from Wisconsin spells it a different way! I am aware of the discrepancy!
