The following is the second Sunday in a sermon series. Last week we dealt with the Fear of Zecharias when Gabriel told him that Elizabeth would have a son named John in Luke. Today the theme is confusion when Joseph receives the message that his wife is with child.
Last week we heard about Zechariah
and his fear; specifically, that he was so “overwhelmed” with fear that he questioned
the Angel Gabriel. It was the fear of an answered prayer and the fear of what
was to come. This week, we hear the story of Joseph, the man who was betrothed
to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
This story is the unusual story
about Jesus. You see, there are only two Gospels that describe the birth of
Jesus. It is here in Matthew and, of course, the one we traditionally hear at
Christmas time for the Gospel of Luke.
This story can lead us to our next
reaction in this series of Confusion. Mirriam-Webster dictionary for English
learners states the definition of confusion as: “a situation
in which people are uncertain about what to do or are unable to understand
something clearly.”
That is a lot of what we are dealing with in this Gospel reading for today. It
was the culture, at the time of Jesus’ birth, that parents were betrothed to
one another. Meaning, that the year before the actual wedding, they were
considered “husband and wife.” The woman would stay with her family until the
marriage and the man would stay with his family. So, these two did not even
live together; again, there were considered husband and wife.
This also
kept the door open to any problems. This meant that if there were problems, the
male could call off the marriage and issue the certificate of divorce. It was a
male dominated culture and the man had lots of power when it came to the
relationship.
Well, as we all know, something did
change. Mary was found to be pregnant. And here is where the confusion begins.
In the time of Mary and Joseph, it would be perfectly natural for Joseph to
issue the divorce decree, walk away from this marriage, and if Mary was shamed
so be it; because it meant (one might think) that Mary was not faithful to
Joseph so she got what she deserved. It would mean that she would now be a
woman of disgrace and shame.
But our story is different. Joseph
was not one to go around shaming. In fact, he was willing to do it quietly so
that she would not be shamed. Joseph was willing to show mercy to Mary and just
quietly end the whole thing and move on. Joseph spent time with this decision.
It was a big decision for him to make; does he do what culture says is okay OR
does he go his own way and do things in a merciful way.
Joseph’s decision was not the end of
the story either. Just when he thought his mind was made up, God steps into the
picture. More accurately, the angel of the Lord. This angel appears and tells
Joseph not “to be afraid to take Mary as your wife.” The angel sets Joseph
straight in that Mary did not betray him. The angel tells Joseph that this
child is from God! The angel goes on to state who this child is, what his name
will be and what the Son named Jesus will do; AND that it was to fulfill the
scriptures.
Now, if that is not confusing, I am
not sure what would be. Here you have a culture telling you it is perfectly
normal to do one thing…the supposed “right thing,” and then you have the angel
of the Lord telling you do go against this culture that is firmly in place.
Joseph had enough going on with the “what to do decision” he found out about
Mary. Adding this angel message to the mix surely was a situation where Joseph
would question what the right decision would be like the definition that I
gave.
But scripture says that Joseph was a
“righteous man.” Joseph was faithful in his belief in God. He was so faithful
that amid the confusion of his initial decision to quietly divorce Mary, his
heart was still open to what God wanted him to do. His mind was open to allow
his faith to guide his decision and change his mind; to go against what would
be the norm of shame and embarrassment, not only for Mary, but now for himself.
Joseph found clarity despite the
confusion. Joseph found clarity in the angels message of taking Mary as his
wife. He relied on his faith to listen to the angel’s words and not allow shame
or embarrassment to come to Mary. Joseph was a man of mercy and faith and
demonstrated his faith in action toward God and toward Mary.
All of this would not have happened
without God’s intervention. God is changing the whole dynamic here. God is
showing that just when you think something is all figured out or planned,
expect the unexpected! We know that feeling, don’t we? How many times have we
planned something and, at the last minute, things change? You’re having a
holiday meal and someone decides to bring a friend. It throws off you plans but
you have extra plates and welcome them in. For a while it is confusion until
you can get your bearings and it works out.
We live in a time of great
confusion. The last two weeks have the media going crazy about “real” news
sites and “fake news” sites on the internet. It is a bunch of yelling back and
forth, one story says its true, another says it is a lie…what was down is now
up, and day seems to be night, and so on.
Today’s Gospel reading gives us some
clarity about the days to come in our lives. Just as the angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph, the angel appears to us. The angel speaks to Joseph and us
in telling us that a child is about to be born. This child shall be named Jesus
and will save us from our sin. We are told that the scripture will be fulfilled
in that the child shall be called Emmanuel, God with us. This message is that
despite the confusion that is so penetrating our daily lives, hear the words of
the angel sent by God. Know that this child…this Savior is coming to save us
and SHOW us how to love one another. This child comes to show and do mercy,
forgiveness, and love.
In this time of confusion, let us
take our cue from Joseph. Set our hearts and minds open toward God…our hearts
and minds open to not bringing on shame to one of God’s children…even when
society might say that it is okay to do. May we turn our hearts toward the
angel’s words to bring clarity and share the mercy, forgiveness and love that
Jesus will show with others: AMEN!
