Luke 2: 1-5; Matthew 1: 18-25
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
December 2, 2018
First Sunday of Advent
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. - Luke 2: 1-5
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 fulfil 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. - Matthew 1: 18-25
Today we open the Christmas story once again with all its familiarity, anticipation, and mystery. The two gospels of Luke and Matthew give accounts of Jesus’ birth. The leading roles always include Mary, baby Jesus, the angels, and the shepherds – and rightfully so. But this year we are taking a detour to look into the bit parts.
If you are familiar with theater, a bit part is a seemingly minor role which has direct interaction with the lead actors and has less than five lines of dialogue. However, each of the bit parts in the biblical Christmas story are silent. And yet each one adds something pivotal to the anticipation of the Christ Child.
Presbyterian poet, Ann Weems, turns the spotlight on our first bit part, Joseph, saying:
Who put Joseph in the back of the stable?
Who dressed him in brown, put a staff in his hand, and told him to stand in the back of the creche,
background for the magnificent light of the Madonna?
Is [Joseph] a man to be stuck for centuries in the back of the stable? [1]
Let’s bring Joseph to the forefront and get to know his story a little better.
You have heard it said that in the South it matters where your people come from. Well, Joseph’s people came from Bethlehem. Joseph was the son of Jacob and a descent from the line of King David. King David’s father Jesse was from Bethlehem (Matthew 1: 16; 1 Samuel 16:1). This is important for Isaiah’s prophecy says the Messiah will be an offspring of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1).
Bethlehem was a village just 6 miles from Jerusalem. Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” It was a community of shepherds, farmers, and hardworking families. Bethlehem is known for producing wheat, almonds, olive oil, and it was the main source of water for Jerusalem [2].
Joseph was a carpenter (Matthew 13:55). He was hardworking, honest, and a righteous man following the Law of Moses (Matthew 1:19). And he was betrothed to Mary, a young lady from Nazareth. The ancient Jewish marriage customs were arranged marriages between two families. The earliest age to marry for a young woman was age 12 and for a young man was age 13. So, Joseph and Mary were most likely quite young.
Betrothal was not like our modern-day engagement where you could just walk away with a case of cold feet. Betrothal was a legally binding contract with consequences. The father of the groom would have paid money or an in-kind service to the father of the bride. “During this time the woman was legally married, although she still remained at her father’s house.” The wedding would come later when the bride was accompanied by a procession walking her to the house of the groom to tie the knot and consummate the marriage [3].
In the meantime, a wrench had been thrown into Joseph’s and Mary’s betrothal; she was pregnant. According to Jewish Law, the consequences were dire for such scandal; Mary could be stoned to death by the men of the city for bringing disgrace upon her father’s house and upon Joseph (Deuteronomy 22: 23-27).
Uncertainty clouded the way forward for Joseph. The future seemed to hang in the balance of betrayal and shame. Joseph had a hard decision to make. But wanting to do the right thing, he decided to spare Mary the disgrace due to her and divorce her quietly (Matthew 1:19).
If Joseph had been left to his own devices and divorced Mary, I cannot say that prophecy would not have been fulfilled because nothing can thwart God’s purposes. But I can say that Joseph would have missed the blessing of being a part of God’s purposes. Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts and our ways are not God’s ways. For God’s word will not return to God empty; it shall accomplish God’s purposes and succeed in the very thing for which God sent it (Isaiah 55: 8, 11).
When uncertainty clouded the way forward for Joseph, Holy Spirit settled into the chaos of Joseph’s mind in a dream. God’s Spirit was leading the way forward saying three important things to Joseph: (1) Do not be afraid of Mary’s pregnancy (Matthew 1:20). (2) Keep walking into the future with Mary for God is with you (Matthew 1:20). (3) Be obedient to the plans God has for you (Matthew 1:21).
Joseph could not see the plans God had for him, for Mary, or for the salvation of the world. But Joseph’s role in the Christmas story adds something pivotal to our anticipation of the Christ Child.
It is Joseph who would have the great honor of naming this Holy Child. In doing so, my commentary says, this child conceived by the Holy Spirit, would be adopted into the line of David, and Joseph would be accepting this child as his own [4].
With the knowledge that God indeed had plans to give Joseph, Mary, and God’s people a future with hope, Joseph has a major role to play in sharing his honest, hardworking, and righteous lineage with that sweet little Jesus boy.
This Son would grow up taking his Godly Father’s purposes and his earthly father’s trade of carpentry to work with his hands and heart to help the people in his community and wider world as Scripture states. And Jesus would do so through God’s faithfulness and righteousness and through Joseph’s humility and integrity.
Just the sheer fact that Joseph named Jesus means that Joseph claimed God’s power for himself, for Mary, for God’s people, and for you and me.
When uncertainty clouds the way forward in your life and in mine, Joseph inspires us to remember the profound truth that God is with us and God will deliver us when everything seems to be hanging in the balance.
Today as we enter into this season of Advent, we encounter a mix of emotions: there is a lot of anticipation, excitement, and busyness to prepare for Christmas.
But also, some of us hang in the balance of strained relationships, grief, and uncertainty.
In all of our highs and lows, in all that is unresolved and unfinished, we are waiting for the womb of God’s grace to birth the hope of God’s promises into our broken world once again….so remember how Joseph encountered God’s Advent hope.
When uncertainty clouds the way forward, remember the Spirit whispers to us three things:
(1) Do not be afraid. God’s faithfulness will meet you right where you are.
(2) Keep walking forward. Take the next right step into the hope of God’s future plans, for God is with us. God goes ahead of us and is our rear guard (Isaiah 52:12). Be still and listen for God’s Spirit speaking to you in unexpected ways and even through unexpected people as you discern God’s will.
(3) And be obedient. You may not be able to clearly see the heart and hands of God at work in your situation today. As they say, hindsight is always 20/20.
Rest in the assurance that in Christ all things hold together; for as the womb of God’s grace embraced the Holy Child, the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through Jesus Christ God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross (Colossians 1: 17, 19-20).
When uncertainty clouds the way forward, it is Christ who holds us together in God’s promises.
Borrowing Ann Weems’ words, “This Christmas, let us give thanks to God for [Joseph] this man of incredible faith into whose care God placed the Christ Child. As a gesture of gratitude, let’s put Joseph in the front of the stable where he can guard and greet and cast an occasional glance at this Child who [brings] us life" [5].
In the name of the triune God who is and was and is to come. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
[1] Ann Weems, “Kneeling in Bethlehem” (Louisville: Westminster Press, 1980, 1985, 1987), p. 50.
[2] Simon Worrall, “The Little Town of Bethlehem Has a Surprising History,” December 23, 2017, National Geographic.
[3] Hayyim Schauss, “Ancient Jewish Marriage"
[4] New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume VII (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), p. 71.
[5] Weems, p. 50.
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