Matthew 1: 18-25
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
December 15, 2019
Third Sunday of Advent
This Advent we are sitting in four stories from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew where an angel of the Lord makes a divine visit to proclaim, “Fear Not!” And we are uncovering the layers of these holy encounters with Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds to be encouraged that yes, God is indeed with us and listening. God’s Word will light the way for us to rediscover and celebrate the hope, peace, joy, and love that Jesus’ birth brings.
Today we listen to the story of Joseph’s encounter with the angel in Matthew 1: 18-25.
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 [Isaiah]:
‘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.
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). Joseph was a carpenter (Matthew 13:55). He was hardworking, honest, and a righteous man following the Law of Moses (Matthew 1:19).
Joseph was living right in the eyes of God and in the eyes of others. He was focusing on a bright future with his fiancée’ Mary, a young teenage woman from Nazareth. Their engagement was an arranged marriage according to Jewish custom. 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.
The news of Mary’s unexpected pregnancy completely dimmed the light in of Joseph’s eyes. This man felt a dark shadow of shame cover him. Joseph feared his reputation and Mary’s would be tainted in the eyes of their families, friends, and the community.
While Joseph kept the letter of the law, he was not willing to make an example of Mary. The legal consequences were dire for such a 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).
The only way out of this mess was to divorce her. And yet the angel appeared to reframe Joseph’s state of mind and strengthen him: “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” (Matthew 1:20-21).
The angel’s words shined God’s light into the darkness of Joseph’s shame. The angel freed Joseph from the fear being unworthy of God’s favor and judged by others. God’s message empowered Joseph to rise above his fears for God’s purposes to be accomplished through him.
One of the challenges of being human is our struggle with shame. We all are prone to carrying it around with us. Shame creates obstacles to moving forward in lives when our circumstances make us feel defeated. Shame weaves lies of a false narrative within us saying that we are unworthy. Shame causes us to fear the judgment of others; but the worst critic stares at us in the mirror. Shame completely steals our joy.
Brené Brown is a shame researcher. She has written a number of books and given talks on TED (Technology Entertainment and Design). She says:
If we want to be able to move through difficult disappointments, the hurt feelings, and the heartbreaks that are inevitable in a fully lived life, we can’t equate defeat with being unworthy of love, belonging, and joy [1].
We have to talk about shame. Shame is the swampland of the soul. Shame and guilt are different. Guilt says, “I’m sorry – I did a bad thing.” Shame says, “I’m sorry – I am a bad thing.”
Shame plays two big tapes. The first is “You are not good enough.” If you get through that one, it plays, “Who do you think you are?”
For women, shame is this web of unobtainable, conflicting, competing expectations about who we're supposed to be. And it's a straight-jacket.
For men, shame is not a bunch of competing, conflicting expectations. Shame is one, do not be perceived as what? Weak.
If you put shame in a Petri dish, it needs three things to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence, and judgment. If you put the same amount in a Patri dish and douse it with empathy, it cannot survive.
The Angel broke the shame cycle for Joseph. And God’s message can break the shame cycle in us too. Whatever might be stealing your joy today, I want for you to know that you are worthy of love, belonging, and joy because you are a beloved child of God.
Humanity was created in God’s image and everything that God created was called good. However when humanity reached beyond the boundaries of God’s will, the condition of sin entered the world and shame is what we have all hidden from ever since then.
The Maker of heaven and earth would do anything to remove the shadow of shame that burdens us. In fact, God did.
Our Creator came down from heaven’s throne to put on the thin skin of humanity. In Christ, God fully experienced our brokenness, disappointments, guilt, and shame. God chose to look upon us with compassion and empathy by sending his Son to save us from the judgment that we deserve.
Therefore we look to Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and he has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).
As we enter into the third week of Advent, let the light of God’s compassionate love shine into the shadows of shame. According to the Christmas story - secrecy, silence, and judgment do not have the last word. God always has the last word. God alone is the One who is re-writing the end of our stories.
And when we realize that it is only God’s perception of us that matters, then THAT, my friends is joy.
Joy is never putting on a fake smile and being of good superficial cheer.
Joy is having a deeper awareness of God’s grace.
Do not fear. May the joy of the Lord be your strength to rise above as we anticipate Christ’s birth (Nehemiah 8:10).
Glory be to God our Maker, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
[1] Brené Brown, “Daring Greatly” (New York: Penguin Random House, 2012), p. 67.
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