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Sunday, December 19, 2010

The Fourth Sunday of Advent
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Denver, Colorado
Pastor Dena Williams

Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25

The Holy Gospel according to the Community of St. Matthew in the 1st
Chapter
Glory to you, O Lord

1:18 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.

1:19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her
to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

1:20 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.

1:21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his
people from their sins."

1:22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through
the prophet:

1:23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name
him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."

1:24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord
commanded him; he took her as his wife,
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1:25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he
named him Jesus.
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ

Joseph’s Story

Dear Joseph,

There are fewer than 20 references to you in the Gospels that record the
story of the life of your son, Jesus.

You were the son of a man named Jacob.

You probably grew up in the village of Nazareth and learned the trade of
your father.
You made your living as a carpenter,
building furniture, doors, window frames for the people of the village.
We know that your father Jacob gave you a plot of land to farm for food,
to build a house.
Your deep sense of responsibility is evident to us.
Only after you had established yourself in trade,
did you begin to think of marriage.
There was a beautiful young woman who lived in the village.
Her name was Mary.
She was probably about 16 years old.
You asked her father, Joachim, for her hand in marriage.
Then there came the year of betrothal to endure before she became your
wife.
During that year she continued to live in her parent’s house
where you visited so regularly that her mother Ann set a place at the table
for you.
You fell in love that year with Mary.
You talked together about the family you would have,
how you would support them with your work.
As you planned for the future,
you longed for the day when Mary would be your wife.
As the months passed you noticed a change in Mary.
She seemed quieter.
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She had a far away look in her eyes.

Her face grew rounder and her frame seemed to change
from that of a gangly girl to the full figure of a woman.
Not being familiar with the ways of women,
you thought she must just be growing and changing.

One day you hugged her as you were leaving her father’s house
and she began to cry.
You led her to a bench near the door and asked what made her sad.
She told you a story,
an unbelievable story—
something about how she had been visited by an angel
who told her she would bear a child who would be the Son of God.
She told you she was expecting a child.
You knew that the child was not yours.
You stood silently and walked away,
leaving her sitting on the bench.
You returned alone to the house you had built for Mary on your father’s gift
of land.
You knew what you had to do.
You knew that Mary was pregnant,
not with your child.
Through your tears you planned for tomorrow.
You knew what the law required in order to break a betrothal.
You would find two witnesses and in their presence you would announce to
Mary and to her parents that you were divorcing her.
You cried yourself to sleep,
distraught and disappointed,
your plans for the future destroyed.

Oh Joseph, we are so glad that you decided to “sleep on it.”

We are so glad that you decided to wait until the next day.
Your life seemed to be in total disarray.
It seems, though, that God had other plans.
The angel came to you that night in a dream.
He said to you, “Do not be afraid.”
“Take Mary as your wife.
The child she carries is from God.
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His name will be Jesus and he will save his people from their sins.”
The sun came up
and as you struggled from sleep,
you recalled with a heavy heart the sad events of the day before.
Then, your eyes flew open and you were suddenly wide awake,
as you recalled the words of the angel.
You washed and then brushed your hair and put on a clean tunic.
You rushed to the house of Joachim, Mary’s father and called in at the door.
Mary’s mother, Ann, opened the door.
Her tear stained face revealed her pain.
She stammered an apology.
“I am sorry that my daughter has brought such shame to our house and to
you.
You know that she is expecting a child.
She says you are not the father.”
“Yes, I know. May I come in? It is time to make plans for the wedding.”
You said these things loudly so that Mary, waiting inside, would hear.
Joachim threw open the door, drawing you inside the house.
Then you saw her, sitting in the shadow of the room.
You gathered Mary in your arms and told her that you loved her and that
everything was going to be all right.

What are the lessons we can learn from you Joseph?

You were a humble man.
You did not expect wealth or power.
All you really wanted was to marry and raise a family and worship God.
Most of all Joseph,
you trusted God.
Your story teaches us that even in the face of tragedy,
God is with us.
That is what your son’s name means,
Immanuel, God with us.
That is what we are called by your story to remember.
Even in our darkest hour,
God is with us.

There would be more dark hours ahead for you and Mary and your children.
There are more dark hours ahead for us in our life.
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Our prayer is that we will learn to trust God as you trusted God.
Our prayer is that we will, in humble obedience listen as you did to God’s
will for our lives.
Thank you Joseph,
for the lessons we learn from your story.
Amen