Ever-faithful, ever-creating God, in this Advent season of preparation, as we draw closer to the celebration of Christ’s birth once again, may we take this time together to enter deeply into this familiar story – and there find new experiences of grace, expressions of love, and words of wisdom to guide our living and inspire our faith. Amen.
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According to the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph was the son of a man named Jacob and a descendent of King David. Before the brief tale of Jesus’ birth that we just heard, the rest of the first chapter of Matthew is dedicated to the listing of a messianic genealogy that situates both Jesus and his earthly dad, Joseph, in a long line of important and impactful figures in the history of Israel, all way back to Abraham. This genealogy isn’t about biology; it’s about spiritual heritage. Not all of the women in this sacred lineage are mentioned, by the way, but five fascinating women are included: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and of course, Mary.
So, although we don’t really know all that much about Joseph as a historical person, right at the start of his gospel Matthew invites us to view him as someone of significance within the long history of God’s saving and liberating work in the world. After all, Joseph is going to help raise the Messiah. He’s important!
In today’s story, we hear that Joseph was a righteous man. No doubt he was committed to his Jewish heritage and tradition; committed to following the Torah commandments; and committed to a covenantal relationship with God.
So, Joseph finds out Mary is expecting a baby. It’s not his. He doesn’t yet know (or perhaps doesn’t yet believe) what’s really going on. And so, he’s in the midst of a dilemma. What’s a righteous man to do? Should he divorce Mary? That would be the logical and legal choice for him in that time. Should he make a big, loud deal about it? He’s probably feeling hurt, betrayed, angry, ashamed. But it seems he’s also worried for Mary.
This part of the story doesn’t usually make it into children’s Christmas pageants, does it?!
We’re told that Joseph is inclined to break off the relationship. But he resolves to do it quietly, privately. He doesn’t want to disgrace Mary publicly (even though most people might have taken his side). He doesn’t want to bring shame, suspicion, and who knows what other horrible consequences upon her.
And this decision tells us something about the style of Joseph’s righteousness (which offers some lessons for us). He’s not self-righteous. He’s not mean. He’s not spiteful. He’s a good guy, capable of compassion and mercy. Even if it’s hard and feels terrible and unfair, he’ll let go, move on.
But, of course, God has other ideas for Joe!
When we hear about The Annunciation, we usually think of Mary’s encounter with the Angel Gabriel in Luke’s gospel that we heard last week. But in Matthew’s gospel, we hear Joseph’s annunciation story. He takes center stage as the recipient of the good news of the coming Messiah.
An angel of the Lord appears to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid,” the angel says. Did you notice, again our attention is being drawn to the lineage of King David? “Take Mary as your wife,” the angel says. “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.” We see the parallels to Mary’s annunciation story.
So, Joseph wakes up and follows the angel’s command. Joseph is moved by this experience to change his mind. Instead of saying no to Mary, he says yes. Yes, to loving and marrying her. Yes, to fathering, loving, and raising Jesus. Yes, to God’s invitation. And yes, to stepping into God’s unfolding revelation and following God’s leading, even though he doesn’t know exactly where this path will take him.
In this moment, Joseph demonstrates his faithfulness to the God he already knows and his openness to new revelation of God’s ever-creating Spirit. Joseph is both steadfast and open-hearted in his faith. And isn’t that a model for all of us?
When religion gets detached from awe, wonder, and the possibility of new revelation, it loses something vital and life-giving. Faith is more than just a fixed set of beliefs.
And when religious people get detached from relational love (perhaps keeping a distance from anyone or anything that challenges us), we too lose something vital.
So much of faith (and so much of the biblical narrative that we have inherited) is really about following God’s liberating and redeeming Spirit and responding to the leading of God’s love. I think Joseph’s story demonstrates this once again for us, as he responds to God’s call, faithfully and with an open heart. When we witness Joseph saying yes to Mary, and to Jesus, and to this whole unfolding journey of faith, we’re invited to do the same.
“Do not be afraid,” says the angel to Joseph. This is something angels say in the Bible – perhaps for good reason. Angelic visions (in dreams or otherwise) could certainly take one by surprise! But I also think that, in this moment, this is foreshadowing. We know the rest of the story and know that there will soon be very frightening circumstances for the Holy Family.
In the very next scene King Herod learns from the visiting magi that the new “King of the Jews” was to be born in Bethlehem. And this inspires in Herod immense fear and rage. He’s the current King of the Jews and fears that his power will be taken from him.
Those wise men never should have stopped to ask for directions, if you ask me! Not so wise, guys!
But, the angelic dream visions keep happening and the magi are warned not to go back to Herod and tell him where to find Jesus. And Joseph is told to take Mary and Jesus and flee immediately to Egypt and to stay there until Herod’s death because Jesus’ life is in peril.
And then, the unthinkable happens. In fury over having been tricked by the magi and driven mad by fear over the threat that Jesus poses, Herod unleashes a torrent of wrath issuing orders to kill all the children age two and younger in and around Bethlehem.
Sheer horror and lament are faithful responses in the face of such evil. And that is exactly what Matthew offers us when he lifts up the words of the prophet Jeremiah (whose witnessed his people experience the devastation of the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem and resulting exile): “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”
Now, there’s no historical evidence that a slaughter of this magnitude actually happened in Bethlehem around the time of Jesus’ birth under Herod. But Matthew’s first audience would have believed it was possible because there is plenty of other evidence of Herod’s moral depravity and violent behavior. We do know, for example, that Herod killed multiple members of his own family in order stay in power. Not a nice guy. Not a righteous ruler. Herod is the polar opposite of Righteous Joseph.
And Matthew is doing something else here as well. Remember Moses? Remember Pharoah who tried to rid the threat of Moses by killing all the Hebrew babies? Matthew is using this opportunity to illustrate that Jesus will be like a new Moses, the new agent of God’s redemptive love that will free the enslaved and liberate the oppressed. And, in an ironic twist, in this story Egypt becomes the place of safety rather than the place of danger.
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid,” said the angel. I can just imagine him thinking, “well, I wasn’t all that afraid until now, until they came after our kid, until we had to run for our lives and resettle in an unfamiliar place for God knows how long. At least we have some gold, frankincense, and myrrh to help fund our escape.”
This story ought to give us pause. How many people throughout history and in our present world have known this experience all too well? Refugees. Immigrants. People who have fled violence, danger, enslavement, famine, poverty. The Holy Family’s displacement should inspire in us compassion and the will to help work for a more just and peaceful future for all people, especially justice for those who have had experiences like this.
After Herod dies, Joseph gets two more angel-grams in which he is told it is now safe to return to Israel and to settle in Nazareth in Galilee. And so, they return. And that’s where they stay.
After this, Joseph is only mentioned one more time in Matthew and not by name. Later on, when Jesus is teaching in the synagogue in Nazareth, people take notice of him and say, “hey, isn’t that the carpenter’s son?”
We’re left to imagine the rest of Joseph’s story.
But, given what we are told, I imagine Joseph was a good father. In fact, given how Jesus turned out, I think both Mary and Joseph were very good parents. Jesus may have been remarkable, but he still needed their love, support, care, and guidance along the way.
I mentioned last week about the shortage of Christmas carols that mention Joseph. There are a few, however. We sang one, the sweet Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine. Thank you to Jason for that find!
John Brunner also mentioned the moving Joseph’s Lullaby by MercyMe in which Joseph poignantly prays on Christmas night, “I believe the glory of Heaven is lying in my arms tonight. But Lord, I ask that he for just this moment simply be my child.”
And there is one other song that I’ve actually loved for a long time. Only Joseph is a song by the late singer and songwriter, Garrison Doles, on his album A Songmaker’s Christmas. The whole album is great, by the way! And it’s a good one to listen to as we get a little deeper into December if you want a change from the classic carols (or perhaps when you’re getting tired of hearing what Mariah Carey wants for Christmas).
In Only Joseph, Doles imagines Joseph pondering his own vocation as a father. About the song, Doles wrote, “it seems to me that Joseph was given the task of teaching the boy Jesus about how a man walks and talks and behaves in this world. And he taught him about how we use these earthly hands to shape and mold and craft the world into what is useful and necessary to our lives. It seems to me that Joseph was there to teach Jesus how to live as one of us, how to live as one who is measured by time and space.” Aren’t all fathers tasked with that?
As Joseph, Doles sings these words:
Mary, sweet Mary, I did not believe you. Forgive me for doubting, you never would lie. I’m out of my head here, just trying to keep up. It all seems so big like the stars or the sky. But I can tell by the look on your face, it’s gonna be all right, it’s covered by grace.
Who am I here? Under the heavens. Who am I here? In all the land. Only Joseph, I am only Joseph. But I can teach him to work with his hands.
Considering how Jesus would use his hands – to touch and heal, to care for and feed, to wash his disciples’ feet and teach them his way – that means everything!
As a beacon of faith for us, Joseph illustrates love and loyalty to chosen family, chosen community. He may have been nudged by an angel at first, but he stayed the course with Mary and Jesus through thick and thin.
Joseph demonstrates courage to step out into the unknown, even when it is scary, and courage to carry on in even in difficult and challenging circumstances.
And Joseph shows us a faith that is both grounded in the wisdom of our inherited tradition and also open to new revelation.
So, this Christmas, as Dave said about Mary last week, I invite us to also consider Joseph as more than just a figurine standing in adoration of the Christ Child, but as a living, breathing hard-working father, mentor, and faithful man who has something to teach us.
Amen.