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Christmas with Joseph Matthew 1:18-25 |
November 28, 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum |
Do you remember the Bible story about Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus was a tax collector who wanted to see Jesus. But because of his short stature he was afraid he would be unable to see Jesus through the crowd. So, he climbed up in a sycamore tree for a better vantage point. As Jesus passed by He saw Zacchaeus in the tree and they ended up spending the day together. And Zacchaeus' life was forever changed because of that encounter.
There's a wonderful centuries old legend attached to Zacchaeus. Legend has it that in later years Zacchaeus would rise early every morning and leave his house for an hour or so. Not once did he ever tell his wife what he did on these daily ventures and with time she grew very curious. Eventually she could no longer contain her curiosity. She decided to follow him.
Walking silently behind him at a safe distance, she watched as Zacchaeus went to the town well and filled a bucket with fresh water. From the well he walked on for quite a distance eventually stopping under a tree and setting his bucket down. His wife assumed he was simply pausing for a rest. But after a few moments, Zacchaeus began doing the strangest things.
First, he brushed away all of the stones, branches and trash that lay scattered around the foot of the tree. Then, when the area was clear of all debris, he carefully poured the water around the base of the tree. And then, in the strangest action of all, he began to gently touch and caress the trunk of the tree.
At this point that his thoroughly confused wife came out of hiding and asked him what in the world he was doing. Zacchaeus turned to her and with a smile on his face replied, "This is where I found Christ."
It's just a legend. There's no way to know that it's true. But I sure do like the story.
Today is the first Sunday of the Season that we call, Advent. The Advent Season begins with the fourth Sunday before Christmas and throughout Christian history it has been a season to;
--first, prepare ourselves spiritually for the Christmas event and, then,
--to create within ourselves a sense of holy anticipation as we look to meet Christ once again, at Christmas.
And, that's really what our celebration of Christmas is all about. Christmas invites us to a fresh encounter with Jesus. Christmas invites us to come and stand in awe and wonder before a God who comes to us as one of us.
I've always loved Christmas but the reason for my love has changed through the years. As a child, of course, I mostly loved Christmas because of the presents. But as an adult I've come to realize that Christmas is my sycamore tree. I come to Christmas the way Zacchaeus first came to his tree. Christmas is where I find Christ in a new and wonderful way every year. And as we move together through these next 4 weeks, retelling the glorious story of Christmas, my prayer is that each of us will once again find Christ in the midst of our celebration.
Now, just in case you've forgotten, it really is a glorious story. It's filled with drama, mystery and love. It's a story simple enough that the youngest child can embrace it. Yet, it's powerful enough to touch even grown, oftentimes cynical adults like some of us.
This morning, we're going to turn our attention to that portion of the Christmas story that is told by Joseph. I call him, The Forgotten One. It was Joseph that God chose to be Jesus' human father. A very significant role in the life of any young boy. How strange, then, to realize how little we really know about him.
--We know that he was a carpenter.
--We know that he rarely traveled far from his birthplace.
--We know that no book in the bible bears his name. In fact, in all the scriptures we have no record of even a single word he ever spoke.
--And, finally, we know that he disappears completely from the pages of the Bible, never to be seen again, when Jesus is only 12 years old.
Yet, in spite of our lack of knowledge about Joseph who could doubt the significance of his role as the father figure in Jesus' life?
This morning, we meet Joseph in Matthew 1. Beginning in verse 18 we read,
"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel'--which means, 'God with us.'
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."
The first significant glimpse we get into Joseph's life and character is there in verse 19 where it says that Joseph was, "a righteous man." That is to say that he was a man of faith and obedience. He was a man who was serious about living his life on God's terms. And he was also a man whose faith, commitment and character were supremely tested when he learned that his fiancee was pregnant.
By any estimation this must have been a staggering blow to Joseph. In an instant all of his plans for his future with his young bride are completely obliterated. Yet, in the midst of this incredibly difficult circumstance his essential goodness…his "righteousness" …is immediately seen when, instead of lashing out in anger his only desire is to handle this delicate situation discreetly so as to save Mary from public disgrace.
But the pressure on Joseph was turned up even higher when an angel of the Lord spoke to him in a dream and instructed him to do what was all but unthinkable in this society: marry his fiancee even though she was carrying a child that was not his. Suddenly this has become a faith test of the highest order.
--Yes, Joseph believed in God. But did he believe strongly enough to embrace a staggering revelation from God--the revelation that this child growing within his fiancee was the long awaited Messiah? And the answer is, "Yes." And it's at this point that we learn a key faith less in Joseph's example, namely, that Joseph was not only open to God's direction, but he also maintained his sense of openness even when God was leading in a direction radically different from anything he'd ever imagined. A direction that was completely unfamiliar and unexpected.
Here's my point, folks--it's one thing to follow God when He leads us in a familiar direction or a desirable direction. It's something else altogether to stay open to God's direction when He begins to lead us in ways that are all but unthinkable. We may be people of faith but it's been my observation that we tend to like our faith comfortable, well ordered and predictable.
"Lord, we're with you every step of the way as long as you don't lead us anywhere we don't want to go."
"Lord, we're right behind you as long as long as you don't expect us to make any significant changes."
"Lord, we'll follow you anywhere as long as its generally consistent with the plans we already have in place."
Again, it's easy to be open to God's direction when He leads us along paths that maintain our comfort level, our current plans and our cherished traditions. It's another thing altogether to remain open to God when he moves us in ways we never anticipated.
Yet, that's exactly what Joseph did. To follow God's lead he would have to turn loose of everything familiar and walk into the future holding on to nothing but an unwavering confidence in God. And that's what he did. Joseph's was able to stay open to God's direction even when that direction was radically different from anything he'd anticipated.
And as Jesus grew up in that home there must have been a time when he learned of his fathers' courageous faithfulness. I have to believe that, through the years, his mother, Mary, found numerous occasions to tell her son about the time when his father was confronted with a radical challenge to his faith, and he remained obedient to God. And I have to believe that Joseph's example inspired Jesus even as it inspires us, today.
I don't know when the reality of Christ's presence will come to you this Christmas Season.
I don't know what God has planned for you.
But my hope for all of us is that we will be ready to meet Him whenever He comes and ready to follow Him wherever He leads.
One of the lessons we learn from Joseph is that God is an incredible God and He can do incredible things with people who are willing to remain open even to the incredible.
And there is at least one other lesson we can learn from Joseph and that is the importance of believing the best about people.
One of the things that distresses me greatly when I see it among Christian people is the willingness, or in some cases even an eagerness, to assume the worst about people. I'm talking about that bent in some people's disposition that prompts them to conjure up the worst possible way to interpret the words and actions of others and then just assume that their interpretation must be true.
--For these people there's no such thing as an innocent mistake. Everything must have been done with malice.
--There's no such thing as an honest difference of opinion…everything is perceived as a personal attack.
Rather than giving people the benefit of the doubt these people are quick to convict and condemn.
How very different that is, from the example of Joseph. Consider his circumstances: his fiancée is pregnant, he's not the father, the only explanation offered is delivered by an angel appearing to him in a dream, and the explanation itself defies all logic and reason. What was he to believe? Before long their friends and neighbors would also know that Mary was pregnant. What would they believe?
Well, we don't know about the friends and neighbors but we do know what Joseph believed. In spite of some very disturbing circumstances…
--He believed in Mary's love and returned her love.
--He believed in Mary's integrity and he put his reputation on the line to defend her.
--He believed in Mary's purity and took her to be his wife.
--And he believed the word of God, welcomed the baby into his home and became a father to him.
Imagine how different this story would have been if Joseph had refused to believe the best about Mary. The truth is, it doesn't take any strength of character, any spiritual maturity, any grace or any wisdom to believe the worst about others. Joseph reminds us that God is honored when we choose to believe the best.
I want to close by reading a brief excerpt from a book called, Christmas Friarworks, by popular author Robert Fulghum.
I usually draw up a heavy duty Things-To-Do list about this time of year. I am a black belt at lists. I even have lists of lists. Seven pages of expectations that are in themselves enough to permanently destroy the spirit of Christmas.
But this year I started from somewhere else in my mind. New list. One page. A Things-To-Be list.
Concentrating on the feelings I wanted to have, the condition of mind and spirit I yearned for, the quality of life I wanted to manifest, the vibration I wanted to give off to other people. A Things-To-Be list for Christmas.
I like the idea of a Things-To-Be list. I think the first 2 things I'll put on my list are these:
First, this Christmas, I want to be a person who stays open to God no matter where that openness leads.
And, second, throughout this Christmas season, I want to be a person who believes the best about people.
Somehow, I think if we can do that it might not only be a Merry Christmas. It might just be a blessed Christmas.
© Copyright 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum