Sermon – Matthew 1:18-25 – Coming to Jesus: Joseph

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon – Matthew 1:18-25 – Coming to Jesus: Joseph
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Church
November 28, 2010

Today we begin a new church year with the start of the season of Advent. Advent is a transliteration of the Latin word adventus which mean coming or arrival. It is a period of time when we prepare ourselves for the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ at Christmas. Advent gives us a time to be reflective while the rest of the world goes about the hustle and bustle of shopping for presents, cooking family meals, decorating the house, and listening to Christmas carols over and over again. Advent is a time for waiting, not just for the jolly old man in the red suit, but for our savior who will come again.

One thing seems to happen each Advent; God interrupts our lives. We all live carefully planned lives. We like to be in control of our futures. But with the coming of a Savior into our lives we sometime experience unexpected change; our lives are interrupted. And when this happens we can either step out into the new life God is creating for us, or we can cower in fear trying to hold onto the old life we are losing. Let us pray.

In anticipation of the shalom Christ brings to all people we come now before your throne of grace to give your our praise and thanksgiving. Amen. (When We Gather p.3)

Matthew 1:18-25 18 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. 19 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. 20 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. 21 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." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Joseph was having a bad day, a really bad day. Joseph was the sort of boy who did everything right. He studied the Hebrew Bible with a local rabbi and understood God’s law. He always tried to obey God’s laws and stay out of trouble. His family had gone about the process of finding him a suitable wife. A neighboring family had a young woman, named Mary, probably around thirteen years old, who would make a nice match for Joseph. So the two families entered into a contract: Mary’s family was excited that she would marry into the house of David, their great ancestor king who lived centuries ago; such a marriage would be very prestigious. So they offered their virgin daughter and a sizable dowry to seal the deal. Joseph’s family knew that they had something special in him so they held out for a high price. A deal was made and the year long preparation for a wedding was begun. And everything seemed to be fine until Joseph got the bad news that interrupted his life.

We’ve been there with Joseph. Everything seems to going well and all of a sudden our lives are interrupted. A lover says you’re not loved. A doctor says you’re not well. A manager says you’re not needed. And suddenly your world is upside down. This is what happened to Joseph. His well planned, respectable, orderly life came to a crashing halt when someone told him the devastating news, “Did you hear? Mary is pregnant.” Imagine the sleepless night that followed: the tossing and turning, the pacing back and forward. Joseph knew what he had to do. Divorce was the only answer. Joseph had the right to demand a trial. Mary would be forced to admit her adultery or testify against the man who raped her. Either way she would be disgraced. But Joseph, being the kind man that he was decided not have the trial, but to quietly divorce her preserving what was left of her honor. And with that decision Joseph could finally close his eyes and get a little sleep. Or so he hoped, but then came the dreams: the ghosts of Christmases past.

There was the ghost of Abraham, the father of Isaac, and the ghost of Isaac the father of Jacob, and the ghost of Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. And then there was a terrifying sight: the ghost of Tamar hold a small baby. Tamar came beside Joseph’s bed and said, “Look at my baby. This is the son of Judah, the ancestor of King David. I was married to one of his sons. When he died his brother followed the law and married me. But when he died too his younger brother refused to marry me as he was required and I was destitute. I needed a son to take care of me. So I pretended to be a prostitute and seduced my father-in-law Judah. This is our baby, Perez”.

Then Joseph saw was the ghost of Perez the father of Hezron, and the ghost of Hezron the father of Ram, the ghost of Ram the father of Amminadab, and the ghost of Amminadab the father of Nahshon, the ghost of Nahshon the father of Salmon, and the ghost of Salmon the father of Boaz. Then there was an even more terrifying sight, the ghost of Ruth. Ruth hovered above Judah’s bed with a baby in her arms and said, “Look at my baby. I was a foreigner married to a Jew. When he died I had no one to care for me. So I seduced his relative Boaz and here is our son, Obed. He will be the grandfather of King David”.

Joseph tried to get back to sleep, but the ghosts of Christmases past continued. There was the ghost of Obed, the father of Jesse, and the ghost of Jesse the father of King David. Then Joseph, dreamed that he went up to the roof of his house and as he looked over the city he the most terrifying ghost he had seen yet, the ghost of Bathsheba. Bathsheba flew to him carrying a small baby in her arms and said, “Look, this is Solomon, the son King David. I slept with the king when my husband was still alive. My husband was later killed in battle and my child died at birth. I have had a hard life. But this baby is Solomon and he will inherit David’s crown.”

As the dreams went on Joseph saw even more ghosts: the ghost of Solomon the father of Rehoboam, the ghost of Rehoboam the father of Abijah, the ghost of Abijah the father of Asa, the ghost of Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, the ghost of Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, the ghost of Jehoram the father of Uzziah, the ghost of Uzziah the father of Jotham, the ghost of Jotham the father of Ahaz, and the ghosts of Hezekiah, Manasseh Amon, and Josiah and all of his ancestors right down to the ghost of his father Mattan.

It was very late that night. Joseph continued to toss and turn. The appearance of Tamar, Ruth and Bathsheba had terrified him. He was exhausted. And as he closed his eves and fell asleep he had one more dream. Joseph saw Mary carrying a small baby. With her was an angel from God who said, “ God is sending his son into the world. That son is born by the creative action of the Holy Spirit. This son needs to be the Christ, a descendant of King David, and so a man is needed, descended from David, who will adopt the Son of God into his own family. Joseph, you have been chosen by God to adopt his son into your family. The Lord, the God of your ancestors, commands you to take Mary as your wife and name her son.

Joseph, looked at the angel and Mary in amazement. “I can’t do that,” he said. “If I marry Mary and name her son I will be saying that I am the baby’s father!” With that Joseph woke up.
Joseph was faced with a decision. Should he try to hold onto his old life as best he could, or should he embrace the new life God was creating for him? This is the choice we all face whenever we experience interruptions in our lives. When a spouse dies, when a job is lost, when a relationship ends we have the choice to either try to hold on to what little we have left, or to boldly move forward confident that God has a planned a new life for us.

In a couple of weeks I will be spending two days on a presbytery assignment talking with a pastor and a church in the northern part of the presbytery. The church no longer can afford a pastor and is running out of resources. The pastor needs to be able to support his family. The presbytery has an exciting new plan which might revitalize several churches in that area. So I am going up to see if the church will try to hold on to what little they have left, or if will they boldly move into the new life that God is creating for them.

If you have found that God is interrupting you life this Advent you too have a choice. You can try to hold on to you old lives as long as possible. Or you can move forward and embrace the new life God is offering you through the savior who is coming into the world.

Joseph decided not to just hang on to what he had left. Rather he boldly stepped forward into the new life that God had prepared for him. He married Mary, adopted the Son of God into his own Davidic line, and boldly proclaimed his faith in God by naming his son Jesus, which means God is my Salvation. Joseph, whose life had been interrupted, left it behind and stepped into the new life God had created for him through Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus, we need you to come to save us from the interruptions which are a part of our lives. We await your coming and your promise of new life. And we ask for sufficient faith that when that new life is offered we will boldly embrace it. Come – Lord Jesus – Come. Amen.