Today
we begin the transition from Advent to Christmas. We are led to the stable. Our
hopes, dreams and longing for a Saviour are the same hopes, dreams and longings
people had on that first Christmas 2,000 years ago. The birth of the Messiah
pointed to the promise of the Kingdom.
To
many people at that time, the promise of a coming Messiah was like a dream.
They dreamed of a Messiah who would change their lives by driving out the
Romans. Their dreams meant the end of their old world and their old way of life
and the beginning of the kingdom. This change would not be dramatic. It would
be brought about by God entering in the lives of two very ordinary people-Mary
and Joseph-and an extraordinary circumstance. God uses ordinary people to do
extraordinary things. He used two ordinary people to be the parents of the baby
that would bring salvation to the world.
At
that time, Jewish marriages took place in three stages. First, there was
engagement. This was where the marriage was arranged between both sets of
parents when the couple were still children. Second, there was the betrothal,
which took place one year before marriage. At this stage, the girl could refuse
the agreement, but if she accepted, the only way the agreement could be broken
was by divorce. The couple was legally married but could not consummate the marriage
until the third and final part of the marriage took place. That part was the
wedding celebration, when the groom took the bride home to be his wife.
God
interrupted the plans that Mary and Joseph had for their lives, and for a good
reason. God’s plans for their lives had to take priority, just like his plans
for our lives have to take priority. Mary was pregnant out of wedlock. That was
a scandalous situation in those days, and could lead to death by stoning,
unlike today where this situation is commonplace. Mary’s pregnancy was
disrespectable in the eyes of the people in their home village, but it was
honourable in the eyes of God. Honour also fell on Joseph because he was made
part of God’s plan for his people.
Human
plans were overridden so that God could do good things for us. It shows that
something good can come from a messy situation. We don’t always have the
control over our lives that we thought we did. We need to ask God to deepen our
faith so we can accept things when the absurdities of life happen. This reminds
us that Jesus is “God with us.” Jesus revealed the entirety of God. Jesus
became the sins of the people so he could save us from these sins. He showed
the love he had to give us the precious gift of salvation. This would not be
possible if Joseph and Mary did not follow God’s call and his plans for their
lives.
Speaking
of dreams, God often speaks to people in a variety of ways, including dreams.
Take Joseph for example. He wanted to divorce Mary privately and quietly because
she was pregnant out of wedlock, but God spoke to him in a dream and told him
not to divorce Mary. Dreams were a special mode of revelation by which God gave
instructions to his people.
Joseph tried to live according to his faith and its traditions, but Mary’s pregnancy created a conflict between Joseph’ head and his heart. Life is like that. Life isn’t black and white, and neither are law and grace. Often we find ourselves in situations where opposites create conflict and we have to find ways to make them work together. In this case, the solution led to the miracle of Jesus’ birth. This miracle led to the gift of salvation for all people, including the religiously unclean, the poor, women and the Gentiles.
God
intervened in Joseph’s plans to quietly divorce Mary by encouraging him to make
a decision out of love instead of following the rules. Love is supreme in God’s
Kingdom. There are times when society’s rules will have to be overruled by love
for our fellow man in order to make something happen that will save lives. In
other words, salvation comes when we put love above rules.
Christ
was the same when he was on earth. He came into conflict with traditions,
beliefs and the way of doing things. His work as the Messiah conflicted with
the type of Messiah the people expected. He often clashed with “the
establishment”. Man tried to resolve this conflict by nailing Jesus to the
cross in hopes that he would be silenced forever. Jesus used the cross to
resolve the conflict by offering his people the gift of eternal life to those
who believed in him.
Our
response to God when he speaks to us constitutes our prayer. Prayer is not
easy, but obeying God is not easy. We will face difficulties when we obey God.
It is in these times that we must remain steadfast in faith and trust God to
bring us through these difficulties. We can face any hardship when we trust
God. This hope is an attitude to the future.
Joseph
is an example of how Christ wants his people to act. Joseph could have made a
public spectacle out of the situation, but he didn’t. He acted out of love and
not out of anger. He obeyed God, and God rewarded his obedience with grace.
God’s grace to Mary is the starting point of the story of salvation-a story
that includes suffering. God’s grace extends to everyone, and that grace
includes suffering for his sake. We must endure our own suffering and encourage
the suffering of others. In this painful situation, Joseph’s only concern was
for Mary. This is righteousness in action. Joseph also did not make a hasty
decision. He took time to consider his options, and during that time he
positioned himself to hear God’s word. God instructed Joseph through his
dreams.
Joseph
was a righteous man, but he was not self-righteous. He did not want to cause
Mary any pain, so he decided to divorce her quietly. He showed Christ-like
compassion in the face of what was a “sin” in the eyes of the people. He was as
perfect as humanly possible, even as God is perfect. He was righteous and
obeyed the word of God perfectly. God drafted Joseph into a difficult position.
If we are faithful, would we be willing to be drafted by God?
Joseph’s
righteousness was deeper and more profound than observing laws and customs. It
grew out of God’s presence in his life, and it allowed him to hear the voice of
the angel in his dreams and obey its commands. He could look directly at
confronted him, see it and all its implications and obey God without regard for
his own reputation. He could accept the angel’s message that Mary’s unborn
child was of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph
was a common man who dared to obey God’s will for his life. Joseph put his own
ego aside and put Mary and God first. He is an example for all of us-an example
of humility based on a simple trust that all things work together through God’s
grace for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purposes.
Christmas
is not just a holiday. It is a holy day. It is the day God came to earth as a
baby to reconcile us to him. Reconciliation would lead to an exciting life of
faith. To live that exciting life of faith, we have to keep on trusting God.
Joseph didn’t understand what God told him, but he trusted God. He knew things
that Joseph didn’t know.
The
Virgin Birth was God’s greatest affirmation of humanness. God showed that he
could become human without becoming sinful. He had to enter into every detail
of human life. Then, when he died on the cross for our sins, he would have
already experienced all the pain and testing himself and would be able to help
where help was needed.
Today
is the last Sunday of our preparation to meet Christ at Christmas. We might
feel confused and troubled like Joseph was. We might feel unworthy to receive
Christ because we lack the virtues that Joseph displayed-charity, faith and
hope. We must strive to imitate Joseph’s qualities of humility, faith and
obedience. Our Advent might not have
been the season of preparedness that we wanted it to be, but it is not too late
for us. We can become full of purpose and believe the promises of God that
Joseph believed.
God
works with us where we are, but he can bring us to where we ought to be. He
came into the life of Joseph and brought him to great sanctity. He works with
people who are more flawed than Joseph was and does great things with them and
through them.
Christmas
is a chance to worship God, to bow down and pay homage to him for humbling
himself and appearing in human form. God’s word is more certain, more secure
and more immoveable than any event on earth. He is the answer to our needs. He
sacrificed himself to save us. That is the mystery of the Virgin Birth and the
reason we celebrate Christmas.
Advent
invites us to let go of the expectations of society. Advent calls on us to
forget about our own expectations and remember the love of Jesus and Joseph and
the love of God. We are called on to let God’s peace gradually warm our souls
and free us for new expectations and the birth of something within us and for
us. We need to remember the essential message of Christmas-God is with us.
1.
Lectionary
Homiletics, Vol. XXV, No. 1 (St. Paul, MN: Luther Seminary, pp. 27-36)
3.
Ray
Hollenbach, “Great Preaching Through the Christmas Season”. Retrieved from www.sermoncentral.com
4.
Jude
Siciliano, O.P., “First Impressions, 4th Sunday of Advent (A)”.
Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org
7.
Tom Holladay,
“You Obey God by Trusting God”. Retrieved from connect@newsletter.purposedriven.com
10. Dr. Jack Graham, “When God Calls You into Hard Times”.
Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
13. Augsberger, M.< 7 Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 24:
Matthew (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.: 1982)
14. Lucado, M.: The
Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2010)
15. Austin Tucker, “The Virgin-Born Savior”, Preaching
Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 2, pgs. 38-40 (Nashville, TN: Salem Publishing Inc.)
18. The Rev. Charles Hoffacker, “When the Moment of Crisis
Comes”. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org
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