Jesus' Other Parent
David C. Myers
December 23, 2007
Advent - 4
Isaiah 7:10 - 14
Matthew 1:18 - 25 (within the sermon)
One of the familiar themes of this particular Sunday across the whole of Christendom is the role of Mary being Jesus' mother. She is revered, honored, and, at least by some, worshiped. Taking a back seat, but never-the-less the parent from whom we can learn much, is Jesus' other parent - Joseph, the carpenter.
Only Matthew's Gospel gives Joseph much notice. Luke only mentions him in passing, Mark overlooks him completely, and John's Gospel simply writes: "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (John 1:45). As a matter of fact, in the Gospels of Luke and John we have more material concerning the wise men and the shepherds than we find dealing with Joseph.
Perhaps the early church was afraid that if Jesus was linked too closely to Joseph that the doctrine of the virgin birth would be obscured. We are not sure. But we do know that Joseph is but a bit-player in the largest drama of the Bible. Maybe that's why Karl Barth's response to questions about a theology of Mary was, "what we need is a theology of Joseph." And Matthew's Gospel provides the basis for that. As it deals with the scandalous nature of Jesus' birth it puts Joseph front and center in the Nativity Story; and as we shall see, thanks to Joseph, Matthew's Gospel overcomes the scandal.
Matthew gives us some clues as to the character of this humble carpenter God choose to be the earthly father of God's Son. And by examining this passage we may even find some clues as to the true meaning of Christmas. It may also help us get some clues as to the kind of upbringing Jesus might have received from His parents.
This morning I have, not my customary three, but four points about Joseph.
Now according to my timepiece, I can see that I am already almost out of time.
Three years ago I heard a story at Jurisdictional Conference from Bishop Dan Solomon of two chickens who were having a discussion about the feasibility of laying an egg on a busy highway. They looked at all the traffic, saw a calm space where the center line was and came to the conclusion that you could lay an egg on a busy highway . . . if you did it quickly and laid it on the line. (pause) So fasten your seatbelts.
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah too 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. (Mt. 1:18)
1.) Joseph was a dreamer. ("a messenger of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said . . .") We are told that the angel of the Lord appeared to him, set his mind at ease enough so that Joseph would marry Mary. Later on we are told that again Joseph had an angel appear to him in a dream and guided him to take his family to Egypt to avoid the massacre of baby boys by King Herod.
We are all guided by our dreams, probably more than we are aware. Researchers tell us that our dreams help us to resolve the inner conflicts and emotional troubles we have. And, of course, we have all used the expression, "I'll sleep on it," when referring to a major decision with which we are faced.
Joseph had much inner turmoil to face in his life; including the discovery that the virgin end to which he was betrothed (engaged) was pregnant, that he was being forced to travel to Bethlehem with his about-to-deliver wife to be registered for the census, and the King ruling the land had just ordered the killing of all boys under the age two - and as we all know, he and Mary had a baby boy. And yet he had the presence of mind to be calm, not to act quickly, but to piece it all together and to do what it takes to keep his family - and his loved ones - together.
2.) Joseph was a "just" man. Other translations of "just" are "fair-minded," "of stern principle" and "one who always does what was right". We need a whole society of such people. Robert McAfee Brown writes about three characteristics of a moral-society: "It will be compassionate rather than vindictive; it will express social concern for the powerless; and, it will be a society that clings to hope rather than succumbing to despair."
Joseph the carpenter clung to the hope that his family would survive, he married a teen-age girl, who by all outward appearances had "fooled-around" with others other than her betrothed boyfriend. And then, to top it all off, took his powerless son to Egypt. Those are reveal that Joseph had hope, was compassionate, and had great concern for the powerless.
As we look around today and read about celebrities and professional athletes who father children only to leave them with their mother and then also read of the high incidence of single parent families (often single mother - families), maybe we can appreciate even more how easy it would have been for Jesus' other parent to pack it in, go his own way and start all over. But not Joseph - Joseph was trying to do the "just" thing.
3.) And going hand in hand with being just, is being sensitive.
Norman Cousins wrote: "The highest expression of civilizations is not its art but the supreme tenderness that people are strong enough to feel and show one another, . . . If our civilization is breaking down, as it appears to be, it is because our feelings are being dulled. What our society needs is a massive and pervasive experience of re-sensitization."
Her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. (Mt. 1:19)
This may not seem especially sensitive to you, but let's look closer. In our times this statement doesn't sound so strange - after all, it happens all the time, more and more children are born out of wedlock and are raised only by their mothers. But in ancient Palestine out-of-wedlock pregnancies were a far more serious issue than in today's culture.
It begins with a better understanding of what "betrothal" meant in those times. Betrothal was not an engagement in the modern sense, betrothal was a definitive legal state, contracts had been signed, dowries exchanged, binding agreements set in place. While a legal marriage did not exist until the husband had taken his wife into his home and consummated their union, a betrothed couple was, never-the-less, a legal entity and already bound by the strict Hebraic codes of conduct. For example, if the woman, during her betrothal, should become bereaved - in other words if Joseph had died before they married, she would be considered a widow; and the Jewish community would be bound to care for Mary. However, on the other hand, should the betrothed woman have an affair with another man, it was regarded as adultery, and there would be no care for the woman or her children. When Mary was found to be pregnant, she could have faced the full measure of Hebraic adultery laws. As low as women were regarded in those days, being an adulterous woman was even lower - to say nothing of the lowly status, which really was no status, of children born to promiscuous women.
And it is here that we get a real sense of Joseph's character. For if Joseph were a "righteous man", which unfortunately is the word used in many of the Biblical translations, he would have fulfilled the Hebraic codes and the Hebraic adultery laws. As a man of faith, he would have upheld the law, he would have done the right thing, and he would have been true to his faith.
But it would be tough on Mary. Mary, as adulterous and her Son as a child of an adulterous woman would have had absolutely no rights or entitlements in that culture.
Thankfully, however, Joseph did not go that route, instead of being "righteous"; Joseph was "just" and "sensitive." In so doing, Joseph overcame the scandal of the Christmas birth.
But Joseph even did more than that.
4.) Thus far we have established Joseph as a dreamer of hope, a "just" man, and one who is sensitive. But so are a lot of people - whether or not they have any religious affiliation. But there is one thing that sets Joseph apart from the common person. He was obedient to God's message as it came to him from an angel of the Lord in a dream.
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. She will bear a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall name Him Emmanuel," which means "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke from his sleep, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she borne him a Son, and he name Him Jesus." (Mt. 1: 20 - 25)
"He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him . . ." Joseph married Mary, named the baby Jesus, took the family to Egypt, and brought them back to Israel after Herod had died, and then settled down in Nazareth - all these things as a result of following the visions of the angel which appeared to him in many dreams.
Obedience, . . . in this sense obedience is not submission, but rather it is faith in action. It is, as the author of Hebrews suggests, "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. . . . By faith we understand that the world was created by the Word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear." Obedience to God is putting faith into action.
The form and the circumstance may differ for each one of us, but the Christ Child comes to us with an opportunity to be people of faith. We can put our faith in action - to leave the security of being people of convention, people locked into doing things and understanding things simply because every one else does them and understands them that way, or because "we have always done it that way."
In the story of Joseph and Mary and the birth of the Christ Child, Joseph was given the choice of faithful obedience. He had many other alternatives before him. On the one hand, he could have chosen the conventional route. He could have been selfish; he could have abandoned Mary and the about to be born baby. He could have ignored the call to go to Egypt and let his child be one of the thousands slaughtered under Herod's hand; or, on the other hand, he could exercise his hope, his sense of justice, his sensitivity, and most of all, his faithful obedience. Given an understanding of the conditions and social customs of that time, I suspect that the selfish, conventional choice would have been much easier to make. But Joseph, in making room for the Christ Child, chose to be faithful - revealing qualities of justice, sensitivity, and obedience to his faith.
And that is the choice we all must make. Do we continue in the ways of the world?, or do we choose to be faithful, to be dreamers, to be just, to be sensitive, and to be obedient to our faith by making room in our lives for the Christ Child?
May we go and be like Joseph.