SERMON “Remembering Joseph” Pastor Karen
Those of you who have ever stopped in at the manse have met our 2 dogs, Molly and Mabel. Molly is 9 and a half and the bigger one – a sheltie with a bright white mane. Mabel is 4 and a half and about one third her size. She is strawberry blonde, and has a frizzy tail that flops over her back. And she is a Pomeranian.
Now most people who like dogs like Molly. She’ll bark a little when she first meets you, especially if you are carrying a box or wearing a dark hood. But then, if you hold out your hand and speak softly, she will lick your fingers and let you pet her. She is sweet and companionable, sitting at my feet when I am working on the computer or lying beside my bed when I sleep. She likes to play with a rubber cupcake squeak toy and go on long walks, no matter what the weather.
People sometimes have a different reaction to Mabel. They can’t wait to get away from her. Especially if they are the UPS or Fed Ex man and they have to put up with her deafening, high-pitched barking when they knock or ring the bell and try to deliver a package. She doesn’t stop making noise until she is sure the intruder is gone for good.
But Mabel loves my husband, Jim. She follows him around the house, up the stairs to his office and down again to sit nearby when he plays guitar. If he goes outside, she stares at the door until he returns. She sleeps under the bed on his side and greets him every morning by scratching at the bed and yapping. She plays tug of war with his sweatpants when he tries to get dressed to take her outside.
Mabel has no fear and doesn’t seem to know how small she is. She has jumped, bitten, and chased off much larger dogs that venture too close to her home and family.
Mabel, though she is just a dog and not a human being called by God, seems to have a calling in life, nevertheless—to care for Jim and, most of all, to protect him from harm.
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Today we read of Joseph, a “just man,” a “son” or ancestor of David, who is engaged to Mary. But Mary is found to be with child by the Holy Spirit before they are wed. Joseph is worried about what will happen when folks see she is pregnant, so he’s thinking about sending her off to have the baby in secret. We know he is afraid to marry her because when the angel appears to him in a dream, the angel says do not be afraid to take her as your wife.
But Matthew doesn’t tell us why Joseph is afraid. Scholars disagree about what being a “just man” means, as well. Does that mean he is worried about his own reputation being ruined by marrying her? Or is he just trying to spare Mary the shame and public humiliation of being found pregnant out of wedlock?
We don’t know for sure. It is very likely, though, that Joseph, a simple carpenter, is afraid of what it might require of him to be husband to Mary and, as such, the earthly father of this baby who is the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy, the one who shall be called Jesus for He will “save His people from their sins.” What a huge responsibility to be guardian and protector of the Savior for the world!
Still, Joseph does as the angel of the Lord commands him. He finds that his true calling is to be husband and loving protector of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, we often don’t think of Joseph in light of his true calling. We picture him in his occupation as a carpenter but rarely consider him in his roles as father and husband. Here at Ebenezer, we have a beautiful stained glass window devoted to Jesus learning carpentry with Joseph. I think we feel we can connect with a man who was skilled with his hands and whose work produced objects that were encountered and needed in everyday life. We don’t have to look beyond our sanctuary to see the beauty of a carpenter’s work and how it blesses our worship.
And yet the writers of the gospels don’t see Joseph’s occupation as that significant to the life of Christ. The detail about Joseph’s occupation is completely omitted from Matthew, the gospel that provides more information about Joseph than any other. In fact, we only know what Joseph does for a living because Mark, the gospel that doesn’t even identify Joseph by name, casually mentions in the sixth chapter that Jesus was the “son of a carpenter.”
Friends, at Christmas, our hearts tell us what’s important – and what should be our highest priority every day—not what Joseph did for a living or our own occupational identities. What’s important is our calling to be servants of the Lord—to love, care for, and protect the people God brings into our lives, no, not like silly little Mabel the Pomeranian adores and protects Jim, but like our Heavenly Father graciously, sacrificially, and unselfishly loves, forgives, and cares for us.
This is how the gospel writers meant for us to remember Joseph—as the man who was faithful to God’s calling on his life to love and protect Mary and the Christ child, during uncertain, and violent times, and at risk to his own life. Joseph continues to listen to the angel of the Lord, leading him to take Mary and young Jesus and flee in the middle of the night to safety in Egypt when King Herod seeks to kill the Child whom wise men say shall be the King of the Jews. And though Joseph quietly disappears from gospel accounts after Jesus is around 12, Joseph, the “just man,” the godly man, the husband of Mary and earthly father to Christ, plays a humble but important role in our salvation history.
At Christmas, we put aside our daily work and chores and follow our yearnings to come home to our families, come home to Christ. It is true that some people return to church after long absences, feeling drawn to the Lord and the old, old story that never fails to inspire us and strengthen our faith. Our hearts carry us back to the miracle in Bethlehem, the Living Christ who changed the course of history… Who brought light into darkness, hope where there was despair, and life into what was perishing.
We remember how God emptied himself of His divinity and became one of us. We remember how a virgin, with the help of a humble man named Joseph, brought forth her firstborn Son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.
And called His name Jesus.
For He will save His people from their sins.
Let us pray. Lord, thank you for bringing us back to Bethlehem, reminding us of our hope in the Living Christ, in your blessings of peaceful, abundant life. Thank you that through your grace and faith in Him we have eternal life. Thank you for loving us enough to send your Son to suffer and die for us. Thank you for how you use our families and friends to show your tender care for us. Thank you for using humble, ordinary people to accomplish your plan for the salvation of the world and for coming to us when we could not make our way back to you on our own. Help us to be your voice, calling out the Good News of Jesus Christ to family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors who do not yet know you as their Redeemer and Lord. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
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