“Another Joseph the Dreamer”

Meditation on Matt 2:13-23

Dec. 29, 2013

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      Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’

      When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
‘A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’

      When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’ 

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      We are blessed to have my son, Joshua, visiting us for Christmas. Josh just finished a tour of duty in Korea and is on his way to serve at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California.

     He has come at a busy time for us, but finally we found time for a family outing on Friday. The weather was mild—above freezing—and clear. We drove out to Edina for shopping, supper and a movie.  We saw the “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” an adaptation of the classic story by American author, cartoonist, and humorist James Thurber. The movie was sweet and funny; I recommend it. For those of you who plan on seeing it, I will try hard not to give away too much of the story in my message.

     In “The Secret Life…,” Walter is a small, shy man who has quietly worked 16 years in the basement of Life Magazine. He is the kind of man that people walk by on the street without noticing. Walter, a “negative assets manager,” develops and catalogs film negatives and helps to choose photos for the magazine. He is unmarried, lonely, and unhappy with his life. He admires and perhaps envies the life of one particular freelance photographer played by Sean Penn, who travels at a moment’s notice at any hint of a good story to take pictures in dangerous and exotic places around the world.

        But Walter has a vivid imagination. He lapses into long, elaborate daydreams, in which he is a romantic, risk-taking adventurer, saving the lives of three-legged dogs and capturing the heart of the woman he loves but is too afraid to approach—Cheryl, a new employee in his division.

     His daydreams provide his only escape from a reality that is increasingly stressful for him, especially when he learns on his birthday that the magazine is working on its final print issue.  As Life moves to an online format, many people—including Walter—may lose their jobs.

    Sadly, Walter’s dreams aren’t especially helpful for him—at least not at first. They don’t stir him to pursue God-given passions and interests and make realistic goals. They don’t empower him to take risks or make changes in himself so that life would be less boring, isolated and lonely, and more interesting, meaningful, and satisfying. 

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     Walter is not like the “dreamers” of the Bible, chosen to play important roles in God’s plan for the salvation of the world. Walter’s daydreams reflect only his own thoughts and desires. They are not visions of things to come or a means of divine communication. They are not like the dreams of Joseph the shepherd—Rachel and Jacob’s elder son—in the Old Testament. Nor are they like the dreams of Joseph the carpenter—engaged to Mary, mother of Jesus—in the New.

     In Matthew’s gospel, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph the carpenter three times while he sleeps. Unlike the dreams of the Joseph in Genesis, which have symbols and images that require interpretation, the angel speaks plainly with Joseph the carpenter, revealing God’s wisdom and will. The dreams stir Joseph to take a different course of action, such as when he learns Mary is pregnant and he secretly plans to “dismiss her” quietly. The angel of Lord comes to him in a dream and tells him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife; the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and He shall be called “Emmanuel”—God with Us.

      The dreams serve an additional, important purpose. They explain how all that has happened with Joseph, Mary, and Jesus is a fulfillment of Scripture—God’s Word spoken through the prophets. And why would this be important? Because Matthew, writing some time after the Lord’s death and resurrection, was raised in the Jewish faith—as were many of the early Christians. His audience was Jewish people who would know Scripture and had heard the Word preached in synagogues. They would be waiting to see the prophecies fulfilled—proof that the Messiah—Emmanuel—had really come.

     In today’s passage, two of Joseph’s dreams frame the reading like bookends.  In the beginning, the angel’s warning that King Herod is looking for the child to kill him stirs Joseph to get up in the middle of the night and flee with Mary and the baby to Egypt, thus fulfilling the Scripture, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” And at the end of the passage, when Archelaus, son of Herod, comes to rule over Judea after his father dies, the angel warns Joseph in a dream to take his family to the more remote district of Galilee to a small, undesirable town called Nazareth, thus fulfilling the prophecy, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

     Today’s lesson underscores the fragile humanity of Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus and the horrible, violent world in which the Messiah had come, a world in which cruel, jealous kings got away with murder. But Joseph listened to the voice of an angel in his dreams and didn’t hesitate to do what God commanded, though it meant changing his course of action—even fleeing to a foreign land. Joseph placed his family’s lives in the Lord’s capable hands and trusted Him to be their faithful guide.

    My hope is that, instead of the massacre of the innocents, you will recall from today’s lesson God’s tender care of Joseph, Mary and Jesus during this horrible, violent time.  And the promise that God will always take care of you.

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    I left the Walter Mitty movie on Friday feeling challenged to keep on dreaming and using my imagination and creativity for God’s service. Dreams are not helpful to us and can actually hurt us when we use them like Walter as an escape from real life.

      There’s nothing ordinary or boring about any life when we are seeking to follow the Lord and help people in need. Ministry is challenging and can be tiring, but it is always satisfying.  

      Our lives are meaningful not because of what we have done or what we will do, but because of what God has already done.  How He became one of us, came to us as a humble baby in a manger so long ago.  He came to accomplish His salvation for the world by living with us, and then suffering and dying for our sins.

      Friends, like Joseph, you can place your family in God’s hands and trust Him to be your faithful guide.

      Listen for the voices of angels. Don’t hesitate to do what the Lord commands.

     Remember how God tenderly watched over Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus in a horrible, violent time. And the promise that God will always take care of you!

Let us pray.

Holy One, thank you for your Son, the Messiah, who came to live among us, and suffered and die for our sakes.  Thank you for your love and mercy for us, for forgiving us for all our sins, and for the way you watch over us tenderly, caring for us as we walk this journey of faith through this world—and into the world to come.  Forgive us for lapsing into selfishness at times, perhaps forgetting that all of our dreams, goals, and desires should be about serving you and your loving purposes. Keep our focus on the work you lead us to do to build your kingdom and help people in need.  Give us courage and compassion to reach out with the hope of the gospel to all who are lonely, hurting, or sad. Reveal to us people in need whom we might not normally see, people we might just walk by. Help us to place our families into your capable hands, always trusting that You will guide us every step of the way. Open our ears so we may hear the voices of your angels—and obey your commands.  In Christ we pray.  Amen.