My reflections are based upon Matthew 1:
18-25. As Matthew begins his story of
Jesus’ birth, we learn that Joseph and Mary were already engaged to be married,
but Joseph has recently discovered that Mary is pregnant. According to Jewish law, an engagement was
considered a legally binding arrangement, in which the couple were essentially already
married. As a result, Mary’s pregnancy
could be considered as evidence of adultery and Joseph had the legal right to
divorce her.
In Jewish culture at the time, Mary could have been subjected to severe
legal penalty that would have been publicly humiliating for her and her
family. But, Joseph was a caring person,
who sought to be faithful to God. So,
rather than pursuing his legal rights in a public way that would humiliate Mary
and embarrass her family, Joseph decided to end their relationship, quietly.
At this point, God intercedes, using an angel to speak to Joseph in a
dream. The angel explains that Mary’s
child was conceived through the Holy Spirit and that the baby is, in fact, the
long-awaited Messiah. Then, the angel
asks Joseph to accept the baby and adopt him as a son. Since Joseph is a descendent of King David,
his adoption of Jesus enables many of the ancient Hebrew prophecies concerning
the Messiah to be fulfilled because these prophecies had claimed that the
Messiah would be “of the house and lineage” of David. When Joseph awoke from his dream, he did exactly
as God had instructed.
During my proclamation this coming weekend (December 21st and 22nd), I
will focus on several key characteristics which Joseph had.
1. Generosity. At
first, it appears that Mary has been unfaithful and Joseph has a legal right to
extract his revenge in a way that will humiliate her. Instead of following up on this legal right,
however, Joseph exhibits profound generosity, as he seeks a quieter, less
confrontational resolution to the dilemma.
2. Protective
Care. Joseph exhibits a protective care in several
different ways. First, his decision to
avoid publicly exposing Mary is not only generous, but it also demonstrates his
desire to provide protective care, even for a woman who has betrayed him. Secondly, we know that Joseph cared for Mary
during their long, difficult journey to Bethlehem before Jesus’ birth. Finally, Joseph cared for the boy, Jesus,
just as any loving father would.
3. Strong
Faith. Joseph exhibits a strong faith when he trusts
the angel’s rather incredible explanation that Mary has not been unfaithful,
but is rather carrying the long-awaited Messiah.
4. Obedience.
Joseph is obedient to God. He
follows though and marries Mary. Joseph
also adopts Jesus, welcoming him into his household and caring for Jesus as
though he were Joseph’s own biological son.
I believe that each of Joseph’s four characteristics are important
qualities for twenty-first century Christians to nurture in our lives. During my sermon this weekend, I will discuss
and illustrate how we can nurture these qualities in our own faith journeys.
Ø Our
contemporary service starts at 6 pm on Saturday evenings.
Ø Our
classic service starts on at 10 am on Sunday mornings.
I also encourage you to celebrate
Christmas with us next week. We will
have two special Christmas services:
Monday, December 23rd at 6 pm
A Special Children's
Christmas Eve Service,
featuring a Special Children’s
Christmas Story that I have written for the children of the church
Tuesday, December 24th at 7 pm
Adult Christmas Eve Candlelight
Service,
featuring lessons and
carols,
During the service, we
will also celebrate the Moravian tradition of a Love Feast,
as we share sweet buns
and spiced tea in the pews as part of the service
Everyone is always welcome and accepted at
Meriden United Methodist
Church because God loves us all.
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