Sermons for the Month
A Model of Faithfulness
DATE: December 19th, 2004
SERVICE: Fourth Sunday In Advent
TEXT: Matthew 1:18-25To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
God asked a great deal of Joseph. Three times God spoke directly to him and three times Joseph had a choice to make. Would he take a step of faith, trusting God for the unknown future? The first time this choice was presented to him was probably the most difficult. The young woman to whom he was betrothed was expecting a child, and he was not the father. Now, there are several details about this that we should know about this.
First, betrothal was a binding event that could be terminated only by death or divorce. Of course, only the man could initiate the divorce. It usually lasted a year, although the parents may have arranged the marriage when the couple were children.
The fact that Mary had apparently betrayed Joseph was paramount to a crime. By law she was subject to death by stoning, although by the first century common practice was to divorce the woman, often with a public denouncement. But Joseph is an unusual man, his pride has been injured, but he decides to divorce Mary quietly so that they both might avoid some of the pain their situation would obviously create.
It's at that point that the great reversal occurs in Joseph's life. He is visited by an angel, in a dream, and is told to ignore the law and to marry this woman. He's free to do so because the child does not belong to another man - remember, property rights were a huge issue and wives and children were considered property. He will not be claiming another person's property as his own because this child is God's son!
What??? This child is God's son, but from a human point of view he will be of the house of David because that is Joseph's lineage. And, by naming him, Joseph will make Jesus his son; it's as if he has signed the adoption paper. If Joseph has any doubts, the child's name says it all; it means "God is salvation".
Still will Joseph take this step of faith and trust God with the unknown future? He does so, not only this time, but also later when the Lord's angel tells him to take his family to Egypt, for Herod is set on killing the child, and then when Herod has died and Joseph is told to bring the family back to Nazareth in Galilee. In each instance Joseph hears the message, steps out in faith, and trusts God.
We read little more about him, yet his legacy to us is clear. Joseph is a model of righteousness, which Matthew defines as obeying the Word of God.
As I have considered Joseph's story over the years I've often thought, "Those must have been clear dreams Joseph had! And, I've wished for similar communication in my life. But it also occurred to me that we are often given the option of trusting God for the unknown future. It probably happens more often then we realize, but we fail to identify the opportunity.
Instead, what we see before us is two choices, and one has more risks that the other. Or, we identify a problem with several solutions, and we are drawn toward the easiest one. Perhaps we know we are being provided an opportunity to maintain or to stretch, but we like the status quo. In the midst of all this, do we consider what God wants? So we ask what direction we are to take?
Isn't this the very thing that Joseph faced? He had two choices, one was accepted - divorcing Mary - and one was so risky that it seems he did not initially consider it, and that was to marry her. He had a problem with multiple solutions. He could demand that Mary be stoned to death or he could disgrace her with a public divorce or he could put her away quietly or he could marry her, which we already noted he did not initially see as an option. Certainly one of those solutions was easier than the others, which may be why he originally chose it. Becoming the father of someone else's child certainly would be a stretch, and would require ignoring the law!
What was Joseph to do? It seems that he had made up his mind, but perhaps - and I do not think it's too far fetched to imagine this - perhaps he asked God what to do. When God answered, "Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife," Joseph stepped out in faith and was granted an important role in God's plan.
Now just imagine how might God use us if we were willing to take such a step of faith?
This is something we need to consider both as individuals and as a congregation, as a family of faith. As we are presented with opportunities to step out in faith, trusting God for an unknown future, it is always tempting to make the least risky, easy, maintain the status quo choice. This should not be our automatic response. Instead, we must ask, "What does God want? What direction are we to take?" And then watch and listen for the answer.
I believe that God will guide us in a variety of ways - through scripture, through our interactions with other believers, through events that take place and through that still, small voice that speaks to us deep within. The question always is, "Are we paying attention?" If we are, and the answer seems unclear, then we wait, we keep seeking God's will until the puzzle pieces fall in place.
Now, that does not mean that every problem is solved or there are no challenges ahead. It does mean, however, that the time is right to "go for it", to step out in faith and to trust God for the unknown future.
Just look at what happen to Mary and to Joseph. Their lives were turned upside down - reversed - when God chose them to be the earthly parents of Jesus. They faced many challenges as they responded to God's call, and yet who knows how their lives must have been blessed by the child who came to them so unexpectedly?
Could they have chosen the easy way? Could they have refused to participate in God's plan? If we believe in free will, then we have to concede that that's a possibility, just as it's a possibility for us. And, perhaps their lives would have been easier, calmer, more predictable had they done so. But, what would they have missed?
And what might we miss if we go merrily down the road of life, never tuned into God's desires for us? Oh, our lives will not necessarily be horrible, but just think how God might have used us if we had been willing to step out if faith, trusting God for the unknown future?
God did indeed ask a great deal of Joseph. I believe God asks a great deal of us - never more than we can handle - but just enough to remind us who ultimately is in control. But, how we respond is always a choice. Will we step out in faith? Will we trust God? Will we allow the soon-to-be-born Messiah to bless our lives? Will righteousness flourish in our lives in 2005 because we have heard the word of God and respond? I guess we will wait and see only time will tell! AMEN