Saying yes to God
Now here we are – the 4th Sunday of Advent; the last Sunday of this short, beautiful season during which we have been waiting for Jesus to come. Over these last few weeks, we have turned our attention to the words of prophecy found in scripture. We have kept awake; kept ourselves ready for that unknown day and hour when Jesus will return; watching for the signs that Jesus is coming and Jesus is here, now, among us.
We have caught a glimpse of God’s vision for this world – God’s dream of justice and peace for all creation – The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them. (Is 11:6-9).
We have heard the voice of John the Baptist, proclaiming Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. (Matt 3:1-3). John is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke, the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ (Matt 3:3). Repent – turn back to God – change your ways – walk the straight path that leads to God.
And we have heard Jesus tell us to Go and tell….what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. (Matt 11:4-5). Go and tell and show everyone you meet that Jesus is the one who is coming and is here; Jesus is the one to bring healing and reconciliation and good news to all people. Go and tell and show. Our actions matter. Something new is about to happen.
It’s all a little bit mysterious and unexpected; perhaps even unsettling; this sense we have during these weeks of Advent that the world is about to change.
Our gospel reading today tells the story of Joseph and how his life really did change, suddenly, in mysterious and unexpected and unsettling ways, when he found out he was to be the father of Jesus.
We know little about Joseph when his story appears in the first chapter of the gospel of Matthew. All we know about him – and it is significant – is what we learn from reading the genealogy (that is, the birth; the family history) of Jesus the Messiah that begins this particular gospel. Matthew takes great care to list out all the ancestors leading to Jesus’ birth – beginning with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; continuing for 14 generations through Boaz, who was the father of Obed by Ruth (one of 5 women referenced in this family history) and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. Another 14 generations follow, from David to the deportation to Babylon; then another 14 generations, from the deportation to Babylon to Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary who bore Jesus, who is called the Messiah. (Matt 1:1-17).
That’s a lot of generations of God’s people, waiting for the Messiah to be born.
This genealogy – this beginning of the story – is important because it places Joseph in the family history of King David. Joseph is a descendent of David, the royal line from which the promised Messiah will come. Joseph was chosen by God to be part of God’s story.
One more thing we know about Joseph from today’s reading – he was a righteous man; a man of faith who trusted God and sought to live in right relationship with God. He followed the straight path.
So, then, can you imagine the distress Joseph must have felt when he learned that Mary, the woman he was to marry, was already pregnant? What a scandal! What a moral dilemma! What should Joseph do?
Seems like Joseph had 3 choices –
- He could divorce Mary publicly; calling attention to the shame of her pregnancy. Doing so could result in Mary being stoned to death, the punishment for adultery under Mosaic law.
- He could divorce Mary quietly; leaving her alone and vulnerable to a life of poverty and marginalization (his original plan).
- He could continue with the marriage and provide for Mary and the baby while enduring the scorn of his neighbors, as they gossiped about who the real father of the baby was.
Joseph was a righteous man. His relationship with God was most important to him. When the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said to him “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.”, he did not hesitate. He knew what he would do.
Joseph said yes to God.
He did not care that his life was about to change in mysterious and unexpected and unsettling ways. He did not worry what his neighbors would think or what they would say behind his back or how they might make fun of him for marrying a woman who was already pregnant. He acted on faith.
Joseph said yes to God.
Joseph took Mary as his wife and he took good care of her. He was there by her side when the time came for her to deliver (more about that in a few days!); and he named the child – his son – Jesus (which means ‘God saves’), as the angel had told him to do. Through his actions, what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophets was fulfilled: “Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
Joseph was a righteous man. He knew that God – Emmanuel – was with him, during all the mysterious and unexpected and unsettling twists and turns that happened to him. Throughout his life, he trusted God to lead him along the right path and he willingly changed his life to follow that path.
How about you? Where are you in God’s story? How do you respond when God calls you?
Are you willing to say yes to God?
Are you willing to make a change in your life – giving up what you have always done and trying something new – for the benefit of someone else?
Through prayerful conversation and discernment, God has called you – plural – the people of Holy Trinity – to follow the example of Jesus, acting boldly to build community with diverse people and to nurture creation. The path forward remains somewhat mysterious and unexpected and unsettling. Some of you may sense that the world is about to change. You are right. God’s world is always changing and we are called to change with it.
The good news for today is that God is with us – Emmanuel – even as the world and our place in it changes
God is with us – Emmanuel – in the mystery and unexpected and unsettling road ahead that leads to the straight path.
God is with us – Emmanuel – as God is calling us to embrace all people in the same way that God does – exactly as they are; as God created them to be.
God is with us – Emmanuel – as we work to fulfill God’s dream of justice and peace for all creation and to bring the kingdom of heaven near.
God is with us – Emmanuel. Because Joseph said yes to God.
So today I ask – Are you willing to say yes to God? God is with us – Emmanuel.