WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, AND REALLY

PART 3:  JOSEPH

WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, AND REALLY...  It seems there are always questions to be asked.  And so it is with the Christmas Story. 

JOSEPH -- MATTHEW 1:18-24

 “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about:  His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” 

MARY PREGNANT?  I am sure this took Joseph’s breath away.  They had not consummated the betrothal.  Can you picture Joseph’s brow wrinkle as he tries to understand and … he does not want to hurt her… but what should he do?

“Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”  Yes, that would be the best.  Quietly.  He would speak to her and explain.

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Have you ever had a dream so real that when you woke up you were lost in time and space?  Confused between dream and reality?  That is where Joseph must have been when he first began to wake up.  As his eyes were opening, did he remember what the prophet had said?  Did virgin will conceive, birth to a son, and Immanuel move from dream into reality?

“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.”

Joseph, a man faithful to the law, had a compassionate heart.  He took Mary home.  “But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son.  And he gave him the name Jesus.”

Why was he willing to change his mind?  He was all set to “divorce her quietly” and then he went to sleep.

I often do not know how a blog is going to end and this part on Joseph was one of those times.  I wasn’t sure why he had changed his mind.  Yes, he was visited by an angel.  But he could have easily dismissed that as just a dream. 

Then it hit me.  The answer is simple.  Joseph did the right thing.

Joseph should be admired as a man, a husband, and a father.  As a man, he was faithful to the law.  As a husband, he loved his wife enough to delay consummating their marriage.  As a father, he was an earthly role model for Jesus.  None of these would have been easy.   Doing the right thing is not always easy.

An angel came to Joseph in a dream and instructed him on how to do the right thing.  Where do you find instructions on doing the right thing?  Who do you turn to for encouragement and strength when trying to do the right thing?

WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, AND REALLY...  It seems there are always questions to be asked.  And so it is with the Christmas Story. 

WHAT happens when you find him?  (December 25, 2020)

WHY – if they were so wise – did the Wise Men have to ask for directions?  (January 1, 2021)