“Joseph was an old man, and an old man was he.” Thus starts one of our carols that we sing at
the carol service this afternoon. It is
a lovely carol, but we do not know if it was true. What do we know about Joseph?
He appears in the stories about the birth of Jesus, and when
Jesus is twelve going up to Jerusalem.
He does not appear in any stories about Jesus when he has begun his
adult ministry from the age of about thirty.
We therefore presume he must have died by then, and that he was likely
older than Mary. But that might mean
that he was 20 and she was 15.
Engaged. In keeping with Jewish custom he had been
betrothed to Mary. They had had a
ceremony at her house at which vows were exchanged. He had said the words “I go to my father’s
house to prepare a place for you; I will come back to take you to be with
me.” A period which was typically as long
as a year had begun during which building work could be done to prepare the bridal
home. The young couple had a lot to look
forward to.
Expectant. We do
know that he was of the tribe of David. Like
all the people of Israel, he was waiting.
At some time in the future, God would send the promised deliverer to
rescue his people. Centuries before God
had promised to King Ahaz that he would deliver the “house of David” from the
threatened invasion by the Assyrians and Ephraimites. He would do this quickly, in the time it took
for a new born child to grow old enough to start eating solid foods. Joseph was heir to this tradition, the way
that we are to the Battle of Waterloo or the Battle of Britain, but with
something extra. There is the
expectation that at some time in the future God will act.
Exercised. Like a character in the new X box ad, Joseph
is put on the spot. God is acting now,
and he wants Joseph to be involved. Out
of the blue his whole life and expectations are shaken up.
First, his intended is found to be with child. There was careful provision made for this in
the law in Deuteronomy 22. It mattered
whether the offence took place in a city or out in the fields. It was a serious matter, and in ancient times
could be subject to the death penalty.
Joseph reveals himself as a compassionate interpreter of the law; he will
deal with her as gently and quietly as circumstances allow.
Second, an angel breaks into his dream with a warning and a
promise. It is as if you were suddenly
called to join Wellington at Waterloo.
As if you were asked to climb into a Spitfire or help operate an
operations room as enemy bombers sweep in.
What you thought was history, to be remembered and celebrated has become
your living reality and you must make a choice.
Joseph, remember when God appears to Moses and says I have
seen my people’s troubles and I am with them to deliver them? It is that moment now, and God is with
us. Joseph, do you remember when Isaiah
promised that a young woman would conceive, and this would be a sign that God
is with his people Israel? It is that
time now, and you are in the place of Ahaz.
Joseph, do not be afraid to take this woman as your wife, and this child
as your son. It matters that he will be
the son of Joseph, because then he will be revealed to be the promised
descendant of Abraham and David that we read about in the first 18 verses of
the Gospel. Joseph, call him Joshua
(Hebrew), Jesus (Greek), because that means “Yahweh will save”. It tells us all that we need to know about
your son to be, that he will save us from our sins. Joseph, what are you going to do?
It is striking that Matthew has his priorities. There is no story about how Jesus was born,
no stable or manger; Jesus appears half way through verse 25 and the story
continues. Neither Mary nor Joseph get
to say anything in this telling of the story.
It is all about God. God acts in
history by promising long beforehand through his prophets in the Holy
Scriptures (Romans1:2). God sends the
angel with the message that it is the Holy Spirit who has enabled Mary to
conceive.
What can Joseph do?
He can be obedient. There are
subsidiary questions we can ask. How was
Joseph equipped to receive this calling from God? A lifetime of patient study of the scriptures
must have come into it. A regular
pattern of prayer so that he was familiar with God’s ways and could realise
that it really was an angel speaking.
What can we do? We
are called to share that obedience that comes from faith for the sake of the
name of the one who received the name of Jesus – Saviour. We are called, like Joseph, to be open for
all that God has for us, open for all that he would teach us, open to serve and
help all who seek for him, and open to follow him wherever he leads us. We will see in the next week where God was
leading Joseph. Let us also be open to
see where God is leading us, and who he is leading us to.
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