December 9

Joseph wasn't just a dreamer.

I'm not talking about the Joseph in Genesis (colour coated guy tossed into a pit because his brothers were sick of his arrogance), I'm talking about Joseph in the nativity.  According to Matthew (by the way, it is Matthew who records Joseph's side of the story, and Luke records Mary's), Joseph is a righteous man (Matt.1:19) and wants to avoid shaming Mary due to the strange and very suspicious  pregnancy...Dream 1 (1:20) the angel says: "This is of God! Marry Mary"...my paraphrase. Dream 2 (2:13) After Jesus is born, the wise men show up drawing the attention of the power crazed Herod who vows to kill all the children in Bethlehem 2 years or younger to wipe out any threat to his kingdom (sounds a lot like Pharaoh trying to kill off the Israelites in Exodus). This time the angel says 'take the child and mother and flea', they become refugees in Egypt.  Dream 3 (2:19), another angel appears to him (in a dream) letting him know that Herod has died and they can return.  Dream 4 (2:22), on the journey home, he's warned in a dream about his travel route and he eventually settled into unsuspecting Galilee.  Four dreams leading from Bethlehem to Galilee. Seems like a dreamer to me.  But this evening as I prepare for my sermon tomorrow (spoiler alert!), I'm thinking on the subject of adoption based off of Galatians 4:1-7--that we are adopted by God--wonderful news for sure!  But in my preparation, I was reading a book about adoption by Russell D. Moore entitled 'Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches', and he notes something I had never thought of before regarding Joseph.  I mention the Pharaoh comment before because it seems that Satan has been trying to thwart God's plans through history especially as it pertains to children and the promise of Jesus (see Revelation 12:5...the dragon crouching to devour the child at birth).  Pharaoh gets threatened by the swarms of Israelites and has an order that all the male children under 2 years are to be thrown into the Nile (Exodus 1:22).  Fast forward to the nativity and Joseph is more than a dreamer--he is a pivotal character standing against the forces of hell that are attempting to devour the baby King.  No one would have faulted him if he had dismissed Mary quietly, if he had married a pious girl and lived a quiet life having his 'own' children.  He is more a man of faith than is often given credited for--he believed God even though Mary's pregnancy was a first and no one would believe him.  He believed God even though he had no evidence to be afraid of Herod.  He believed God at every turn, a great example of a child of God (Galatians 3-4). But Moore makes a further comment about Joseph that I will leave you with this evening to consider:  "Joseph's faith was the same kind of faith that saves us.  Very few, if any, of us will have a dream directing us to adopt a child   None of us will be directed to do what Joseph did--to teach Jesus Christ how to saw through wood or to recite Deuteronomy in Hebrew.  But all of us are called to be compassionate.  All of us are called to remember the poor.  All of us are called to remember the fatherless and the widows...Its a shame that Joseph is so neglected in our thoughts and affections, even at Christmastime.  If we pay attention to him, though, we just might see a model for a new generation of Christians.  We might see how to live as the presence of Christ in a culture of death. We might see how to image a protective Father, how to preach a life-affirming gospel, even in a culture captivated by the spirit of Herod."