The Rev. Frank Logue
King of Peace Episcopal Church
Kingsland, Georgia
December 23, 2001

Our Whole Trust
Matthew 1:18-25

We are all somewhat familiar with nativity scenes. They come in a variety of sizes from miniature to larger than life. Nativity scenes also come in a variety of styles from very stylized figures to stunningly life-like models. Here is a basic nativity scene. With the bare bones set, you get a stable, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in a manger. These are the essentials. You can add an angel, shepherds, animals, and wise men, but those characters are extras. The essential nativity scene is a stable, Mary, Joseph and Jesus in a manger. 

First, there is the stable. We know that in Bethlehem, caves were used as stables. There is also a site in Bethlehem long identified as the actual cave in which Mary gave birth to Jesus. Even if that cave is the wrong cave, we know that Jesus was not born in a wood barn. Yet, a wooden stable is exactly what you get with a nativity scene. But no matter. The stable is just a backdrop. 

Of course, the main person in the scene is the little baby Jesus. The Jesus of nativity scenes always comes with a manger, which is a nice word for a feed box. The real manger was probably carved into the rock, but nativity scenes prefer the stand-alone model. This is good because, it is still too early for the baby Jesus. Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent. Advent is a time for anticipating Jesus’ second coming as we anticipate the celebration of his first coming, through his birth in a stable in Bethlehem. So, for now, we will set baby Jesus to the side. We’ll add Jesus to the manger scene tomorrow night at our Christmas Eve service. 

Now we need the two characters who make a nativity scene complete—Mary and Joseph. Without Mary and Joseph, a nativity scene is not a nativity scene. For nativity means birth and the story of Jesus’ birth is incomplete without his earthly parents. In fact, without Mary and Joseph, there is no Christmas story.  

First, there is Mary. Mary the engaged, but unmarried teenager who so willingly accepts the awesome responsibility of bearing God’s son. Mary, who, though innocent, is willing to bear the shame of being found with child. Mary, the virgin who conceived and gave birth to a son who was Emmanuel—“God with us.”  

Next, there is Joseph. Joseph is the main character in our Gospel reading for today and Joseph is the one on whom I really want to concentrate. For, it is Joseph who often finds himself the forgotten man of the Christmas story. While Mary is the handmaiden of the Lord, God’s servant, I have heard Joseph more realistically described as the errand boy of the Incarnation.

Joseph cannot be too involved in most Christmas plays. He is too busy packing and unpacking to read lines. First, they go from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Then they flee Bethlehem for Egypt and then back later to Nazareth. God keeps Joseph very busy in the first two chapters of Matthew’s Gospel. Then we will never hear from Joseph again, nor do we ever learn what happened to him. From the Apostle Matthew’s time until today, we find it easy to take God the son’s own stepdaddy for granted. However, without Joseph’s obedience, the story of Jesus goes from being the story of the true son of David to the story of a bastard boy from Nazareth. When Joseph trusts God our Christmas story is set in motion. 

Here’s what happened. Somewhere off camera in Matthew’s Gospel, Mary submits to God saying that she will willingly bear God’s child. Mary trusts in God. However, God is trusting in Joseph. Mary was betrothed to Joseph. A little background is helpful here as a betrothal or engagement to be married in first century Palestine, was different from today. A betrothal was a formal contract. Girls were betrothed typically at the age of 12 to 12 and a half years old. They would not go live with their husband, but they would be committed to them at that point.  

It took a divorce decree to break the engagement. Divorce could be written by either party and witnessed by three others to be legal. Adultery was also grounds for divorce. Adultery during the engagement, just as in marriage, was punishable by death according to the Jewish law. While public humiliation was often the only punishment meted out, Jesus will later defend a woman caught in adultery, saving her life from a crowd intent on stoning her. Jesus own mother, Mary could have likewise been killed for the crime of adultery had Joseph pursued justice. 

Joseph learns that Mary is pregnant. Joseph is a good man and he wants to do the right thing. But what is the right thing to do? As a righteous man, Joseph knows that he has been wronged. The law would say that justice would be served if Joseph would publicly accuse Mary. She would be made to stand trial. Mary would have to testify to what had happened to her. The only way she could save her honor would be to prove rape. But Joseph was not concerned with revenge. Joseph was not concerned with his own reputation. Joseph was more concerned for Mary. Rather than have Mary face public disgrace, Joseph resolved to handle the matter quickly, privately, and to move on.  

If this was a test, Joseph passed for God immediately sent an angel who appeared to Joseph in a dream. In the dream, Joseph is reminded of who he is and is also told who Mary’s child will be. The angel calls Joseph “son of David.” David had been Israel’s great king. Hebrew prophets were quite clear that the Messiah would be born to the line of David. This was a legal line and title. Adopting a son would make him your legal heir and could graft the son into your lineage. So the fact that Joseph is a descendant of David’s is significant. Of course, 1,000 years and many generations had passed since the time of David and there were numerous sons of David from whom to choose. But the angel lets Joseph know that he is the one through whom the Messiah will trace his ancestry to David. 

Then the angel tells Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. Her public embarrassment is not due to a private act of shame. Mary’s condition is God’s doing. Joseph is to take Mary as his wife. He is to take God’s son as his son. And Joseph is to give his son the name Jesus. The Hebrew word here is Yeshua. We get our English name Joshua from this same word Yeshua which means “Yahweh saves.”  

By the way, Yeshua was a somewhat common name at the time. But with Jesus the name would be different. Others named their child Yeshua as a family name, or perhaps to remember Joshua of old who had assumed leadership of Israel after Moses. But God chose the name Jesus as a name expressed something of a person’s essence. Jesus would be Yeshua, Yahweh saves, because Jesus is Yahweh’s salvation. As the angel told Joseph in a dream, Jesus would save the people from their sins. 

Joseph awoke from his dream. Just as Mary had the choice to say no to God, Joseph could have denied his dream. Joseph could have decided that it was all a fanciful figment of his imagination and quietly divorced Mary. Then the shame would have been all hers. Instead, Joseph made Mary’s shame his shame. In marrying Mary, Joseph gave all the local gossips something new to talk about. Yes, it was true that Mary was pregnant. But, there is no real scandal here, it was her own husband Joseph. Everyone assumes that it was all Joseph’s fault and life goes on.  

Without Mary and Joseph’s complete trust in God, there would be no Christmas story, as we know it. Surely, God would have found another way. But God knew better. Mary and Joseph had choices, but God knew Mary and Joseph well enough to trust them to make the right choice. It turns out that God is more trusting of teenagers than most of us are today. It’s just worth noting in passing that God had limitless possibilities, yet he chose teenagers as his agents of change for all creation. Yes, Mary and Joseph had faith in God, but God also had faith in Mary and Joseph. 

When I see the way that Mary trusted God, I am amazed. She opened herself up to public shame and the threat of death knowingly. Mary trusted God that it would all turn out for the good. Then there was Joseph. Joseph the righteous man who chose not to act self-righteous when he thought he had been wronged. Joseph decided to do what God wanted even if the whole world would think that he was wrong. Joseph and Mary put their whole trust in God. 

Joseph and Mary paradoxically came to follow and obey as Lord the son whom they raised. There must have been some painful times through the years. After all, the young couple jumped out of the frying pan of public disgrace in Nazareth to the fire of being on the run from King Herod who wanted to kill their boy. Then there was that day twelve years later when they went to the Temple in Jerusalem for a festival. On the way home they found that Jesus was no longer with them. When they located the boy, they found him teaching in the Temple. Asked why he had done this, Jesus said that they should have known he would be about his father’s business.  

That must have stung Joseph just a little. Oh yeah, your real father. He would have been right to think, “What about all these years I have worked to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads.” However, Joseph had a history for not concerning himself for what was right. Joseph’s record of accomplishment was to trust God. 

Last Sunday, we had a baptism. In the service, Charlie McCullough, who was baptized, was asked six questions that sum up what it means to turn toward Christ. The first three questions are about renouncing everything that causes us to turn from God. Then the last three questions are about trusting in God as revealed through the person of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. I find it interesting that there are parallels between those questions and Joseph’s response to God. 

The first question is, “Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your savior?” In naming his son Jesus, Joseph showed his faith that the baby would save everyone, Joseph included, from his or her sins. 

The second question is, “Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?” This is what Joseph did when he awoke from his dream and took Mary as his wife. Joseph unreservedly placed his whole life in God’s hands. 

The last question is, “Do you promise to follow and obey him as Lord?” This, too, Joseph did by doing as the angel of the Lord commanded.  

The nativity scene is now ready for tomorrow night. Jesus is not yet in the manger. Nevertheless, the baby Jesus is already surrounded by grace and love. Mary and Joseph sit by trusting that Mary’s problem pregnancy will fulfill prophecy, bringing the promised Son of David to earth as God’s son. Tomorrow night we will encounter God’s planned salvation of the world anew. For now, we have one more day of anticipation. A day to consider whether we are holding back or whether we, like Joseph and Mary, have put our whole trust in God. 

Amen.