Matthew 18:21-25
21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,[i] for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
We place the above verses on our Christmas cards, on art work, we make it one of the primary readings at many church services and Sunday school classes throughout the month of December, and so it should be. As our culture paints on happy faces beside happy trees, bright lights, and gifts resulting from numerous hours of retail therapy and exchanges the standard greeting response of “I’m fine” for “Merry Christmas” though often things are not fine and we do not feel merry, so our churches can gloss over the depth of what is really unfolding in this scene; the raw emotions that were at play in the lives of the characters.
From Joseph’s turbulent grief that was described yesterday we see a response that will challenge all of us, “When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded.” Have you ever experienced a deep grief like was described yesterday? If so, you well know that this short sentence encapsulates GREAT effort. Our emotions can be unruly and can often be the seat of our motivation. If we aren’t feeling it, it doesn’t get done. But Joseph models for us a different response. A response of humility. A response of obedience. Perhaps even a relief of, "I knew those fears of 'how could she?' couldn't be true." though, to be clear, many people to come would think the exact same thing he initially did about this woman he was preparing to stand beside. He set his fear aside and did as God said and, unbeknownst to him, became a leading role in the greatest story of history. Consider that for just a moment. What if he had not? What would he have missed? Not what would have God done, because God’s will and purpose would have still come to fruition. But what would Joseph have missed if his response had been anything less than humility and obedience?
Am I saying to ignore the grief in your life and pretend like everything is fine, just keep telling everyone “Merry Christmas” so as to fake it ‘til you make it? I am not. Grief is an emotion given to us and even experienced by God Himself. And while we can visit this destination, acknowledge, fully experience these emotions and allow God Himself to minister to our wounds and needs, we are called as God’s children to live somewhere else. Our hearts are called even now to live with Him in a place called hope. And it is for this very reason that Jesus came and that we pause to remember this greatest gift every December.
1 Peter 1:13-16
13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
If you have time, read 1 Peter 1 today, considering it in light of our Nativity story.
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