Matthew 1:18-25

I wonder if Joseph, Mary’s husband, (Mary being the mother of Jesus), was scared? Joseph is not a main character in the good news of Jesus Christ. We don’t often hear what little bit of Joseph’s story is in Scripture. Mary and Jesus usually get the attention, rightfully so, in the church’s Advent and Christmas Scripture readings. But the Christmas story as it comes to us from Matthew tells the story of Jesus’ birth in part from Joseph’s point of view.

Was Joseph scared? Probably. I know I would be. God turned his life and the life of his wife Mary upside down.

The gospel writer Matthew jumps right into the Christmas story. “Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way,” Matthew begins. How did Jesus’ birth take place? From a human point of view – with scandal. Joseph and Mary had been engaged. And yet, Mary is found to be pregnant. And the strange thing in the Christian story is that Mary is pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 

Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. Would you believe Mary? Could you believe Mary? It seems Joseph had his doubts of Mary and the story that she might have told him of the angel Gabriel visiting her and telling her that the “Holy Spirit will come upon her” and that she will bear a son and that the child will be called “Son of the Most High”. In Matthew’s telling, the Christmas story almost begins with a divorce. Here are Matthew’s words: “When [Jesus’] mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly.” 

Was Joseph scared? It sure seems like it. Maybe he was scared for himself? It sure seemed as if his future wife had already been unfaithful. That’s a hard blow to take. Maybe he was also scared for Mary? Adultery is a serious sin. Bad things could happen to Mary if people started talking and gossiping. But maybe Joseph was also scared that Mary might be telling the truth? If the Lord had visited Mary and she really was going to bear the Messiah, that is also a scary proposition.

Very few of us make good decisions when we’re scared. That’s at least true for me. Maybe it’s true for you? When I think back on the times when I have made really stupid decisions, fear is usually mixed into it. In our fallen human nature, when we are scared, we are prone to lie, cheat, gossip, steal, get angry and blow up at others, withdraw and give the silent treatment, and any of a number of sins against our neighbor. The lizard brain takes over and we do really stupid things.

For Joseph, the grace of God interrupts his plans to divorce Mary. In the middle of the night as he’s sleeping, an angel of the Lord pays Joseph a visit in a dream. Here’s the angel’s message: “Stop. Don’t do what you are planning to do. Marry Mary, she’s telling you the truth.” In full, here is the angel’s message to Joseph:

Joseph, son of David [I wonder if the angel’s use of David’s surname is like when your mother would use your middle name growing up to get your attention, usually when you were doing something you weren’t supposed to be doing], do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

“Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” 

We’re told that when Joseph woke up from his dream, he obeyed the angel of the Lord’s instructions. He took Mary as his wife. She gave birth to a son and they named him Jesus.

Maybe the word from the Lord for us today is that God promises to be with us, especially when we are afraid. I think there is often this misunderstanding that we Christians have that to be strong in our faith means that we can’t be afraid. Or put another way, that fear is a sign of weakness and that when we are afraid, it means we don’t have enough faith or trust enough in God. For us Americans who are also Christians, we also have a cultural mindset that fear is a sign of weakness and to be avoided like the plague. We swim in waters where the message is “Don’t back down. Don’t give in. Don’t show any weakness. Don’t let them see that you are afraid. And instead, go on the attack. Crush your foes and your fears. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

For Joseph in our gospel story, the angel of the Lord’s visit to him didn’t drive away his fear. We’re never told that he stopped being afraid. Instead, what we are told is that he decided to obey the Lord’s command to marry Mary and to name the son that she gave birth to Jesus.

I think there is a lesson in there for us. Fear is not something we can snap our fingers and get rid of. It is part of being a human being who lives in a fallen world. There are also legitimate things to be afraid of – sickness, war, disorder, death, losing people we love – just to name a few big ones. But while we can’t get rid of fear or pretend that it doesn’t exist or wish it away, we can ultimately choose whose voice we will obey. Fear is one voice in our minds and spirits. Sometimes it’s the loudest screaming out and trying to silence every other virtue. But there are other voices like courage and humility and love and faithfulness and righteousness.

That choice was laid out for Joseph. Would he obey his fears and quietly divorce Mary and go their separate ways to not bring any more gossiping questions and shame on them? Or, would he obey the word of the Lord and do as the angel instructed him? Ultimately, Joseph chose to obey God’s call to him: Marry Mary and name the son to be born Jesus.

We’ll close here: one of the names given to Jesus is ‘Emmanuel’, meaning “God is with us”. If there is one thing I’d like you to take away it’s this: that Jesus Christ is here and alive with us. He is risen and is God with us. He is God with us to comfort us and bring peace and goodwill to all. But he is not God is with us only to make us feel better about ourselves. He is God with us during the hard times too. He is God with us to reform our character and straighten out our spirits. He is God with us so that when we are afraid, we have enough spiritual maturity to trust in God, look our fears in the eye, and like Joseph, chose in the end to obey God and not to obey our fears.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.