Being like Joseph
Remembering my dreams isn’t something that happens every morning but this morning I did remember this bizarre dream I had about being at the hair salon and the hair stylist applying dye to my hair and then basically leaving the building. In my dream I wait patiently for a while and then inquire “when is someone going to wash this off?” Hours later the hair stylist returns and as she started to wash my hair I woke up. Just as well I can’t imagine what my hair looked like. The funny thing is as I thought about the dream I wondered why wasn’t a timer set. Thinking about strange dreams reminded me of Joseph in the book of Genesis explaining Pharaoh’s dream which then reminded me of Joseph, Mary’s husband in the book of Matthew.
So often we look at the Christmas story as told in the book of Luke which is Mary’s viewpoint. In the book of Matthew the story seems to be told more from Joseph’s point of view. I think reading both gives us a more complete picture and allows us to appreciate Joseph’s part in the story.
” Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” Matthew 1:16 -25 NIV
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.” Luke 1: 26-38
The angel called both Mary (Luke 1:30) and Joseph (Matthew 1:20) by name. I love how God does that, calls us personally to His work. The angel also told both of them not to be afraid. So many times God reminds us to not be afraid – “I will never leave you or forsake you.” The angel also told both Mary and Joseph to name the baby Jesus.
” You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:31 -33 NIV
“21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 NIV
In The Other Journal article Do Not be Afraid: A Mediation on Matthew 1:18 – 24 (December 13, 20011) Melissa Skelton writes:
“An angel appears to Joseph and speaks the same words that we will hear on Christmas in Luke’s gospel: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid. Do not be afraid to do something outrageous in order to bring to fruition something that the law and the prophets have yearned for, do not be afraid to do something that pitches you past any mercy you can imagine—do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife” (Matt. 1:19, paraphrase). This is a striking moment in Joseph’s life; all of what he knows—his life, his religion, his ethics—is being questioned by an angel in a dream, and that angel is inviting him to forsake all that knowledge and understanding to participate in a larger story.
I believe that we’re all a little like Joseph; we all limit ourselves by our tried-and-true ways of doing things. We each have our own ways of dealing with personal, spiritual, and professional matters, our own ways of moving through this demanding season of the year. Perhaps there is a voice we’re already dimly aware of from a dark, subterranean, and mysterious place. Perhaps it’s a voice we’re trying to avoid, a voice that is asking us to go beyond those tried-and-true ways in order to surrender more fully to God and to assist in the coming of Emmanuel “God with us” in our own lives and in the life of the world.”
During this advent season may we like Mary and Joseph remember that God calls us by name, reminds us not to be afraid and like Mary and Joseph may we be obedient to do as God asked.
Thanks for this good word, Ann. To remember God calls us by name, and urges us to not be afraid can help us to be obedient. Amen!
Thank you for the reminder to not be afraid, because God is with us.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful words. I enjoyed readibg.
So grateful that God knows my name! Merry Christmas!