RVCC Pastor's Sermon

Sermon - December 30, 2007

“Joseph Who?”

By Rev. Nancy Foran
Matthew 1:18-25

When I was growing up, we had a cardboard Advent church that we assembled each December 1st on a small table in our dining room. The church had a tall bell tower that looked like it was made of heavy gray stone and inside it were stacked 24 tiny boxes. One could be pulled out of the bottom of the tower each day, and inside each box was a different plastic piece of a nativity set. There were kings, camels, lambs, cows, and, of course, Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus.

Over the years, however, somehow Joseph became lost. As I recall, he fell to the floor one cold December morning and was unceremonious chewed beyond recognition by a puppy. In future years, in the box that should have contained Joseph, my father simply put a penny.

Joseph is the quintessential peripheral character in the story of Jesus’ birth. He is the odd one out, the most minor of players. Do you get the idea?

It is like the young child who once drew a picture of a crèche scene. She very carefully outlined a group of shepherds, three kings, a stable, a donkey, a couple of lambs, Mary, and Jesus. When she was finished, she proudly showed the drawing to her mother, who suggested that the little girl might have left someone out. The young child looked exasperated and said, “Oh, you mean Joseph? Who needs him anyway?”

As Craig Barnes wrote, “Joseph is relegated to a supporting role in the Christmas narratives. Mary, the Shepherds, the Wise Men — even Herod — get more press than he does.” All we hear about Joseph is that he somehow managed to get himself involved in a marriage contract with a woman who somehow got herself pregnant, making him the proverbial cuckold with folks not hesitating to whisper behind his back.

Well, we all know that the baby was eventually born, and, after a couple of odd dreams, Joseph ended up taking his wife and the Child to Egypt, and the last we hear about the man playing at father is that he showed up in the Temple at Mary’s heels when Jesus was twelve to bring him home. In the Bible, Joseph never says a word and simply fades into Biblical oblivion.

Not that Joseph wanted a lot of fanfare in his life. All he really wished for was a faithful and fruitful wife, a family, and a career as a carpenter or builder – following in the footsteps of his own father, no doubt.

Joseph was born in Bethlehem but over the years made his way to Nazareth, an area of Judea growing by leaps and bounds. There he could work on bigger building projects – houses and villas – in addition to the usual small stuff like yokes and plows, spoons, bowls, and simple furniture. Joseph came from a distinguished family, the House of David. That is rather like being able to say you are related in some distant way to the Roosevelt’s or the Kennedy’s – a brush with greatness, so to speak. Joseph’s parents took care of the marriage part of his dream when they brokered a contract with the family of Mary down the street. He had seen her around often enough growing up and had gazed softly at her more recently as he planed a board for a new bookshelf for her mother’s parlor. She was a sweet girl and apparently innocent and virtuous.

According to Edward Marquart, the contract formalized a betrothal and was a most serious action. Mary and Joseph were engaged before two witnesses and in the presence of the local rabbi. Joseph gave her a present worth about 20 shekels, and her father paid a dowry.

The engagement would last for one year – just to be sure that the woman was indeed a virgin. While they were engaged, they would remain celibate. If Mary were to become pregnant by another man, she could be stoned to death. Everything was going according to the quiet plan that Joseph had envisioned for his life. And then the Angel came to Mary - as did the Holy Spirit – and that is when the trouble began. That is when, on one warm evening as they sat together in the rocker swing on the back porch, Mary broke the rather disturbing news to Joseph that she was pregnant.

Can you imagine the conversation between the suddenly and unexpected mother-to-be and Joseph? Did Mary cry when she tried to get him to understand? Did she even go into the details of the Holy Spirit part?

“Joseph, I have something to tell you. I don’t understand it, and it is hard for me to tell you because there is no way I can comprehend what is going on.” … “Go ahead, Mary. Tell me. I can handle it.” … “Joseph, I don’t know how to tell you.” … “Tell me; we can handle anything.” … “I am pregnant.” …There was a long silence. Truly, a pregnant pause. This was an awkward moment between them. Joseph, of course, automatically assumed that she was pregnant by another man. A friend of his? A distant (or not-so-distant) relative?

Joseph was humiliated. Their relationship had been humiliated. This woman had betrayed him. She had been fundamentally dishonest with him, and he was upset. He knew the legal consequences. He knew the Old Testament law. She could die for this. So could the other man. … So he asked the question, “Who? Who got you pregnant? Whom have you been with?” … A divine messenger visited me and told me that this was going to happen. The Holy Spirit got me pregnant.” … “Sure Mary. Sure.” (adapted from Edward Marquart)

Now you need to understand, this was a terrible time for Joseph. As William Willamon noted, if Mary was said to be blessed among women, then Joseph could only be “embarrassed among men.”

Not only was the woman he was engaged to pregnant, but he had had no input in any of this Holy Spirit business and was not even consulted when it came to naming the child. He could hardly make himself believe that it was true. In fact, he did not believe that it was true. The Holy Spirit? Come on!

Joseph tossed and turned at night, pondering the alternatives. Divorce? Public humiliation? But what if she were to be stoned? Did he love her? Could he love her after such a humiliating betrayal?

And then, to top it all off, the dreams started. And somehow in the fog of the nightmares, Joseph finally decided how he would best handle the situation. He would divorce Mary quietly and try to put his life back together.

But the dreams kept coming and into one that angel popped again and began his speech with the “Fear not!” business – which always meant something pretty disturbing was about to happen.

And so it did – because the angel not only confirmed all that Mary had said but told Joseph not to blow her cover, but continue as if, well, as if nothing all that unusual had happened. As Ron Hoffman writes,

Fear not, Joseph
Sing angels through the night…
God's requests are frightening.
Fear not Joseph
And take care of Mary’s child.
Fear not Joseph
As your world view crumbles
Be father to the child
You did not father.
Fear not Joseph
Endure pickets at your porch
Jeers in your face
Whispers at your back
And doubts in your mind
For the Child's sake
And his mother's
And ours.

That is how Joseph first heard the Good News, but, of course, for him, it was not good news at all. No artist ever painted the Annunciation of Joseph. Can you imagine - “Joseph bolting upright in bed, in a cold sweat after being told his fiancée is pregnant, and not by him, and he should marry her anyway?” (William Willamon)

But you know what? He did. He did marry her anyway because, as Matthew wrote, Joseph was a “righteous man.” Joseph said yes to God. And so they married, builder Joseph and pregnant Mary, and eventually they traveled back to his family home in Bethlehem for a census.

By that time, she was nine moths pregnant, riding on the donkey while he walked every step of the way. He carried their provisions in an old gunny sack on his back: cheese, bread, and the bands of cloth to wrap up the newborn. And of course the child was born in Bethlehem, in a stable behind a sold out inn.

Yes, Joseph was a righteous man, and when you think about it, it is a good thing he was. He made God’s work a lot easier. Had Joseph exposed Mary and left her to be stoned, it would have thrown a real monkey wrench into God’s redemptive plans.

And so, in one way, Joseph is the unsung hero of the Birth Story. In spite of the Good News being bad news for him personally, disruptive news that upset all his plans and visions for the future, the small role he played in the story made all the difference. Just as Mary needed to say “Yes” to God, so Joseph needed to say “Yes” to God as well if the sacred plan was to unfold seamlessly.

A minister tells the story about how once a worried mother phoned the church office on the afternoon before the annual Christmas program to say that her small son, who was to play the role of Joseph in the Christmas Pageant, had a cold and had gone to bed on doctor's orders.

"It's too late now to get another Joseph," the director of the play said matter-factly. "We'll just have to write him out of the script."

And so they did! Joseph just disappeared! And few of those who watched that night actually realized that he was missing.

Sad really – when you think about it. But, you see, I would submit that we need to keep Joseph around because, of all the characters in the story, perhaps he is the one most like us, a role model of sorts.

After all, we too are the bit players in God’s great redemptive drama that begins at Christmas. We are not the superstar prophets. We are not the star-studded kings. We are not even as famous as the nameless shepherds – and we probably will never see a chorus of angels.

And yet, we are important – you and I – in the unfolding of God’s realm. We are the ones through whom God may offer glimpses of the kingdom these 2000 years later. We are the ones through whom the world can experience God’s love.

We are the ones who, because of our commitment to justice, will see that the prisoner is freed and the hungry fed. We are the ones who, because of our compassion, can bind up the broken hearted and comfort the afflicted. We are the ones who, because of our endless hope, will move the world closer to peace, step by step, an inch at a time.

You see, God has a habit of doing a lot of sacred work through the extras. Joseph was certainly no exception, nor are we. And so I say to you as leave 2007 behind and look to the future of 2008 - trust in God. Believe that a world founded on God’s promises is possible. Put your hope in God’s love. Put your faith in the Gospel Message. Celebrate the part that we and Joseph play as the story unfolds - and rejoice in Christmas where it all begins.

Sermon - December 30, 2007

“Joseph Who?”

By Rev. Nancy Foran Matthew 1:18-25

By Rev. Nancy Foran
Matthew 1:18-25