|
“The Lord Will Give You a Sign:
Emmanuel” |
|
Suanne and I had been married for six and
half years. We had completed our college degrees and we both had jobs. My
mother had finally given up asking us about grandchildren. I remember the day that Suanne told me that she thought she was pregnant with our first child. My first thought was, “This is so sudden – am I really ready to be a dad?” (After all, you’re looking at a guy who didn’t get his driver’s license until he was 18.) “Why rush into this?” My father-in-law’s response was immediate: “I’m too young to be a grandfather!” But what was Joseph going to do? What was he going to tell his family? The two families had negotiated in good faith. A legally binding contract of marriage had been made. A dream of a fulfilling life with Mary was planted and took root. Then he heard some shocking news. We don’t know how. It doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that the girl he was going to marry was pregnant – and it wasn’t from him! Can you imagine what went through his mind? What’s a guy going to do? What’s he going to tell his family? What will the neighbors think? Can you imagine what Mary had said to Joseph? “I – I don’t really know how it happened! All I know is that an angel – that’s right – an angel – a messenger from God – came to me and told me that I am carrying God’s child given to me from God’s Spirit.” - - - Yeah – right! Would you believe that story if a family relative told it to you? I don’t think so! If a young girl came to me for counseling with a story like that, even as a pastor, I would have a hard time believing that God made her pregnant. Although we live in a more understanding time, I can assure you that an unwed pregnancy in the little rural community of Nazareth was simply out of the question. If Joseph had wanted to make Mary’s pregnancy an issue, she would have been killed as an adulteress. Even today, in North Africa and in the Middle East, especially in the conservative Islamic community, women are killed by family members if they have had sexual relations out of wedlock, or they have committed adultery. There is no punishment for the executioners, and the action is called an “honor killing” because the woman brought community dishonor to the family. In a culture where men had all of the control – called all the shots – Mary was helpless. Joseph had every legal right to abandon her. It wasn’t right, but that’s the way it was. Mary’s situation brought scandal to the family of David, the great king, from which Joseph came. What would Mary and Joseph do? Mary and Joseph were joined together in a legal contract of betrothal. It was part of the marriage process. If one of them had died, the survivor would have been treated as a widow or widower. If one had a love affair with another, the act was adultery. It was as legally and spiritually binding as if they already had the wedding ceremony. What was Joseph going to do? He was a profoundly religious man – in the very best sense of the term. This was confirmed by the gospel of Matthew where he is referred to as “a righteous man.” In Judaism, righteousness is a good thing. Being a man of integrity and kindness, Joseph decided that the decent thing to do was to arrange for a quiet divorce and get on with life. But God intervened. One night not long after Joseph made his decision, he had a dream. God talked to him, and told him about the baby – and even that it was a boy – and what his name was to be: the Hebrew name was Joshua – we translate it to be “Jesus.” When Joseph awoke, there was no confusion in his mind about the dream. I have never talked to an angel. God has yet to address me by name in a dream or vision, and so there are few moments in my life that have had the spiritual clarity of God’s revelation to Joseph. There have been nights when I have gone to bed with unresolved problems stewing inside me, my mind casting about for answers. As sleep turned my mind loose to fertile creativity, I have sometimes awakened to new solutions to the problems. Perhaps my own dreaming is a little like Joseph’s. Caught on the horns of a dilemma, a new dream replaced his old one of what he thought his future would be. In an incredible leap of faith, Joseph awoke to a new future. He decided to trust the dream. The gospel of Matthew says that he married his betrothed. She had the baby – God’s baby. “Joseph named the infant Joshua,” (like God told him to) which meant “Salvation from the Lord.” The Son of God was born into the family of Joseph. Joseph gave the baby his family name and raised the boy as his own. And you know how this dream turned out. And what is it about baby names anyway? During the months before our son was born, we agonized over names. It seemed like every time I came up with a name for the baby, Suanne quickly vetoed it because she had a difficult student by the same name – and she didn’t want our son or daughter to remind her of that student! We finally settled on “Stephen” because she never had a student named Stephen who drove her crazy. The name Stephen means “crowned” – and when Stephen was born, his head was covered – literally “crowned” with thick, dark hair. Maybe, sometimes, there really is some connection between birth names and destiny. Mary and Joseph’s boy was named Joshua: “Salvation from the Lord.” A good name for him, don’t you think? By the time Matthew was written, the followers of Joshua were also calling the boy something else: “Emmanuel,” meaning “God-is-with-us.” In a time of moral darkness and great fear, God’s prophet spoke words of hope to the Hebrew people. They were words of assurance that God had not abandoned them. Isaiah said, “Therefore the Lord …will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel!” (Isaiah 7:14) Immanuel. God is with us. No wonder the followers of Jesus attached that name to Joseph and Mary’s son – the baby born in Bethlehem. On Tuesday, we will celebrate the birth of the boy born in Bethlehem. Let’s recognize this little guy who comes into the world. He’s the one John baptized. He is the one who is to come so that we don‘t have to wait for another. He’s the one who got named through his daddy’s dream. “Joseph, son of David, 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 (Joshua) Jesus – (‘salvation from the Lord’) – for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20b-21) “‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means ‘God is with us’.” (Matthew 1:23) “Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) Tuesday, the Son of God comes! Wake up! Pay attention. He’s the sign we’ve been waiting for. Jesus: Salvation from the Lord. Immanuel: God is with us. His names say it all. Let us pray. O God, you bring us again to marvel at the amazing event we commemorate in just two days. During these last days of preparation, give us the confidence and wisdom of Joseph. Give us the faithfulness and courage of Mary. But most of all, revive in us the powerful love that Jesus, our Savior, had for all people. In his name we pray. Amen. |