Sermon -- Mid-Week Advent – 3rd Wednesday (December 20, 2017)

MATTHEW 1:20-23

TO WHOM DOES JESUS COME?

With Enlightenment To Him 

Who Does Not Understand.

In the name + of Jesus.

     Joseph was a righteous man, which means he believed the Scriptures and tried to live his life according to them.  But Joseph was also a sensible man.  When he learned that Mary, his betrothed, was pregnant, he deduced that she had been unfaithful.  There is no way Joseph could have known the truth, and no reasonable person would have assumed anything different.
     The angel Gabriel had revealed to Mary that she would conceive and give birth to a son.  The angel had also told Mary that her relative, Elizabeth, in her old age was six months pregnant.  It was kind of a nudge.  Mary took the hint and went to see Elizabeth.  She stayed there in Judea until John the Baptist was born.  By the time Mary returned to Nazareth, she would have had a baby bump.  The gossip would have been flying around Nazareth.  And what was Joseph to think?  Had Mary been unfaithful in Judea?  Or did she leave for Judea because she had been unfaithful in Nazareth?  There weren't many other conclusions to draw, not for a sensible man.
     But Joseph was also a righteous man.  Mary was burdened by enough shame already.  Joseph chose not to make it worse by publicly denouncing her for adultery.  Obviously, the marriage was off, but Joseph would dissolve their betrothal quietly.  But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21) 
     To whom does the Lord come?  To enlightenment to him who does not understand.  The Lord sent his angel to Joseph to enlighten him to the facts that no one could know unless God had revealed them.  The angel assured Joseph that not only was pregnant Mary faithful, but she was still virgin pure!  The child in her womb was not the son of another man, but the Son of God.  The only way Joseph would ever know or believe this is if God himself had revealed it to him.  Never in the history of the world was there a virgin birth.  If you recall all the miracles of the Old Testament, there are no virgin births.  But the Lord enlightened Joseph to this unique miracle.  God was coming into the world in the flesh, and he assumed his flesh from Joseph's betrothed.  To whom does Jesus come?  With enlightenment to him who does not understand. 
     An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife....” (Matthew 1:20)  Joseph would have had a number of fears in taking Mary into his house.  He would have opened himself up to the gossip that was already circling around Mary.  And the gossip would not stop with the birth of Jesus, either.  People would always be talking about this child of Mary's alleged unfaithfulness.  Even if Joseph and Mary told about the angels' announcements, how many do you think believed them?  Joseph would take on the responsibility of a child which was not his.  He would be entrusted with being the protector and guardian of the Son of God. 
     But Joseph was enlightened to this one fact that would strengthen him and Mary in the difficult days to come: This child is the fulfillment of a promise.  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:23)  Although there were no virgin births in the Old Testament, God had foretold one.  The angel alerted Joseph that its fulfillment was in Mary's womb.  Immanuel was coming.  God had become a human being and would dwell with his people.
     To whom does Jesus come?  He comes with enlightenment to those who do not understand.  Joseph is not alone in being confused by God's plans or misreading what God has done.  We share in our limited understanding of God's actions.  We often wonder, “What is God doing?  Why isn't God acting faster, better, or different?  Why does God have me going through whatever it is I am going through?”  Like Joseph, we feel the pain, frustration, disappointment, or grief that comes in this life.  We would hope to be spared; God sends it anyway. 
     Unlike Joseph, we do not have the luxury of having an angel appear to us in our dreams to explain what God is up to.  We may never know why God is doing what he does or why he permits what he does.  When the angel alerted Joseph what God was up to, he reminded Joseph of God's word through the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:23)  There are many words and promises which sustains us when we do not understand what God is doing.  Those words don't reveal God's reasons; they reveal God's person.  The word of God enlightens us to this. 
     The LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136)  The Lord is good, no matter what.  God's word does not say the Lord is good when life is easy.  The Lord is good at all times.  That is just who God is.  Even when we suffer pain, frustration, disappointment, or grief, the Lord is good.  His steadfast love endures forever.  That does not mean that life will be easy, or that we will understand what God is up to.  It means that, no matter what bitterness or confusion we face, the Lord continues with his faithful love. 
     That faithful love is shown us through the child which was conceived in Mary's womb.  God became one of us to dwell among us.  God became one of us to suffer and die for all of us.  In the case of Jesus, God enlightens us so that we know exactly what he is up to.  Joseph was told: “you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)  Jesus is what his name means: “The Lord saves.”  He not only takes away your sin, he even delivers you from the grave.  He puts an end to God's wrath.  He forgives our sins of doubt, of frustration with God, or of a faith which tends to trust our own experiences over God's revelation.  Though we are weak in faith, God's steadfast love endures forever.  Even though we were born sinners, God has been pleased to give us new birth into his family, making us heirs of heaven and children of the resurrection.  Those promises are clear, even if your life is confusing.  And no amount of confusion in your life will negate God's clear promises.
     To whom does Jesus come?  With enlightenment to him who does not understand.  Although God enlightened Joseph about Mary's pregnancy, that did not mean God made it easy for Joseph.  While Mary spoke words of acceptance to God's plans for her, Joseph never said anything.  In fact, Joseph utters no words in the Bible.  But what Joseph is exceptionally good at is listening to the word of the Lord and acting on it.  After the Lord enlightened Joseph about the son of Mary, Joseph immediately fulfilled his role as husband of Mary and guardian of Jesus.  I don't know if Joseph ever really was able to wrap his head around what God was doing, but Joseph served faithfully in all of it.  He had a word from God, and that was enough.
     Like Joseph, you have a word from God, too.  The LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136)  Therefore, you get to live in the peace of knowing that God does, indeed, know what is doing.  And whatever God does, he is doing it all because he loves you and desires your eternal good.  You may never understand why God does what he is doing—and you don't have to; but you have been enlightened to know who is doing it for you.  The LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136)  And that is enough.

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