4th Sunday in Advent A December 19, 2010

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Joseph with Infant Christ. 1665-1666

 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah^* took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do 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 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 fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and they shall name him Emmanuel’ which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son;^* and he named him Jesus.   Matthew 1:18-25^{19202122232425}



       As we draw closer and closer to Christmas it becomes increasingly more difficult to keep Advent and not rush headlong into Christmas.  It is easy to be impatient.  Or if you are like me, nervous.  Ah it’s so close to Christmas and I’m not ready!

       But Christmas will come, whether or not we are ready.  And just what exactly does it mean to be ready?  Does it mean we’ve been to the grocery store and have the turkey or ham or in my case, the Cornish game hens thawing in the refrigerator?  Does it mean that all the gifts are wrapped?  If my sermon is written already does that mean I’m ready for Christmas?  What does it even mean to be “ready for Christmas” And can we ever really be ready for Christmas and what it means for us?

       Joseph was not ready for what Christmas meant for him.  We don’t often get to hear his side of the story like today.  Poor Joseph.  This must have been all very confusing to him.   First he discovers that his betrothed, Mary, his going to have a child.  And it’s not his child.  In those days, betrothal was a very serious matter.  It was much more binding than modern engagements.  The deal had been signed sealed and delivered between the families and Mary and Joseph were as good as married.  The only way out of it was a divorce.  

       But now as Matthew says, Mary is found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.  Well that’s what Mary says anyway.  Would YOU have believed it?  It sounds a lot like the desperate tale of a young girl who is in a lot of trouble.

       As far as the law is concerned, Mary has committed adultery.  That is a very serious crime, punishable by death by stoning.  Joseph is a righteous man.  That means, he is a man who follows the law.  The law is clear in this case.  But Joseph also has compassion.  In those days marriages were arranged and romantic love had little do with it, but I think we can safely assume he had some feeling toward this young girl he had planned to spend the rest of his life with.  Even if she were allowed to live, the public disgrace of Mary’s situation would be devastating to her.  So Joseph comes up with the solution that he will quietly divorce her and let her family get her out of town and keep this whole nasty business to him.

       It’s a kind and reasonable solution.   But it’s the wrong solution.  And after Joseph has spent all this time figuring out his solution, then an angel comes to him and tells him that’s not the right solution.  Have you ever experienced that?  You spend a lot of time figuring something out, you think you’ve got a good plan and after you have everything figured out, God comes and says “no that’s not how it’s going to be, we’re going to do something totally different”  There’s a saying that says “You want to make God laugh?  Tell him what you are going to do tomorrow”

       The angel tells Joseph that Mary is telling the truth.  She is carrying God’s son.  But even the Son of God needs an earthly father.  That is how important fathers are – God saw that his OWN son needed an earthly father and chose Joseph for that essential role.   Quite a task.  Quite an honor.  For this child that Mary carries is between God and Mary.  In many ways, Joseph is an outsider.  And still he raises the boy as his own.  For Joseph and Mary are part of something greater than their little family complications.

       The angel in Joseph’s dream goes on to say more about the child Mary carries. There is something even greater than the unusual circumstances under which Jesus is conceived.  The angel does more than relieve Joseph’s doubts.  Joseph has an important task – he is to give the name to the child Mary will bear.  For Jews, a name was more than what you used to call someone to dinner –it was an expression of who that person was.  The name Jesus, or “Joshua” means “God saves” The warrior Joshua in the Old Testament lived up to his name for through him God saved people from their enemies.  This Jesus will be the one through whom God saves people from sin, death and the devil.   The name Jesus is a promise.  God will save.  In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the promise God will save will become a reality.  

       The child to be born will have another name – Immanuel – God with us – Another promise.  How is God with us?  IN Jesus.  How does Jesus save us?  By being God with us.

       On this last Sunday in Advent, so close to Christmas, we anticipate the celebration of Jesus’ birth.  Why do we make such a fuss over a little baby?  We celebrate that baby, not only for what he became, but for the birth itself was and is – a sign of God’s presence, god’s coming to be with us, God coming to us to save us.

       God is not far away in heaven.  God is with us here and no.  God is with us in our everyday lives, in our celebrations, in our sorrows, in our struggles, our victories and our defeats.  That is the meaning of Immanuel- God with us.

       Immanuel – God with us.  God is with a young unmarried pregnant girl who doesn’t totally understand how this is all going to work out, but trusts that it will work out.  God is with us when we are unsure how impossible situations will work out in our lives.

       Immanuel – God with us.  God is with a poor couple, forced by an oppressive government to leave their homes and have their baby in a stable.  God is with oppressed, homeless people everywhere.

       Immanuel- God with us.  God is with the baby who grows up to be an itinerant preacher who brings healing and forgiveness to hurting people.  God brings healing and forgiveness into our brokenness.

       Immanuel – God with us.  God is with a grieving mother who watches her son die on a cross.  God is with us in our suffering and times of sorrow and loss.

       Immanuel- God with us.  God is with a group of followers who cannot believe their Risen Lord really has come back to them.  God is with us, giving us new life, forgiveness and second changes, raising us up to proclaim to other sinful broken people – Immanuel – God is with us!

       In a sense, our whole lives are an Advent as we prepare for the final fulfillment of his promise, when all creation is redeemed.  But because in our Advent we have Immanuel- God with us; we do more than simply wait.  We are the sign of Immanuel – God’s presence in this world.  We are Immanuel as we celebrate the present of God with us and proclaim that promise to the world.  

       Amen – Come Lord Jesus!