In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Well, it’s almost here.  Christmas is almost here.  So we’re beginning to hear the part of the Christmas story that prepares us for the birth of Jesus.  And, as liturgically we’re in Year A of our readings, we’re hearing the story as Matthew tells it.  Have you ever compared how the different Gospels begin the story of Jesus? 

Mark begins the story with Jesus’ baptism . . . he says nothing about Jesus’ life before this moment.  John, of course, begins his Gospel with the assertion that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  But after this prologue, John, too, begins telling the story of Jesus by talking about John the Baptist and his testimony about the baptism of Jesus.  Only Matthew and Luke tell the story we think of as the Christmas story . . . the story of Jesus’ birth.  And if you lay these two versions side by side, you see that they are quite different.

Of course, we know the tale so well we think of it as one big story . . . the Annunciation, the Visitation, the trip to Bethlehem . . . the shepherds, the wise men . . . but if you compare Matthew and Luke, you’ll see that certain parts of the story are told only by one or the other.  If you look closely at Matthew’s version . . . pretending that it’s the only story you know . . . you’ll see that Matthew tells us about neither the event of Jesus’ conception – the story of the Annunciation – nor the story of his actual birth.  Rather, Matthew tells about the reactions and responses of others to these events . . . especially those of one particular person:  Joseph!  For Matthew, it’s Joseph’s reaction to the news that Mary is going have a baby that’s important . . . in fact, in Matthew’s version of the Christmas story, Joseph is the central character, not Mary.  We don’t often pay much attention to poor, old Joseph . . . but this morning we have the opportunity to do so.

Matthew opens his Gospel with an account of the genealogy of Jesus.  Beginning with Abraham, and for 15 verses, Matthew traces Jesus’ ancestry . . . through Ruth, and David, and Solomon . . . on and on . . . until he reaches the end.  The genealogy concludes with this:  “and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born” (Matt. 1:16).  This history of “begats” ends with Joseph.  Now, we all remember that scripturally, it’s crucial that the Messiah be of the house of David, right?  And how does Jesus have the right to make this claim?  Through Joseph!  According to Matthew, Joseph is the descendant of David . . . not Mary.  See why Joseph’s reaction to the news of Mary’s pregnancy is so important?  If Joseph left Mary, Jesus would not be of the house of David.  Joseph HAS to stay in the story . . . his acceptance of Mary and her baby is CRUCIAL!

So  . . . what is it EXACTLY that Matthew tells us?  He says that Mary was betrothed to Joseph and that before they came together she was found to be pregnant with a child of the Holy Spirit.  Matthew says nothing about how this happened . . . it’s simply a fact.  Nor do we know what Joseph and Mary said to each other regarding her pregnancy . . . I bet THAT was an interesting conversation . . . but whatever was said, it’s clear that Joseph was not so certain about Mary’s version of what happened.  He had his doubts.  Can you blame him?  And we’re told that Joseph decided to divorce her quietly.

The story can be a little confusing for us at this point because today we don’t think of an engagement to be married as legally binding.  But 2,000 years ago in Palestine, betrothal was a legally binding promise.  Betrothal and marriage were almost the same thing . . . the difference being that with marriage the transfer of property was completed, which is what marriage was really about:  property.  In fact, the state of betrothal was so serious, that infidelity to the betrothed could be punished by death.  Joseph could have raised quite a ruckus when he learned that Mary was going to have a baby!  However, Joseph chose a different route . . . he chose to break the contract quietly, sending Mary back to her family.  In my opinion, this decision already shows Joseph to be a good man.  But more is to come, proving what an interesting character this guy is.

While Joseph is considering his decision to divorce Mary and send her back to her family, he has a dream.  In it an angel appears and confirms Mary’s version of what happened to her . . . the angel tells Joseph that Mary is INDEED pregnant by the Holy Spirit, that she will bear a son, and that Joseph should name him Jesus.  The angel tells Joseph that this child will save his people from their sins.  What an extraordinary claim!  What an amazing dream!  But . . . I don’t know about you, I have a little trouble imagining myself making some very important life decision based on a dream, no matter how extraordinary.  Oh, I know that culturally I live in an entirely different world from Joseph . . . that we should be wary about comparisons between ourselves and those who lived a long time ago in another part of the world . . . but nevertheless . . . !  A dream!?  And Joseph chooses to obey it. 

What a situation!  Here’s this guy, engaged to this young woman who shows up pregnant . . . what’s he supposed to do?  He decides to stick by her . . . because of a dream.  I wonder what kind of conversation he had with HIMSELF about this . . . was there a battle, for example, with his own pride?  After all, he had his own expectations about how his life was going to go . . . and he had some rights, after all!  I wonder how difficult it was for him to give up his own dreams and desires . . . to choose to believe in the unbelievable?  I can’t prove it, but I expect that Joseph had quite an inner struggle making his decision to stay with Mary and accept her child.

Oh . . . there’s something else I want to add at this point.  There is a tradition of thinking of Joseph as an old guy . . . much older than Mary.  This would explain a lot of things . . . his wisdom, his patience, his willingness to have no intimate relations with Mary until she gives birth to her baby . . . but we don’t know that this tradition of Joseph being elderly is accurate.  Far more typical for the time would be for both Mary and Joseph to be quite young . . . perhaps 13 and 15 respectively.  If you’re thinking of Joseph as an old codger . . . stop for a minute and picture him as an intelligent and energetic 15-year-old.  Now picture this 15-year-old Joseph being confronted with the situation we’ve been talking about and making the decisions we know he made.  It’s difficult for many of us to trust our inner voice . . . to trust – and obey! – our dreams . . . even if they seem to come from God.  But . . . a very young man?  Remarkable, I think.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph – not Mary! – is the first person we see reacting to the miraculous, radical new thing God is doing in the world.  God is choosing to come among us as one of us, in order to save us.  In doing this, God is throwing out all the categories of perception and interpretation that went before.  God’s lot is now the human one.  And, as Matthew tells the story, the first person we see reacting to this news is Joseph.  Joseph says “Yes!” to it all.  What a model he is for us all!

It’s almost here.  Christmas is almost here.  How will WE react to its arrival?  To the arrival of Christ?  How will we respond to Jesus?  Will our own dreams and desires take precedence over God’s?  Will we assert our rights, and deny God’s rights over us?  Will we allow our own expectations and pride to blind us to God’s will?  Or will we say yes?. . . yes to the new and unexpected . . . yes to the unbelievable because God declares it so . . . yes to change because God turns everything upside down?  Will we keep Mary with us . . . and will we accept and keep and nurture her baby as our own?  Will we allow Christ to be born in our hearts?

I hope so!

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