Joseph’s Dream
Ready or not here comes Christmas, just four days away. We’re not surprised by the timing of Christmas – it tends to arrive about the same time each year. Since we know when Christmas is coming at some point we begin cleaning, sending cards, making or buying gifts, baking cookies and confessing our sins (because we remember the message of John the Baptist). When we expect something eventually we start preparing for it.
December 21, 2014
Matthew 1.18-25, Joseph’s Dream
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
Audio only[powerpress]
If you’re a student and you know you have a final exam on Friday, you begin studying by Monday, (right?). If you have a big project at work you break it up into an action plan or into smaller pieces that makes the huge job seem less intimidating. Or maybe you don’t. So, we’re all ready for Christmas? Actually we’re not because many of us still have trouble getting ready even for what we know is coming. And it’s much easier to plan for and prepare for events we expect, such as Christmas, a test, or a project, than it is to deal with disappointments or heartaches that come suddenly and unexpectedly like a car accident, a lay-off, an illness, the death of a loved one, or the news of an unexpected pregnancy. Our dreams for the future can be forever altered when unexpected disappointment invades our lives.
This morning’s Gospel is about how Joseph deals with an unexpected pregnancy. It’s about how he responds to an unexpected change in his and Mary’s lives and their futures. Depending on our circumstances the Christmas season can be a time of celebration, joy, laughter, and fun or a poignant emotional time of grief, heartache, loneliness and disappointment. Often it’s a mixture of both. In the midst of the unexpected changes and heartaches in our own lives, the story of Jesus’ birth reminds us that God is with us no matter what. Listen to Matthew 1:18-25,
“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 just 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 fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, 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 him a son; and he named him Jesus.”
In this passage from Matthew chapter one, Joseph had resolved to break his engagement to Mary who was to be his wife. His dreams of a happy marriage and family had been dashed by Mary’s incredible news that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. How is a guy supposed to respond to news like that? How could he be expected to believe that story?
Last week we heard a significant prayer attributed to Mary that reflects the prayer of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 and verses from Isaiah 61. It would be great to have some of Joseph’s words in response to this experience, but we don’t have any; not a single one, which is too bad. I can imagine Joseph lying in bed unable to sleep, tossing about, wrestling with what to do. One moment angry, another embarrassed, then bitter, hurt, disappointed. We can feel the emotions and thoughts that must have made it agonizing for him to decide what to do. Rather than publicly expose Mary to ridicule, disgrace, or worse for what he thought was her infidelity, he decides to quietly end the engagement. He will pick up the pieces of his broken dream and will start over with someone else. When he finally falls asleep, long after the clock has passed midnight, an angel of the Lord appears to him in a dream, and speaks to him reassuringly that he should go ahead and take Mary as his wife. One author has described dreams as, “God’s forgotten language.” Numerous times in the Bible, God communicates to people through dreams; that’s also been part of my experience and that of numerous other people as well. God’s dream for Joseph and Mary’s lives was quite different than what they had likely talked about or imagined. Often that is the case in our lives.
Our dreams don’t always turn out the way we hope. Sometimes it’s because of sin, human failure, or weakness. Sometimes there’s simply no answer. Mary and Joseph’s dreams didn’t turn out the way they initially hoped or expected, but both of them were sustained by their faith and coped incredibly well. In relationships within families, friendships, work, or church, we’re sometimes hurt, disappointed and confused, as Joseph surely was when Mary announced her pregnancy. Like Joseph and Mary, our dreams and plans of the future can change suddenly and dramatically. Life doesn’t go the way we envisioned it would. Yet in Joseph’s life, there was a larger purpose at work that superseded his idea of what his marriage and family would be like. God was prepared to bring something good out of a situation that seemed terribly disappointing. In our lives, God also can bring good out of painful situations, and while this doesn’t lessen our heartache or heartbreak, it may help us to go forward perhaps with greater compassion or understanding.
This Christmas, perhaps some of us find ourselves, like Joseph, with dreams that have not been fulfilled, life hasn’t turned out the way we planned or hoped. The decision we face when this happens is how we will choose to respond when our plans are frustrated. Consider how Joseph responded. We all handle depressing, unexpected news in different ways. Some of us go to bed and try to sleep away our problems because we don’t want to face them or we feel overwhelmed by them. Other people engage in risky behavior like using alcohol or drugs. Sometimes we turn to God for help and guidance. Since Joseph was a godly man, I assume he prayed about his disappointment and how he should respond. Matthew says Joseph went to sleep having made up his mind to dismiss Mary quietly, without exposing her to public disgrace. He had his plan. However, as many of the psalms teach us, when we’re lying in our bed at night often God will instruct us. When our group was Christmas caroling yesterday, Rev. Vincent Fasano shared with us an experience he had of the presence of Jesus being with him at 4:00 am yesterday morning. These things still happen.
God had a plan and a purpose for Joseph and Mary and a plan for the world. It was a plan that included the birth of a baby who came to teach us about God’s unconditional love. Christmas reminds us that Jesus has come so that we can be saved from our failures and mistakes; because Jesus was born we are never truly alone – God is with us. The angel told Joseph, “You are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20b-21).
Joseph awakes from sleep a new man. What a startling and comforting announcement! His disappointment is replaced with reassurance. Mary was telling the truth. God is not always silent in our unexpected disappointments.
Verse 24 says something very important to us – “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” When Joseph wakes from sleep he does what the angel of the Lord commanded him to do. God’s story of salvation hinges on Joseph’s obedience in the midst of his unexpected disappointment. Mary gets far more publicity and attention than Joseph, perhaps deservedly so. We never hear about Joseph after Jesus’ childhood and it is very likely that he died before Jesus began his ministry. Mary on the other hand is present at Jesus’ death and is praying with the first believers when the Holy Spirit comes upon the early church in Acts chapter one. I suspect her memories and experiences are reflected especially in Luke’s Gospel. I can tell you from being in Italy and seeing hundreds of Christian paintings and sculptures that Joseph is almost nowhere to be seen. Mary is the one who is portrayed in great works of art for centuries to come and who appears on the cover of news magazines. Mary gets the publicity, but Joseph is the one in Matthew’s gospel who has a critical decision to make.
Joseph can doubt what Mary said and ruin her life. Or he can believe what she and the angel have said and defend and stand by her. Three times in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth and infancy Joseph is visited by an angel who tells him to do something. Three times Joseph gets up and does exactly what he’s been told to do. (You can understand why Mary wanted to marry him!) I believe it’s very significant that we never hear Joseph speak a single word. His actions speak louder than words. When God’s messenger tells him what to do he is not portrayed as doubting, questioning, fearful, bargaining, or controlling – he acts. God’s story of salvation hinges on Joseph’s obedience in the midst of his unexpected disappointment and Joseph does what needs to be done. Joseph is a man of action and he does what needs to be done. We can all benefit from learning from his example.
When we’re faced with unexpected or untimely disappointments in life, we face a similar challenge as Joseph and Mary. How will we respond? We may come up with a plan of our own or we can add to our own thoughts by seeking God in prayer, searching the scriptures and asking for the wise counsel of spiritually mature friends to help us discern what to do. Maybe for us, like Joseph, God’s plan could involve a message that comes from outside ourselves from a friend, the Bible, or even a messenger of God. The plans we come up with on our own usually make sense to us because, after all, we thought of them. God’s plan for us often involves the unexpected, the surprising, we may not like the odds or the size of the challenge. God’s plan may really stretch us and require great faith and unhesitating obedience. I’m not saying we don’t use our minds, we should apply all our intellect to our faith, but like Joseph and Mary it’s important for us also to listen to and obey what God asks us to do even if that may at times seem unexpected or surprising.
Those of us who worship God don’t just listen to angels, scriptures, or sermons we do what God commands. Even if it seemed then or still seems incredible to us today, Mary and Joseph believed in God and believed that God could be trusted. Those are choices we all have to make and they set the direction of our life. Do we believe in God and do we believe God can be trusted?
Finally, this passage reveals what Jesus’ name means. Joseph and Mary are to name the baby Jesus because he will save us from our sins. God sent Jesus in part because God knows there will be times when we turn a deaf ear to God’s instructions for our life and our relationships. There will be moments when we fail to respond obediently. There will be seasons in our life when we’re overwhelmed by unexpected disappointment and so we question God and fail to trust. There are times we may get so distracted, busy, or self-focused that angels could be singing “Go Tell it on the Mountain” in our living room and we wouldn’t notice. Yet if we ask God for forgiveness, if we’re willing to embrace the new beginning we’re reminded of each Christmas season, Jesus will save us from our sins. He will be Immanuel, God with us, in all the seasons of our life – in the joys and celebrations as well as in the grief and disappointments.
Joseph lives in obedience to a principle that is central to Matthew’s presentation of Jesus (Matthew 9:13), “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” Joseph acted mercifully to Mary. Do we act mercifully with others when they disappoint us? The expectations and hopes Joseph initially had for his life wouldn’t be fulfilled. God had other plans. However, Joseph and Mary had the satisfaction of knowing that in the unexpected events of life, even in our disappointments, God may do something very significant with us, through us, and in us. God may use us to bless other people. I know there are many people struggling today for a host of reasons. Jesus is a gift that is offered to all of us and he can help us, but we must decide if we will accept the gift.
Remember the message of Christmas is about how in the gift of Jesus God offers all of us new life, new beginnings and hope in the midst of our disappointment, heartache, and grief. We are loved unconditionally. Our sins can be forgiven. We are not alone. Don’t give up. Keep the faith. Keep on believing.
Henri Nouwen said, “This is the great conversion in our life: to recognize and believe that the many unexpected events are not just disturbing interruptions of our projects, but the way in which God molds our hearts and prepares us for his return.”
Prayer by Thomas Merton
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” – Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude.
Questions for Reflection or Discussion
If you were in Joseph’s sandals, how do you think you would have responded to Mary’s news regarding her pregnancy?
Have you ever had an experience when someone asked you to believe something that seemed “hard to believe?” How did you respond?
What does Joseph’s initial response tell us about his character (see Matthew 1:19)?
After the angel of the Lord appears to him in a dream, what do Joseph’s actions reveal about his faith?
Joseph’s story, like so many more recent Christmas stories deals with the theme of dreams that don’t work out the way an individual wants and yet something redemptive and even transformational occurs. Have you ever had that experience? What happened?
Mary and Joseph believed in God and believed that God could be trusted. Do we believe in God and do we believe God can be trusted? What difference does it make?
What does the meaning of Jesus name teach us about his identity – about who he is and what he does for us?