So today we will be exploring the often forgotten man of Christmas, Joseph, Jesus's earthly father, Joseph. What was the significance of Joseph to the salvation story? And why is he not spoken about often? An examination of the gospels reveals that nothing is mentioned of Joseph in the gospels of John and Mark. Some reference is made of him in the gospel of Luke but in relation to Mary and the Christ child and the presentation of Jesus in the temple. Beyond that not much else is said. Then there is the gospel of Matthew. It is in this gospel that we hear who Joseph is and the part he plays in the salvation story.
In the preceding verses of our gospel reading this morning, Matthew tracks Joseph's lineage right back to the royal line of David and even further back to Abraham. He does this to demonstrate to the Jewish audience that he was writing to at the time that Jesus is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies. He is the Messiah God promised that would come from the lineage of David. And so Matthew sets the scene for the coming of Jesus into the household of Joseph. Although Joseph was from the royal lineage of David, we know he was not a rich man.
Some say he was a carpenter, but more likely he was a stonemason that lived and worked in Nazareth. Nazareth was often derided as a place where nothing good comes from. As Nathaniel, one of Jesus's apostles, was quoted as saying, "Does anything good come out of Nazareth?" Yes, it was the humble, often overlooked Nazareth that God chose to initiate his salvation plan. Isn't that something? From the lowest of places is often where we find God at work and his grace happening. Joseph, the overlooked, taking forranted man of Christmas, was from Nazareth.
In 2019, and a slight segue for me, I was on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and I visited a number of historical and biblical sites of relevance to our gospel reading. This morning was my visit to Nazareth and what would have been the homes of Joseph and Mary. Mary's childhood home lies underneath the current basilica of the enunciation where the angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her she was to bear a son. Joseph's childhood home as well similarly was also underneath the church of St. Joseph and the home was later to become the home of the Holy Family. These two locations were essentially 5 minutes walk apart. I know that because I did it. And you can imagine that would have meant that Joseph and Mary probably knew each other as children. But what struck me visually was the symbolic sizes of those churches in comparison to one another. The basilica of the enunciation gives it away. It is a is monstrous in size.
Yet when I walked into St. Joseph's church, I was struck by the contrast and the understatedness of it. It looked and felt like a regular medieval church in England rather than one which with such historical and biblical significance to the Holy Family. It is this understatedness, the unassumed nature and taken forrantedness that draws parallels with who Joseph was. Joseph, the often forgotten man of Christmas, the somebody that nobody talks about at Christmas. Regrettably, Joseph is often overshadowed by other characters in the salvation story. Mary, the wise men, the shepherds, the Bethlehem star, angel Gabriel, and even the donkeys and the animals gets a mention before him. He is often relegated to a supporting act. Yet, Joseph's part in the salvation story, though small, is quite significant. Our gospel reading tells us that Joseph was a just and righteous man. just in that he was a fair man, righteous that he was in right standing with God. He feared and loved God according to the Jewish law.
Now, this is quite important to note as we move through the gospel reading. He was engaged to Mary to be married to her. And in Jewish customs, engagements were usually typically lasting a year due to the preparations that the groom would needed to put in place with his family before the bride came to live with them. It was legally binding. Diaries would have been exchanged at that point. The intent to marry a formal document would have been read out in what was the town square between the families and in front of the town full of witnesses.
This was a big deal for Joseph and Mary. So imagine in that time of preparation
he discovered his intended bride is with child and is not of his own participation. We can imagine the shock, anger, betrayal and all sorts of emotions that would have been running through his mind. this just and righteous man who had been waiting so long for his bride find himself in a dilemma and was and what was compound what compounds that fact is that according to the law he's supposed to accuse Mary publicly which would have been a sentence a death sentence for her and he was duty bound by that law to be the first to take up the stone and stone her publicly as the aggrieved party.
However, Joseph's compassionate heart led him to choose not to public to make her public spectacle as we heard in our gospel reading. He knew at that moment he couldn't go ahead with the marriage. But because of the love he had for Mary and by extension her family and the grave consequences for her life, scripture tells us he puts her away quietly. Essentially, he wants to divorce her quietly. It would have meant probably sending her away to dist their distant relatives. We don't know. But he knew he couldn't participate in the punishment that would be need out on Mary. With this in mind, with his mind made up and on what he intended to do, he goes to sleep. And then we hear God through angel Gabriel completely foils Joseph's plan Proverbs 19:21 absolutely describes what's going on here that despite a person's many inner plans, desires, and intentions, only the Lord's purpose and counsel will
ultimately prevail.
This verse highlights the tension between human ambition and divine sovereignty, urgent submission to God's higher and wiser plan. Joseph's plan for Mary was out of sync of God's plan for salvation. Joseph is told, "Do not be afraid to take Mary and marry her." And that the child she's carrying is God incarnate. me paraphrase it that he should trust God to be obedient to God's will which was to bring about the fulfilment of prophecy and he was to have a part in its fruition. Joseph's response was one of obedience. Perhaps even though he had said yes to God's plans, he may still have had his fears. He was human after all. As a Jew, he would have known about the prophecies and he was now in the knowledge that the prophecies were about to be fulfilled. What a privilege that must have been for him. But at the same time, a weight of responsibility because he was going to be responsible for the Godchild and to raise him until that time came for him or for Jesus to do God's will.
So, how does Joseph's story speak to us today? If we were Joseph, what would be our reaction? Would it be one of obedience as Joseph did? Would we trust God knowing the road ahead might be a difficult one? What would our lives look like if we chose God every day and followed his instructions? Well, that's what this man of Christmas did. He chose God and said yes and fell in line with God's plan. And he was credited with righteousness. In the same way, his generational grandfather Abraham was credited with righteousness for obedience to God. Without Joseph's obedience, just like Mary's to God's to the will of God, the salvation story may have taken a different turn.
Mary would likely have been stoned to death, as was the custom of the Jews then. Yet Joseph in his actions and decisions gave us plenty to reflect on that when faced with situations that are difficult to understand or accept despite the precarious positions we find ourselves, we ought to choose to trust in God's plan for our lives, even when it doesn't make any sense. What that plan is how we spend time in God's in God's presence through prayer discerning what those plans are from God. Joseph's willingness to accept the divine revelation act accordingly shows a deep faith in God's wisdom and timing.
Joseph's decision to put not to put to put Mary away quietly rather than publicly shame her demonstrates a heart filled with love and mercy. This teaches us the value of compassion and the importance of protecting others even when we are hurt or confused. Joseph's conclusions about Mary'scircumstances were based on his own understanding, which was not the complete truth. That we should leave room for God's truth to transcend our own conclusions.
We should let go of our worries and trust that God is in control. And when we face difficult choices, we should lean on him. Joseph's dilemma in our gospel reading offers profound lessons for us today. His obedience in uncertainty, his compassion and mercy, his trust in God's plan, his understanding of the nature of truth, and his ability to rest and trust in God are timeless principles that can guide us through our own challenges and uncertainties. So, as we reflect on Joseph's example, may I encourage us to strive to embody these qualities in our own lives, I pray that we may be inspired by Joseph's example and strive to live lives that bring honour to God and reflect his love to the world.
