12-21-08 Merry Christmas!

In just four days we celebrate Christmas.

Although our secular culture

is currently engaged in a fierce battle

to remove all things Christian from the national Christmas celebration,

for those of us who are Christians

a big part of this time of year involves our celebrating

the entrance of Jesus Christ into this world 2000 years ago.

Now most of you know that Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25, 0000,

in fact there are strong indications that He wasn’t even born in the winter,

but that’s OK.

It doesn’t matter whether or not we got the date right.

It matters very much that He came,

and our knowing the events surrounding His coming

was important enough to our God

for Him to carefully preserve for us quite a bit of information about the event.

Of course the forces of social tradition and religious systems during the past 2000 years

have done much to obscure the reality of what we’ve been given,

but fortunately we still have the original sources

and all we have to do is to block out most of what we think we know

and listen carefully to what’s really being said.

And to help us with our celebration of the season

I’d like to take our time this morning

to share with you just a few fascinating things I’ve noticed

as I’ve read through the account of the birth of Christ during the past few weeks.

The first one I want to share with you

comes from the second chapter of the Book of Matthew.

It’s something an angel said to Joseph

as Joseph was trying to decide what to do

with his discovery that Mary was pregnant.

And since we’re going to start with this comment made to Joseph

I think we should broaden it out a little bit

and talk just a little bit about the man himself.

I want us to do this for several reasons.

First, I think it will help us better appreciate

how far from reality

much of our Christmas tradition has drifted.

And second, I want us to do it

because I think Joseph rarely gets the honor he deserves.

Joseph is one of the quiet, forgotten heros

in the events surrounding the birth of Christ.

Of course Mary always gets a lot of attention,

but Joseph frequently gets lost behind a whole lot of wise men from the east

and shepherds,

and sheep, and cattle,

and even little drummer boys who have no rightful place in the account at all.

For many years now

I have had a tremendous admiration for Joseph.

We know more than a little about him,

though what we know is tucked in here and there throughout the Christmas account.

He was young, you know - most likely in his early 20’s.

Most of the manger displays I’ve seen in my life

make him look in his 30's or 40's.

He wasn’t.

He was just a young man, barely out of his teens,

in love and looking forward to his wedding day.

He wasn’t a prophet,

he wasn’t a preacher or a teacher.

He was an apprentice carpenter in a small town,

and he was in love with a girl in her teens,

a girl by the name of Mary.

When we first meet Joseph

we learn that Mary has accepted his proposal of marriage

and the two are officially engaged.

We know nothing about where or how they met,

but it isn’t hard to imagine.

It was a small town,

and I think Joseph and Mary’s engagement came as no surprise to those who knew them.

They were a good match -

good kids, both of them,

with good attitudes,

and good reputations...

good reputations, that is,

until Mary suddenly turned up pregnant.

The only way for us to begin to appreciate what that must have been like for Joseph

is to try to put ourselves in his position.

He knew, of course, that he was not the father.

Even in the old days

you had to have sex to get a girl pregnant,

and there had been no messing around with these two,

no games,

no pushing the limits.

The news of Mary’s pregnancy

could only have filled him

with both grief and terror -

grief because it meant... well it meant that he’d been wrong about Mary -

she was not the girl he thought she was.

There was some other guy in her life.

And terror because everyone who knew them

would think he was the father.

Her pregnancy destroyed both of their lives

and both of their reputations.

Not only did the people in their world

not see halos above their heads,

like we so often do in our little card-board Christmas cut-outs,

but what they saw were two young people covered in shame and disgrace.

Matthew gives us a tiny glimpse into Joseph’s character

at this point in his life.

He writes,

Matt. 1:19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly.

By the way, Matthew refers to Joseph as “her husband”

because in the Jewish culture

an engagement was viewed as a legal, binding marriage commitment.

Joseph didn’t want to hurt Mary,

but neither could he in good conscience

go ahead with a marriage to someone he could no longer trust,

and at the same time bring on himself

the shame for a sin he did not commit.

But then Matthew goes on:

Matt. 1:20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Matt. 1:21 "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will...

And before we go any farther

I want to stop right here

because it is this statement from the angel to Joseph

that drew me to this passage in the first place.

And first let me just make a passing observation about angels.

Have you ever noticed how they are always able to say so much with so few words.

They can say more in 25 words

than most of us could say in 2500.

I mean, if this angel would have approached communication

like a lot of people do

his conversation would have gone a lot more like this...

“Hey Joseph! It’s sure great to meet you. I’m an angel, by the way, and I’m really pumped that I got this assignment because I’ve just really wanted to meet you face-to-face. I suppose you think your life is sort of mess right now, but I gotta tell you that you’re really big stuff. You’ve been chosen by God for an amazing part in the most amazing thing ever to happen on this earth and it’s all because He trusts you. Anyway...I’ve been sent to tell you that you shouldn’t be afraid to marry Mary...hey that’s not bad ...marry Mary...anyway she really is the girl you thought she was and this whole pregnancy thing is big miracle of God so that He could bring into this world the most amazing being you could ever imagine. Now, let me tell you about the One who’s coming...”

See, angels never do that type of thing.

They just come in,

say what they have to say in as few words as possible,

and then they’re gone.

But you see what’s happening here with Joseph, don’t you?

This is God Himself stepping into Joseph’s life,

giving Joseph His first introduction,

his first impression of this Being who would enter the world through Mary’s womb.

Now think about it...

if you could offer a person just one piece of information

about this One who is coming,

what would you most want them to know?

That’s not a fair question, of course,

because there’s no way we can ever imagine what it would have been like to be Joseph -

to have no knowledge at all about Jesus,

to have not even the slightest clue as to who He is or what He would do.

But we can try.

OK, now think just a little bit

about who it is that’s making His entrance into the world.

This isn’t just a prophet.

That doesn’t even come close.

This is literally God Himself in human form.

This is the One who created all things,

the One who will reign on this earth as King of all creation,

the One before whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He alone is Lord.

This is the Messiah,

the King of Kings,

the everlasting Father,

the Mighty God,

the Prince of peace,

the Lion of Judah,

the Holy One,

the Redeemer,

the Great Physician,

the Alpha and the Omega - the beginning and the end,

the Great High Priest of the human race,

the Head of the Church,

the bread of life,

the light of the world,

the living stone,

the Lord of Glory,

the bright and morning stare,

the Resurrection,

the Life,

the Rock.

This is Immanuel - God with us.

So if you are an angel of few words,

sent to communicate to Joseph

the one thing he most needs to know

about this being who will enter this world through Mary,

what do you say?

What is at the top of the list from God’s point of view?

What does He want us to know

more than anything else

about this Jesus - who He is and what He will accomplish?

I can make it even more simple

and even more personal for us.

Keep in mind that Jesus Christ is God’s greatest, clearest communication of Himself

to us, His created beings.

So what is it that we most need to know about our God,

and what is it that HE most wants us to know?

If you were God,

what would you most want your creation to know about you?

Well, listen to what this angel said.

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins."

He ... will save His people from their sins.

That right there

is the beginning of all true knowledge about our God.

That is what Joseph most needed to know,

and that’s what each one of us most need to know.

That is why the angel could begin his conversation with Joseph

with the words, “...do not be afraid...”,

and that is what we need to know

if we are ever to overcome our terror of our God.

And why was this the introduction of Himself that God chose?

Well, I know some of the reasons why.

Certainly it was the most crucial piece of knowledge we needed

if we were ever to make any sense

out of the life Jesus lived on this earth.

What He did,

and the way He did it

makes no sense at all

unless we understand that His highest priority,

the one thing He most wanted to accomplish with His visit

was to save His people from their sins.

Apart from that knowledge

His entire time here looks like one massive failure,

ending with His own execution.

Only when we recognize that what looked at the time like just an execution

was in reality a willing offering - made in payment of a debt - our debt being paid in full,

only then does any of it make any sense.

But even more than that,

what the angel said gives us a clear view

not just into the mind of God,

and the actions of God,

but into the heart of God.

What do you think God most wants to say to you right now?

I think more than a few of you

assume He’s most concerned about some of the things you’re doing,

some of the choices you’re making,

some of the messes you’re making in your life.

And if you expected Him to say anything

it would be words of reprimand

for the places where you are failing to be all that you could be

or do all that you could do.

Well, if so, I think you’ve got it wrong.

Through this angel’s brief conversation with Joseph

we are given entrance and insight into the heart of God,

and what we see there

is not condemnation,

or judgement,

or frustration or irritation or criticism.

What we see there is a depth of compassion

that made it His highest priority

to do anything He was able to do,

no matter what the cost to Him personally,

to fix what was broken in our lives.

I do wish I knew how to communicate effectively

what I see happening between us and our God

through what He’s saying to us here.

Maybe this will help a little.

Have you ever allowed yourself

to love someone whose life is a disaster?

Have you ever allowed yourself

to love someone in their brokeness?

Without even trying

you can see a long list of stupid choices they’re making,

choices that are making their life far harder, far more complicated,

far more filled with pain then it has to be.

Logically you know

that your choosing to love them

simply opens you up to pain.

And yet still you choose to love

and because you choose to love

you find yourself forever seeking something, anything

that will bring healing into their life.

Do you know what that is?

That’s Christmas -

that’s our Creator’s response to us

in the person of Jesus Christ.

Only He didn’t have to just hope He could do something

that might bring healing into our lives,

He did it.

MAT 1:21 "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins."

Do you know what the name “Jesus” means?

It’s from the Hebrew word that means “the Lord is salvation”...for it is He who will save His people from their sins.

That was all Joseph needed to know

about this One who was coming.

And it’s really all we need to know about Him now

because once we understand that,

once we understand both what God was doing

and why He was doing it,

we also know why the angel could say, “...do not be afraid...”.

Have you been hiding from your God?

Does the thought of His involvement in your life,

or your involvement in His life bring you anxiety?

Then I think you need Christmas far more than you realize.

You need to know what your God was giving you

when He gave you Himself.

Of course John said it far better than I ever could.

He’s a lot more like the angels than I am - just a few words that say it perfectly.

JOH 3:17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.”

And just because I really hate to leave thoughts half finished,

let me take a few more minutes

to complete what I started to say about my hero, Joseph.

Matthew tells us what happened immediately following the angel’s departure.

.Matt. 1:24-25 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

And I hope you can see what’s really being said there -

apparently Joseph literally got up,

went and got Mary,

and married her that same day.

And tell me,

what do you think everyone thought?

‟Hey Joseph! How come you moved the wedding date up?

Why didn’t you invite anyone to the wedding?

What’s the big hurry, huh?”

And there was more, too.

He kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son.

For Mary and Joseph

there was no wedding night,

there was no honeymoon,

and there were certainly no halos,

and no respect,

and no honor bestowed on their new family.

There was only gossip,

and reputations ruined for a lifetime.

So why do I bring all of this up?

Simply because we live in a world

desperately in need of real life role models,

and Joseph is one of the best we’ll ever have.

We live in a world

filled with people

who fight no battles for righteousness,

who choose the easy way,

and who offer as their excuse,

‟Oh, God understands me.”

And, of course, He does understand.

He understands us all perfectly.

But through the life of Joseph

I’d like to offer us - the people of God -

and alternative.

For, you see, Joseph was not just

a man God understood,

Joseph was a man God could trust,

even when that trust would make Joseph look like a fool,

or worse.

All throughout history,

and especially at the critical times in God’s plan for mankind,

God has skillfully revealed Himself

through those He could trust.

We have a whole world full of people God understands.

But we seem to have very few whom He can trust.

Joseph was such a man.

We don’t see Joseph often in Scripture,

but every time we see him

we see him obeying God at great personal cost to himself.

He wasn’t flashy,

he wasn’t oozing with charisma,

he certainly wasn’t famous.

He was simply a man God could trust,

and as such he served a crucial role

in the most crucial event in all of history.

Joseph was one of those rare men

who didn’t have to make excuses.

He didn’t have to justify or rationalize.

He just obeyed,

and through that obedience he offered us

a quiet, powerful example of the character strength

our God seeks to build into each of us.