W E HAVE NO BIBLICAL RECORD of the conversation between Mary and Joseph the day she broke the news, but we do have our imaginations. It’s not a stretch to think this conversation is not at all pleasant.
Mary says, “Joseph, I have something I need to tell you. I’m afraid you won’t understand because I don’t really understand it.”
“Mary, tell me. It can’t be that bad.”
“Joseph, I don’t know how to tell you.”
“Just say it.”
“I’m pregnant.”
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THERE IS A LONG SILENCE. Lots of thoughts run through Joseph’s head. She is pregnant by another man. This woman has betrayed him. Their relationship is over. He knows the legal consequences. She can die for this. So can the other man. Finally, he musters up enough control to ask, “Who? Who’s the father?”
“A divine messenger visited me and told me that this was going to happen. The Holy Spirit got me pregnant.”
“Sure, Mary. Sure.”
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JOSEPH DOES NOT BELIEVE HER. What should he do in this nasty situation? What would you do?
Joseph is a just man. That means that Joseph is a good man, a kind man, an honorable man. Joseph is a righteous man. Then we come to the line, Joseph “did not want to expose her to public disgrace.”
That line says all we need to know about Joseph. Even with this betrayal, he doesn’t want to hurt Mary. He doesn’t want to destroy her. He’s not punitive. He’s not revengeful. Instead, Joseph resolves to divorce her quietly. This doesn’t mean that no one will know. That’s impossible — she’s going to have a baby. What that means is that he will not press charges against her. He will unbind her to the marriage commitment. Maybe then the real father will do the honorable thing and step forward to claim Mary and the child.
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BUT THE STORY CONTINUES. A divine messenger appears in a dream to Joseph, saying, “Mary is right. She’s pregnant by the Spirit of God. Marry her and name the child Jesus because he will save the people from their sins.” And so Joseph, because he believes the dream and the message of the angel, remains with Mary.
Joseph is not the biological father of Jesus. Joseph is the legal father. Joseph is the adopted father. Joseph parents Mary’s boy — taking him into his household, raising him as his own, giving him bed, board, name, family identity, and a trade — caring for him as if he is his own child.
On this night, an angel hovers near, whispering a message from God into Joseph’s sleeping ear. The angel interrupts the nightmare that loops in Joseph’s dreams. The angel replaces them with a manger scene and visions of a boy growing and becoming strong.
The angel whispered, “Believe her unbelievable story. Marry her and become the father of God’s child.
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HE WILL NEED A FATHER to be accepted by others.
He will need a father to nurture him and give him a name.
“He will need a father to teach him to take risks like the one you are about to take, for he will be tempted not to take them.
“He will need a father to teach him to withstand the disapproval of others, as you will soon have to withstand disapproval when people find out Mary’s going to have a baby.
“He will need a father to teach him what to do in situations like this one, when all hope seems lost and only pain remains; to model how to believe the unbelievable good news and to walk ahead in faith.
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JOSEPH AWOKE FROM SLEEP and said, “Not my will, but thy will be done.”
Jesus is not the only one who needs an example like Joseph. We struggle with tough situations and yearn for assurance from one who knows from experience that God’s unbelievable good news is true. If we prayerfully ponder the example of Joseph this Advent, surely God will work in us as God worked in him.
— Keith Cardwell
(A portion of this meditation appears in Novel Preaching: Tips from Top Writers for Crafting Creative Sermons by Alyce M. McKenzie.)
