Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 19, 2010
FOURTH ANTIPHON
O Key of David and scepter of the house of Israel,
you open and no one can close,
you close and no | one can open:
Come and rescue the prisoners
who are in darkness and the sha- | dow of death.
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel; qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
(the following devo originally appeared as a sermon entitled Fulfilled by Promise on December 23, 2007- it has be retrofit to fit the devo format)
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. 19Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20But 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. 21She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23"Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, "God is with us." 24When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. Matthew 1
Peter sings,
“Keep walkin, keep walkin, Joseph,
you’re part of the plan”
The words from Isaiah dance across the skies and into our hearts this morning,
"Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, "God is with us."
“God is with us.” Those four words, 11 letters, constitute a promise which was given centuries before the birth of Christ. And now 2000 plus years it embraces us and engulfs our hearts and minds as we gather together via of web and blog before the big celebrations of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. “God is with us.”
Though out all the sounds, sights and signs of this season there is someone who stands off to the side. He isn’t the center of attention, nor should he be. But, today we hear about Joseph who has to be regarded as one of the most “stand-up” guys that there ever was.
He and Mary had been promised to each other and before a wedding and the honeymoon could even take place, Joseph is informed that “she was found to be with child.” We’re not given any indication how this “finding” was discovered or uncovered. We’re not advised on who revealed the pregnancy. Obviously, years before gossip columns or online sites like TMZ, tweets or androids there was a grapevine of sorts. And so the news is out, “she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.”
Joseph was a carpenter. He knew how pieces of wood fit together and whether something was plum or not. He could take a planer and make the rough edges smooth. But, now he found himself in a situation which threatened to compromise his standing in the community. He must have wondered if “God was with him or not.”
I imagine he wondered if he could fit all the pieces together or not.
Peter sings,
“Keep walkin, keep walkin, Joseph,
you’re part of the plan”
Now he is confronted with this information that his promised bride is “with child from the Holy Spirit.” We are told in the text “Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.” He could have made a big deal out of it all. He could have broken the promise in a public way. In fact, he would have been within his rights to do so. But, instead he wanted to save some face for himself and also for Mary.
20But 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. 21She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
Peter sings,
“Keep walkin, keep walkin, Joseph,
you’re part of the plan”
Talk about a dream. Maybe at first he thought his nightmare was continuing. Not only does he have a pregnant fiancé, but now an angel is talking to him in his sleep. And yet the angel addresses him as being a descendant of the King, King David. Joseph, don’t be afraid, for this child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. I am sure he must have rolled over and thought to himself, what on earth did I eat for supper?
Dreams, the bible is full of them. Way back in Genesis, another Joseph was getting celestial communications which told of a time when God would be utilizing him to be a leader of a nation. God comforted him by letting him know that even though things weren’t going so well at that moment, that God was with him.
Jacob also had dreams which encouraged him to hang in there, even though his current reality was frightening and scary. God was also with him in those moments of fear and despair.
So, Joseph’s fiancé,Mary changes his mind, or maybe it’s his heart that gets changed by the angelic message of the dream. “don’t be afraid.” What an appropriate greeting.
Fear is often what holds us back. Fear stops us from doing what we know in our hearts we should/could do. Fear immobilizes us and stops us dead in our tracks.
But, hope, faith and being convinced that “God is with us” frees us from the frozenness of fear. It melts our hearts, enables our feet to start walking and guides our hands and eyes to get engaged in a way that moments ago we might have thought was impossible.
Peter sings,
“Keep walkin, keep walkin, Joseph,
you’re part of the plan”
The angel went on to disclose more of the promised plan to Joseph,
“1She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
Fulfilled by promise! That’s where we find ourselves this day. “God is with us.”
And what that means is that in the midst of all the preparations and deliberations of our lives, in spite of disappointments and fear, no matter where we find ourselves, God is there with us.
And hopefully that message goes out on the grapevine to all we are connected to. Hopefully, we find ways to “go tell it on the mountain.” Hopefully and graciously we come forward and make a manger in our hands, to receive the bread of life. Bethlehem means, house of bread. You and I are promised that when we eat and drink in remembrance of Jesus, though we die, yet we shall live. That’s the key in the story of Christmas.
It’s fulfilled by promise.
Joyfully,
rtg
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