LOOK AT JOSEPH’S PRE-CHRISTMAS “TO-DO” LIST!
I. Care for Mary
II. Carry out the angel’s commands
Matthew 1:18-25 18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
In the name of Jesus Christ, whose coming at Christmas we joyfully celebrate, whose coming at Judgment Day we eagerly anticipate, whose coming in Word and Sacrament we greatly appreciate, dear Christian friends,
There is a lot to do! Baking, decorating, hosting, shopping, visiting, wrapping…. And that was just yesterday’s work! Everyone’s pre-Christmas “to-do” list is long, overwhelming and can bring a lot of anxiety and frustration if it is not done properly or on time.
But I’m not sure any of us have any idea of how overwhelming a pre-Christmas list can be until we LOOK AT JOSEPH’S PRE-CHRISTMAS “TO-DO” LIST! I. Care for Mary II. Carry out the angel’s commands.
What kind of a relationship did Mary and Joseph have at the time Matthew records for us here? Were they engaged? Yes! Were they married? Yes! Were they living together as husband and wife? No!
Though not commanded by Scripture, Jewish culture in those days indicated that when a man and woman loved each other and wanted to commit their lives to one another, they would verbally make their vows to one another. This is similar to what our current culture says engagement is, but back then this was considered a marriage. No document needed to be signed, but neither was there a consummation of the marriage until later when a large celebration was held, after which the new bride and groom would live together and enjoy the “one flesh” blessing of marriage.
So, Joseph’s pre-Christmas “to-do” list included caring for Mary, which would have been natural and easy for him to do because she was his wife. However, this was not so easy because he had now just found out that she was pregnant. How did that happen? He was not the father of the baby because he had never slept with Mary yet. The only way he knew of for Mary to be with child was that she must have been guilty of an affair.
We are not told how he initially accepted the news that his wife was pregnant with someone else’s baby. I have to imagine there was some disbelief, then anger, then sadness…and plenty of all of it. But what we are told is that because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
If it had been found out that Mary had cheated on him, she could have been put to death. If Joseph made this a big legal deal, Mary could have faced shunning from the rest of the community and from her own family. Joseph loved her and didn’t want to leave her, but a quiet divorce was the best way he could think of to care for her.
But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Good news for Joseph and good news for all of us! There was no sin on Mary’s part! There was no affair! This was the miraculous way God entered this world in order to be our Savior! All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”