In the evangelist Matthew’s version of the Annunciation,
Joseph is the central and only figure.
Whereas the more familiar account from Luke has the angel appearing to Mary,
here it is Joseph receiving the mysterious message of God breaking into the world
by taking human flesh, Mary’s flesh.
Note that in Matthew’s account, Mary does not appear to explain to Joseph
what has happened, that she has said “Yes” to becoming the mother of God’s Son.
But how could Mary explain the unexplainable? What could she say?
“I am pregnant by God.”
That statement makes no sense, it is impossible to comprehend.
Because of Mary’s great trust in God and her trust in Joseph, she is confident
God will find a way to convince Joseph to embrace the mysterious will of God with her.
Mary trusts that Love with find a way, will be the bridge over which her beloved Joseph will cross into understanding what is impossible to understand without faith.
The God of love will find a way to help Joseph surrender his plans he had for his life
and for his wife and embrace God’s plan.
God, by the way of an angel in a dream, speaks to Joseph on a level deeper than his rational intellect, in the depths of his soul. Then Joseph awakes and acts.
Joseph’s trust in God empowers him to step forward & act on what God asks him to do.
This trust has been built over a lifetime of being immersed in God’s word,
of studying God’s law, of living a life that is right in God’s eyes.
Joseph’s solid relationship with God helps him to trust God’s plan,
though it may not make sense to him at the time.
Joseph stands in stark contrast to King Ahaz. They are both descendants of King David, both “sons” of David their ancestor, but one trusts God and one does not.
King Ahaz places his trust in what he can see and hold onto.
He places his confidence in alliances with foreign powers
but not in the ineffable God of power and might.
Ahaz does not want a sign from God, because he does not want to follow God’s advice. He wants to do things his own way, to be in control.
Ahaz finds his security not in the eternal God but in the fleeting power of men.
Ultimately, Ahaz trusts only in himself and will not surrender his life to God.
Joseph of Nazareth, son of David, with royal blood running through his veins, trusts in God’s mysterious ways, even though he does not completely understand God’s ways.
Joseph knows that God has acted in miraculous, inexplainable ways
in the history of his people, the people of Israel.
Joseph is aware of God doing the impossible in the life of his namesake,
the beloved son of Jacob who was sold into slavery by his brothers.
Mary’s husband knows how that Joseph of long ago had been raised from slavery to 2nd in command in all of Egypt to save his family and others suffering from famine.
Joseph knows how years later God through Moses had rescued His people from slavery
from the powerful Pharoah of Egypt, against all odds, without even firing a shot.
Joseph knows how God chose the most unlikely of Jesse’s sons to be king and
had worked miraculously through David from the time David defeated the giant Goliath.
So, Joseph, aware of the way God had acted in the past, steps forward with trust
in God’s power to do what is impossible—impregnate his beloved Mary.
Joseph, the son of David, teaches us the importance of humility in our lives of faith.
Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster-father to the Savior of the World,
shows us why love of humility is essential in our relationship with God.
He is not only a righteous man, a man who knows and lives God’s law,
but also a person of profound humility.
Joseph understands who God is and Joseph understands his place before God.
To stand-under is what the word “understand” literally means.
To stand-under is the stance of humility.
The opposite stance, which is not the approach of faith,
is to stand over in absolute certitude.
But to stand-under, to look up from our place of little-ness at the greatness
of who God is and what God is doing, changes everything.
This humble stance allows us to approach with open hands the almighty God
who has humbled himself to become one with us.
We come to receive what God wants to give us in His Son.
Which means we have to let go of what we are holding onto….
We follow Joseph’s example by trusting in God’s mysterious plan for our life, having the added advantage of knowing how God acted in & through Joseph’s adopted son, Jesus.
The One who is born to die for us. The One who dies to save us from everlasting death. The One who rises from the dead to lift us up to new life.
The One who shares with us his Spirit, the great gift of His ongoing presence with us.
We are part of a mystery we do not understand, and we are grateful.
It’s why we come today in the midst of a nonsensical world with our lives which often confuse & befuddle us, to give thanks to the God whose love for us is incomprehensible.
Encouraged by Joseph’s example of trust in God, we wake up from the slumber
of our lives to do what God asks of us today, even if it makes no sense at all.
Forgive. Have mercy. Love the unlovable.
Share our bread with the undeserving hungry.
Surrender our plans for God’s plans.
Listen for the whisper of angel’s wings.
Pay attention to the stirrings of the Spirit.
Act in response to the One whose unreasonable love holds us fast and forever.
Live in that Love, live from that Love, respond to Love’s promptings, share that Love,
for all things are possible with the Lord of Love.