Altered Plans

December 22, 2019

Hope Lutheran Church

Rev. Mary Erickson

Matthew 1:18-25

Altered Plans

Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Differing translations of the Bible can prompt us to reconsider a passage. For instance, the Good News Translation of the Bible phrases Proverbs chapter 16 verse 9 this way: “We make our plans, but God has the last word.”

“We make our plans, but God has the last word.” We can have the best laid plans! But then life comes along and KABOOM! We get taken in an entirely different direction!

That’s what happened to Joseph. Joseph had been betrothed to Mary. But then word got to him that Mary was in the family way. And Joseph knew directly that someone else must have been involved.

According to the law of Moses, when a woman was caught in adultery, she was to be killed. There’s a story in John’s gospel about a woman who is caught in adultery. The religious leaders bring her before Jesus. “According to Moses,” they say, “This woman should be stoned to death. What do you say, Rabbi?”

Jesus instructs them, “Let the person who is sinless cast the first stone.” One by one, the woman’s accusers walk away until no one is left but Jesus.

This is the situation young Mary finds herself in with Joseph. Joseph is not the father of her baby. Joseph holds Mary’s fate in his hands. Being betrothed, they are as good as married. He could accuse her publicly, and it would be curtains for Mary.

But Matthew says something very telling about Joseph. Joseph, he says, is a righteous man.

What exactly does that mean? To some people, being righteous means to cross every T and dot every I. We laud what is right, but what is wrong is pointed out and corrected. Righteousness demands accountability. The wrong must be punished.

If this is the kind of righteous man Joseph is, then he could not allow Mary’s situation to go unaddressed. She would need to be held accountable and meet the full brunt of consequences coming her way. But that’s not the kind of righteous man Joseph is.

Righteousness is a major biblical theme in the Old Testament. God is righteous. Righteousness comes from God and the people of God are called to live righteously. But with God, righteousness isn’t sterile and cold. God’s righteousness has a restorative, healing power to it. It strives for wholeness. God does not break a bruised reed.

Isaiah puts it this way:

I am the Lord, I have called you in RIGHTEOUSNESS,

I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

I have given you as a covenant to the people,

A light to the nations,

To open the eyes that are blind,

To bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

From the prison those who sit in darkness.*

God’s righteousness brings freedom and healing. It makes whole that which is broken. It’s a light, it’s a beacon in the darkness.

God calls us to act and live out this righteousness. We are called to be instruments of God’s love.

Where there is hatred, we can sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is discord, union;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

and where there is darkness, light.

This is what Matthew means when he says that Joseph is a righteous man. Joseph doesn’t wish Mary any harm. He just wants to dismiss their plans.

So Joseph resolves what he’ll do. He will just very quietly break off his intended marriage to Mary. He won’t call her out or humiliate her in any way. The consequences of her pregnancy will make themselves known in due time. But Joseph won’t be the one pointing a finger.

On the night when Joseph resolves what he will do, he lays down his head to sleep. And he dreams. In his dream, an angel appears to him. “Joseph, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. Her child has been conceived by God’s Holy Spirit.”

“We make our plans, but God has the last word.” Joseph had his plans, but God has something else in mind for him! God offers Joseph an opportunity to play a central role in bringing divine righteousness to the world.

Joseph wakes up, and all of his plans are uprooted. His future has been redirected. And Joseph is fully on board with it. There can be no halfway about this situation. If Joseph goes along with God’s plan, he can’t “sort of” be okay with being a father to a child who isn’t his. He will have to live with this decision for the rest of his life.

Both Joseph and Mary have had profound experiences. Both of them have encountered a heavenly messenger. And there was something in these incidents that touched them deeply. It brought them altogether on board. They were in it 100%.