LUKE 2:1-7
HONORABLE HERO HELPS HEROINE
I. HERITAGE:
A. Home.
B. Honor.
C. Hardiness.
II. HAPPENSTANCES:
A. Hostel.
B. Helper.
C. Happiness.
III. HOSPITALITY:
A. Heir.
B. Harbingers.
C. Honed.
If we combine the stories concerning Joseph here in Luke’s writings with that of Matthew, we can get a time line, of sorts, concerning Joseph and the birth of Jesus.
In Matthew, chapter one, we find where Joseph’s fears were allayed and according to the dream given to him by God assured him that all was going to be well. Upon awaking from that one specific dream, Joseph then proceeded to marry his espoused wife and the household was ready for the birth of Jesus. Sometime after the wedding, we see Joseph and Mary making their way to Bethlehem to pay a tax to the mighty Roman government. While there, the Baby Jesus was born and the Holy family became forever synonymous with this little town in Israel.
We are not told when the trip was made in regards to the months after the wedding, but it was probably sometimes within the first eight months of that union. Marry was expecting when the marriage was completed. Regardless of the time of marriage the time frame suggests that the marriage was not even a year old when the two made the arduous trip to Bethlehem to comply with the recent edict of the conquering government.
The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 90 miles. Today, with our fast cars and supper highways, this is not a great distance. But for one to walk this distance on foot or riding from the back of a donkey, it was indeed a long and difficult trip. If one would be able to cover five miles a day under this circumstances it does not take a great student of math to contemplate that this trip was a long and drawn out affair. It could be safely estimated that the trip for Joseph and Mary was at least twenty days-one way-in duration, and that is giving a conservative estimate. It is no wonder that Luke candidly states that while the couple were in Bethlehem, Mary’s time came for her deliverance of Baby Jesus.
We often are reminded that the couple came into the city and had no luck the first night of trying to find appropriate lodging. The text does not give the time when the Baby was born. Jesus could have been born that very first night upon the arrival of the two newly weds, or He could have been born later. What we do know is that the Holy Family was staying in sometime of a barn enclosure. It could simply mean that regardless of the time when Mary went into labor, the family was not staying in an Inn. What we do know is that the Baby came while they tarried in Bethlehem.
Regardless whether it was the first night of the family’s entrance into Bethlehem or sometime later, Baby Jesus was born there and that little village of no account has now became one of the more sacred spots on Earth for we Christians. We have heard much about Mary, the Baby Jesus, the angles who sang so heartily and the shepherds who were watching their flocks, but what about Joseph? As I study this passage in Luke, I note three things about this wonderful man and I am proud to call him an Honorable Hero.
The first thing I see about Joseph has to do with his HERITAGE: who he was and from where did he come. The next part of my sermon has to do with the events unfolding or the clear and unmistaken HAPPENSTANCES wherein he found himself at the birth of Jesus. Lastly, I note his unreserved and unbiased HOSPITALITY to all the characters on the birth night of Jesus.
I. HIS HERITAGE: The Bible states that Joseph went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth. The heritage of this man and his bride are intricately tied to the place where they lived. Galilee was one of the three most northern provinces of Palestine. Being one of the three most northern parts of the Holy Land, the population became mixed with those who were not Jews and who felt freer to live according to their wishes being on the peripheral of the sacred land.
Due to this feeling of being farther away from the center of Israel’s hub, the people gradually tended to develop their own morals and ethics. This was especially noted in the city of Nazareth, wherein the Holy parents lived. It was also the place where Jesus was taken to be raised and due to the darkness of the people, He found a more ready audience here than He did in some other places of Israel. It was here He began His ministry and it was here He had success in proclaiming the gospel of His Father. It was in such a place that Joseph called Home and it was the place where he and Mary lived for a short time before the Baby was born. This place he called Home was a vital part of his HERITAGE from which he could never disassociate himself. Even after he returned from Egypt with Mary and Jesus, he turned his heart towards Home and returned there to live out his days on this earth.
However, there is something curious about Joseph. According to the Bible, he was of royal lineage and yet he lived in a common city on the outskirts of Israel. He was not included in the more important things of Jerusalem that occupied the Jewish officials there. In fact, he was long forgotten. His opinions, his ideas, his status as a distant member of David himself was never recognized by the powers that be. Yet, God knew where he lived and He knew that regardless of his being shunted aside by the secular rulers of his day, God knew him and He knew where he lived. When God needed the right man for a most important job to be done, He came calling on Joseph. So often our lives resemble that of Joseph, but God knows us and when He has a task for us, He will come calling. This humble man had more Honor bestowed on him by God than all the honor that any rabbi, Pharisee, scribe or any other person could have in Jerusalem or any place in or out of Israel. The Bible is correct, God honors those whom He chooses and abases those He desires to abase.
The last part of this man’s HERITAGE has to do with his Hardiness. It could not have been easy for this man to do what he did, yet he did it with pride and a heart full of love. I find this man to be a true Hero to step up to the situation he faced and took everything with a smile and a heart full of contentment. The Bible does not say that he ever grumbled or complained, he may never have done either one, but I think he was man enough to be human and sometimes he wondered about his situation, yet I feel he took it with ease and gratefulness. I also feel that he felt he was in the center of God’s will for him and he bravely did all that was asked of him. What a hero!!!. I find that he had to have a very good up-bringing by his parents who taught him to accept what God had for him and to be grateful that he could do anything for God. We need that same philosophy today among all of we who call ourselves Christians.
II. HAPPENSTANCES: I have looked at the HERITAGE of Joseph which includes his Home, Honor and his Hardiness. These thoughts help me to move to the second part of my sermon as I look at the happenings of that time so long ago in the little town of Bethlehem. The first part of my sermon sets the stage for the second part and that which will follow later on to the conclusion of my message.
If we could only go back in time and look carefully at the events that unfolded during the time of the Family’s stay in the host town, I am sure that we would see things a lot clearer. However, having only the Sacred Word to help us, we can certainly gain some useful insights into what did occur so long ago. The first event being the securing of the place to stay, the Hostel, while they were in Bethlehem.
As I noted earlier, the common conception is that the very night the Holy Family arrived in Bethlehem, the Baby was born. We do not know this for certain. What we do know is that the Holy family was not staying in the Ritz Hotel of their day. The Bible states that there was no room for them in the Inn and hence they had to stay in some other locale, which probably was a barn type of building.
I have to give Joseph good credit for securing the best locale for him and his wife under such depressing circumstances. I do not have any proof to which I can turn to make the following assertion, but I have the feeling that there were others who arrived in the tiny town of Bethlehem and who wound up sleeping out of doors. Joseph was able to secure some type of shelter for his wife and for the Baby that was soon to arrive. I do not know if he found that place the day or night they arrived, but he found something and it was enough for the much needed privacy for Mary and the Baby which was soon to come. It is also important to remember, that Joseph and Mary were poor people-take a look at the offering they presented for Mary’s purification when they went into Jerusalem for the official rites due the birth of a baby. These people were poor, but they did acquire a barn type of Hostel for themselves. One other point to ponder is that if Joseph and Mary had to travel 90 miles to Bethlehem for the taxation process, there had to be many others who had to return to this tiny village and the amount of guests which descended upon the village was no doubt a goodly number. It can be safe to assume that all visitors to Bethlehem were wanting accommodations for their stay. Joseph was up to the challenge and was able to secure something of import for his expanding family.
From securing some type of shelter, irregardless of its soundness, to the next aspect of the HAPPENSTANCES of that night, I feel that Joseph was one good mid-wife for his young bride and he became a great Helper to Mary and to the precious Baby that was born while they were in Bethlehem. I do not think that this man was a slacker nor was he lazy. I feel that he was a real man’s man in the fact that he stepped up to the challenge and did all he could to ease the situation of Mary. Some men just do not seem to comprehend the fact that their wives need help in different and sometimes difficult situations, but not Joseph. I think this man could do just about anything around the house and still never lose his manliness. I feel that Jesus observed His earthly father a great deal and this influence helped Him in the later years of his ministry.
I see where Jesus was kind-always-to women and children. I do not take anything away from His divinity, but in that day when being kind to poor people, to women, to children and outcasts was condemned as not being a he-man type of a male, Jesus was just the opposite. He observed His earthly father and He imitated him through out His time on this earth. That type of manliness began when Joseph became the number one Helper to Mary before, during and after the venture to Bethlehem.
One other part of what I term the HAPPENSTANCES of Joseph has to do with his personality: his Happiness. For some reason or other, I feel that Joseph was a very contented and a very happy man. He knew sorrow, worry, care and concern, yet I feel that underlying everything was this man who was self-assured of himself and was one who looked inside of himself to be happy. True, he was a poor man; true, he had to travel 90 miles with a young bride of eight months or so; true he had to secure some mediocre type of dwelling for his family; true, he had to help his bride give birth to a Child that was not his biologically speaking; but, yet through it all he was a happy man. He had a right to be happy. He was visited by an angle not too long before this time of being in Bethlehem and this angle brought a direct message from God to him. He was also assured that his marriage was in God’s plan and he was secure in the fact that he was fulfilling a need for God and for His plan for the human race that no one else on this earth could do except him. He was happy. Yes, there were obstacles in his path, but these never dimmed his true spirit of Happiness that can only come to one who knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that one is in the center of God’s will.
The events of so long ago, helped him as he was able to secure a place for his family, to be a good helper to his wife and later to the Baby, and he was able to grow in spirit to be one contented man carrying out God’s plan for his life and for God’s plan for a lost world.
III. HOSPITALITY: Besides the aforementioned material concerning Joseph, I would like to add this third part of my sermon to my topic: Joseph’s hospitality. I feel that this one aspect of my hero has gone un-observed for some time and I would like to add my thoughts to this topic, beginning with his HOSPITALITY to his adopted “Heir,” Jesus.
It seems like there has always been a problem or at least a concern when an adult marries into another “family” which is not that one’s own. Far too often the new adult which steps into such a situation is confronted with non-acceptance, hostility, etc. This seems to be the case when a male marries a woman who is carrying another man’s child. There are many instances where this seems to be no problem, but then there are also many instances where this is a problem and the situation can become quite tense to say the least.
The question often arise concerning, “How to treat the innocent child?” It takes a real man to accept the burden of rearing another man’s child. Does the new “parent” treat the child as his own? Is he to be more lenient or more strict with the child? How does he go about raising a child which is not his own and especially when there may be more children born later to the two adults who have decided to “blend” the family into one coherent group? The issue is indeed a sensitive one and this is exactly what Joseph faced as he took upon himself the raising of Jesus.
I am not privy to the household in which Jesus was raised and I do not want to know the details, but I feel-based on my belief of Joseph being a good person-that this man was very HOSPITABLE and kind to Jesus, the Devine Heir, not of Joseph but of God the Father. I base my assumptions on the fact that Joseph gave up his trade twice and moved to protect the Baby. He was told to flee to Egypt which meant he had to leave his work in Israel and then later he had to return from Egypt, again leaving his work behind to move his family to safety into Israel. He was a very HOSPITABLE man to his adopted Son.
The next item in which I view Joseph to be kindly disposed to be hospitable was to the Shepherds, the Harbingers of good news about the birth of Jesus. I feel that he could have not let these lowly shepherds come into see Mary that night she gave birth to Jesus, but being who he was, he entertained them and allowed them to come and visit Mary and Jesus. One has to remember that shepherds were regarded as being the lowest of the low regarding the working class. Shepherds were often shunned when they came into a village. They were isolated with their sheep and goats for months on end. Once the flock was returned to the owner, the shepherds were out of a job until the next season when the herd had to be taken away from society to feed and graze until the next year. Often the shepherds were dirty, smelly, and shoddily clad. They knew what their society thought of them so they stayed off by themselves for so much of the time. Once entering a village, town or a place of dwellings, they were ignored, feared, and shunned. Yet, when these shepherds came looking for Mary and the Baby, Joseph treated these Harbingers with mutual respect and common courtesy and entertained them well. Joseph was a man given to HOSPITALITY.
Although Joseph was a kind man and given to hospitality, his heart was hampered due to what the shepherds told Mary and him. He opened his “home” to these strangers and welcomed their adoration of the Christ Child, yet his heart was heavy and his state of being was no doubt affected by the news he heard from these visitors. However, in spite of everything he was still Joseph and I feel that he did everything in his power to help Christ grow into a good earthly man: his HOSPITALITY was Honed as the years came and went while he was able to rear Jesus in the best manner he could. I feel that due to that night in old Bethlehem, his sense of being kindly disposed towards Jesus, to Mary and to his other children was deepened and made better as he thought on the words of the shepherds that time so long ago.
Joseph was a hero. He was a hero due to his background and his past. He was a hero due to the things that he faced as he came to grips with his situation. He was also a hero due to his kindness and his efforts to be of help to his family. Joseph was a true Honorable hero as he helped his Heroine.
