A Way In A Manger - Matthew 1:18-25 - December 23, 2012
Series: Advent 2012 - #4
Well last Sunday night we enjoyed the Sunday School Christmas Concert – an evening of celebration that we look forward to each and every year. But we’re not the only church to do something like that of course – churches across the country celebrate in similar ways. And while intentions are good, when you’re working with children, things don’t always go as planned. That being said I want to share with you the story of another Sunday School Christmas concert that took place some years ago.
This was a traditional retelling of the Christmas story, with all the main characters represented, and played by, the young children of the church.
“One boy really wanted to be Joseph, but when the parts were handed out, he was assigned to be the innkeeper instead. He couldn’t stand the guy who got to be Joseph but he kept quiet about everything. Inside [though] he was secretly plotting how to get back at his rival.
On the night of the performance, Mary and Joseph came walking across the stage and knocked on the door of the inn. [Just like they’d practiced,] The innkeeper opened the door and asked them gruffly what they wanted. Joseph answered, “We’d like to have a room for the night.” [Now, this is where things departed from the script that had been so carefully prepared and which they had practiced so diligently week after week. This was the innkeeper’s big moment, this was his chance for revenge - and instead of saying, “I’m sorry I have no room,” and shutting the door, the innkeeper suddenly threw the door wide open, and, with an even wider smile, called out with the most welcoming voice he could muster,] “Great, come on in and I’ll give you the best room in the house!”
For a few seconds poor little Joseph didn’t know what to do. [But] Thinking quickly on his feet, he looked inside the door past the innkeeper and then said, “No wife of mine is going to stay in a dump like this. Come on, Mary, let’s go to the barn.” (Brian Bill, A Savior Worth Waiting For, www.sermoncentral.com)
Joseph usually doesn’t get much of a role in your typical Christmas concert. His is a supporting character at best. The focus tends to be on the angels proclaiming the birth of Christ, on the shepherds in their fields tending their flocks, on Mary and the precious child lying in the manger. Even the wise men, who would not have been there the night of Christ’s birth, tend to have a more prominent part to play than does Joseph.
Perhaps we ought not to be surprised by that. Joseph is one of the few characters in the Christmas story without a voice. His is a testimony from silence. But like his namesake in the children’s Christmas pageant, the real Joseph needed to think quickly on his feet as well, because he discovered, as we so often do ourselves, that the carefully crafted script of our lives can take sudden and unexpected turns. And when it does, our hearts cry out, asking, “Where is God in the midst of this pain and suffering and turmoil? Where is God when my world is falling to pieces and my heart is overwhelmed with grief? Where is God when my life no longer follows the script that I had envisioned, when my dreams crash down, and my world is turned upside down – where is God? Can He see me through these dark days? Can He make a way?”
Those are the types of questions that are being asked in Newtown, Connecticut this week. Where was God when evil stalked the halls of Sandy Hook school? Where was God when little children, and their teachers, were shot and killed by a masked gunman?
It’s a question asked by many when life suddenly doesn’t make sense any more – when you lose your job, or your marriage falls apart, or a loved one dies at the hands of a drunk driver, or the doctor tells you that you aren’t going to get better – only worse. Where is God when it hurts and all the best laid plans of your life are shattered by the unexpected?
Perhaps it’s a question that Joseph was tempted to ask as well. From his point of view he would certainly have had cause – cause to ask – cause to wonder – cause to rail against the world in his disappointment – cause for bitterness. We don’t tend to consider this aspect of the Christmas story, but it’s a part of it none-the-less, and one which we would do well to consider as we try to understand, and make sense of, those unscripted moments of our own lives – moments that threaten to steal both our happiness, and our joy.
Let’s open our Bibles this morning to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew, chapter 1, beginning in verse 18. This is what we read there …
“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. 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. 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.”
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.” When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:18–25, NIV84)
When Mary broke the news of her pregnancy to Joseph, it’s safe to say that Joseph entered into a dark night of the soul. Here is his fiancé; the one whom he trusts more than any other, the one who makes his heart leap with excitement every time he sees her, the one whom he has laughed with, the one whom he plans to build a future with – and she tells him that she is pregnant.
Men what would you do if you were in Joseph’s sandals? Your fiancé tells you that she’s going to have a baby – but it’s not yours – you know it’s not yours because you’ve never been together in that way. The sense of betrayal must have been overwhelming! To make it worse she tells you that while yes, she is pregnant, that she has also been completely faithful to you – she’s never strayed – and that the child that’s conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Friends, the script of Joseph’s life has just been re-written. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be; not how he envisioned it, not how they had planned it together. But there’s no doubt she’s with child. And while Joseph wants to believe that she has been faithful to him, her explanation of how she conceived seems a little farfetched. Who ever heard of a virgin giving birth?
So she must have been unfaithful – it’s the only thing that makes sense to Joseph. She’s ruined the both of them – their reputation is shot. If he goes ahead and marries her, everyone would think that the child was his and that they hadn’t waited till marriage. Everyone would believe they had sinned before God in doing so. His carpentry business would be ruined. They would be outcast among family and friends. And he would have to live with the knowledge that while everyone believed he had done wrong, that the child Mary carried wasn’t even his. Could he ever look at her the same way again knowing what she must have done, wondering who the child’s father really was?
On the other hand, if he denounced Mary, denied the child was his, he would be vindicated, but she would be shamed. At the best then he could get out of the engagement – they would allow a divorce for such a thing – but at worse she might be stoned to death for her unfaithfulness. And though he was hurting, he still cared deeply for her. He couldn’t understand what was happening, but he didn’t want to see harm come to her.
And so Joseph wrestled with these thoughts for some time – sleepless nights and joyless days - as he tried to figure out what decision he should make, what it is that he should do. Scripture tells us that he was a “righteous man.” To be “righteous” means to live according to God’s standards. Not as a Pharisee obeying the Law for the Law’s sake, but rather as one who desires the things that God desires for your life. A righteous man, or a righteous woman, will, when they discover that they are living contrary to God’s desires, humble themselves and willingly move their life into obedience to God’s revealed will.
And I would suggest to you that righteous men and women are hard to find these days – probably no harder than in Joseph’s day mind you – but hard to find none-the-less. Because instead of surrendering every area of our life to the Lord and seeking life in God, we are more prone to attempt to reshape God in our own image, to enable us to live however it is we want. The desire of our hearts is so often to call “good” that which God calls “evil.” But Joseph was a righteous man – not a perfect man – but a righteous man - and he wrestled with Mary’s news because he wanted to do what he believed would honor God.
Which must have made Mary’s news all the harder to bear. When we live all out for God there is little part of us that believes, that expects, that hopes, that life will follow the script we have written in our hearts. And when it doesn’t, we struggle to understand why. We ask the question something like this: Why do bad things happen to good people?
And maybe you’ve shared similar nights and endured similar days – the reasons might be different but you have an inkling of what Joseph must have been wrestling with because you’ve been there too.
Finally, after much soul searching, Joseph makes his decision: he will quietly divorce Mary (that’s what it took in his day to break off an engagement – even though they weren’t living together, even though they weren’t having sex, the engagement was so binding it could only be dissolved by a decree of divorce). It would break his heart, but at least if he didn’t make an issue of it, he wouldn’t bring any more harm or shame to Mary. A dark day and a bleak future. That’s not how Joseph had pictured the story of his life though; it’s probably not how any of us picture our future either – at least not until that day that dawns so very dark, and we cry out for God wondering where He is in the midst of it all.
And in that day we might be tempted to doubt God’s love for us. We could understand if Joseph had those moments, couldn’t we? But in the darkest part, of Joseph’s darkest days, he discovers the depths of God’s great love. And, if we’re open to meeting with Him in those times, is that not where we most profoundly experience God’s love and provision as well? In those times when life doesn’t make sense? When dreams are shattered and sorrows multiplied?
Some folks, when heartache and sorrow and tragedy come, look around and say, “There is no God!” Others cry out in their brokenness, “God doesn’t care.” And still others accuse God of being impotent to help, powerless to intervene. Yet not a one of those is true. Friends, it’s when we’re in the midst of those dark days of the soul that we frequently most clearly witness love overcoming hate, light pushing back the darkness, despair giving way to hope, and heaven overcoming hell. And in many cases it’s through those hard and difficult moments that God is doing a work in us – a work of transformation and refining – a work of purifying and preparation and holiness – a work of opening our eyes to see God and this world as they really are, a work of healing and restoration.
There is a verse in Romans that I have found comforting over the years. Romans 8:28 says this: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28, NIV84) Now, that verse does not say that all things come from God. We know from Job’s story that Satan has, for a time, very real power in this world. And tragedy and hardship and suffering come to us from many sources. Sometimes they are of our own making; sometimes at the hand of others, and sometimes we just don’t know where they come from. Job never knew of the spiritual battle that was being waged around him. He only knew the effects of it – the sorrow, the grief, the brokenness. But what that verse does tell us is this: that if our heart is for God, He will work to bring good out of even the darkest moments of life, because His heart is a heart of love for us. From tragedy can spring hope, from death can come life, from sorrow can come healing, as God works in us and through us.
Have you ever wondered why an angel didn’t appear to Joseph at the same time that one appeared to Mary? It seems to me that it would have saved Joseph from so much wrestling, and searching and questioning. It would have saved much grief and sorrow and torment. And yet for reasons we might not fully understand, God waited to meet with Joseph until he was in that long, dark night of the soul. And sometimes God seems to wait to enter into those moments of our lives too – that’s why we’re prone to wonder, “Where is God when it hurts?” We can’t see Him for all the pain and the heartache we’re experiencing.
But then, when He does enter into Joseph’s anguish, it’s like a bright light shining into that darkness. God’s doing a work in Joseph’s life. He’s allowed Joseph to be broken for a while because it’s through that brokenness that he will be prepared to meet with the one who has come to “bind up the broken hearted.”
Scripture reveals that the angel of the Lord speaks directly to Joseph’s greatest struggle. What was that struggle? Well listen again to the angel’s words, verse 20 … “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid.” What did Joseph wrestle with? He wrestled, like many of us do, with fear. Fear of what his life was becoming, fear of what others would think of him, fear of what Mary had done and what that said about him, fear of having been rejected by Mary and abandoned by God, fear of the unknown.
What Joseph hears in his dream that night though, as the angel of the Lord meets with him, changes everything. Reality, however, hasn’t changed. Mary is still pregnant. The child will not be of his flesh and blood. People still may scorn them, and ridicule and shun them. Life still may be difficult. Reality hasn’t changed – but Joseph’s understanding of it has. And that’s often what happens when we meet with God in those dark nights of the soul. God’s working in us, and our perception is being transformed, so that we see that which we had not seen before. We come to see a bigger, clearer portrait of God.
There is a story that we find in the Old Testament. The king of Aram sends an army to hunt down the prophet Elisha. They come upon Elisha and his servant in the city of Dothan. They come in the night, and surround the city in great numbers, and when Elisha’s servant gets up in the morning and looks out, he is dismayed to see the forces arrayed against them. Impossible odds. There is no way out. There is no escape. There is no hope.
But Elisha sees what his servant does not. Elisha sees the hand of God in the midst of it all. His words to his servant are the same as those the angel spoke to Joseph that night, “Do not be afraid.” “Don’t be afraid. … Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16, NIV) he says to his servant. And then Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17, NIV) Reality hadn’t changed – but one man’s perception of that reality had been transformed. The odds were no longer impossible, a way out had been made, escape was no longer necessary; hope had been rediscovered.
And so it was for Joseph as he experienced the touch of God. Perception had been transformed. Where Joseph had felt abandoned by God, he realizes that God has been working behind the scenes all along. Where Joseph had felt betrayed by Mary, he discovers that she had been completely faithful to him from day one. What he had seen as a curse, turns out to be a blessing of God’s own hand.
Friends, this was as far as I had gotten in this message when I received word that a daughter of some friends of ours had been killed in a car accident Wednesday afternoon. Anna was a living testimony of God’s goodness and love. She allowed that love to flow through her to others, and as a result God used her to touch the lives of many, both here at home, and also over in Haiti where she served on the mission field for several months.
She was young. Her life held so much promise. She had so many dreams. And we’re tempted to ask God, “Why?” “Where were you, God, when Anna needed you the most? Where are you as her parents and brothers grieve and mourn for a life that we feel ended far too soon?”
My eyes were drawn to verse 20 of our passage this morning. I heard the angel’s words and found comfort as Joseph did. “Do not be afraid, Joseph. Do not be afraid - God has not abandoned you. Though you don’t yet understand, He is walking with you through these days, and through all the days yet to come. He is still in control. He still cares. Your sorrow does not go unnoticed, your heartbreak does not go unseen. But Joseph – God is working. God is doing something that no eye has ever seen, nor ear has ever heard. God is making a way.”
God is making a way for the broken hearted to find healing, the grieving to be comforted. He is making a way that the blind might see and the deaf to hear. He is making a way for the light to shine in the darkness, and not just to shine, but to push the darkness back. He is making a way to reach out to the needy, to find the lost, to replace despair with hope and to overcome death with life. He is making a way that mankind may know peace with God, and to enter into life with Him. He is making a way to set the prisoner free and to redeem us from the darkness of our transgressions. The angel said that His name shall be called “Jesus” for “He will save His people from their sins.”
Joseph, what is God doing? God is making a way to reach into our world and to touch our lives. God is making a way for all things to be transformed; all things to become new; He’s making a way in a manger. And somewhere along the line, while it must have been difficult for Joseph to grasp, the words of Isaiah 7 would come to mind. In that chapter we find the promise of a Savior, one who would be called “Emmanuel,” one whose name would mean, “God is with us!” and He would save His people from their sins.
Joseph, that child that Mary carries in her womb – that’ the Son of God. It’s God Himself. He’s entering into our world. He’s humbling Himself, making Himself nothing, being made in human likeness, that He may one day become everything to us.
And what Joseph hears in the angels words changes everything for him. It grants him the courage needed to take Mary as his wife, the comfort needed to sustain him when gossip begins to make its rounds, the boldness to set aside his own dreams and to step into the story that God is writing for his life. The words the angel speaks releases him from his fears and helps him to do the hard things that will need to be done for he knows that God is, literally, with them.
And friends, what we hear in the Christmas story, in the words of the angels, can transform everything for us as well. Because God has made a way for us, amidst all the pain and suffering and brokenness of this world, He has made a way for us to move through, and beyond, the hurt, the despair, and the need – those darkest nights of our souls, to meet with Him in the person of Jesus. Where was God when death came to Sandy Hook school? Where was God when Anna was dying in a car wreck? Where is God in the midst of the rewritten script of our own lives? Right where He was with Joseph, right where He has always been in Jesus – right there with us. There to comfort, to console, to grieve, to heal, there to walk through the dark night of the soul with us and to open our eyes to the light.
You see, the Christmas story is the story of God’s love for this world; His love for you and me. The testimony of Scripture is that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV84) Any one of our lives can be changed for ever in an instant of time. But God Himself is unchanging and untouched by change. And the story of Christmas is the story of God’s enduring love and presence with us – not just at Christmas – but in the course of each day.
So I invite you to see and hear in Joseph’s story this year, the story of your own life. It may be that the carefully prepared script of your life is being re-written and that you may enter into your own dark night of the soul and wrestle with God. When that happens may we earnestly and diligently seek God that our eyes may be opened and we may see Him at work bringing life, and hope, and comfort. May we be aware of His enduring presence, His sustaining hand, and His amazing grace that we may boldly step into the story that He is writing.
Let’s pray …
