GOD’S CHOSEN PARENTS
The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has kept track for many years the cost of raising a child through its survey of 12,880 families and 3,395 single-parent families on the cost of a child’s housing, food, transportation, clothing, health care, child care, education, and miscellaneous goods and services, but not including the parent’s time costs, forgone earnings, and career opportunities. The estimated expenditure on a child for a two-child middle-income couple that makes $33,700-56,700 (before tax) in 1995 is $7,610 for a 0-2 year-old toddler to $8,710 for a 15-17 year-old teenager. http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/960401.pdf
The expenditure adjusted to 2003 with an annual 3.1% inflation concludes that a middle income married couple with two kids will likely spend $9,510-$10,500 on a child. More interestingly, USDA concludes that a child born in 2003 who will reach 17 in 2020 will likely cost lower income families that make below $25,700 a cool $172,370, middle income families making $25,700-54,800 an arm and a leg at $235,670, and the highest income families making over $54,800 a whopping $344,250! (Funds for a new house!) http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/Crc/crc2003.pdf
Joseph, like any young man his age, had dreams and ambitions of his own but willingly surrendered or relinquished his dreams for a higher calling – to be father of the Messiah. Joseph was the father figure in Jesus’ life but, more often, he was the forgotten important parent figure in Jesus’ life. He does not have a word to say or a conversation to share in the Bible. His presence at Jesus’ birth or the reception of the shepherds or the magi was not stated. Artists and Apocrypha writings have painted the picture of Joseph as an old man marrying the young Mary. It took a long time for scholars and historians to give Joseph his rightful credit.
Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, a religious-art specialist affiliated with Washington’s Georgetown University notes that early Christian art sometimes omitted Joseph from the Nativity. When present, "he’s either disinterested or separate, a doddering old man with a bald head or gray beard, a stock character," she says. The Rev. Michael Morris, an expert in art and Catholic theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., says Joseph was occasionally painted sleeping through the event. This may have been a nod to his prophetic dreams, but Morris notes that even among Catholic clergy today, "if someone says he’s going to take a St. Joseph’s meditation, it jokingly means he’s taking a nap." (“Father and Child,” Time 12/19/2005)
Mary’s name looms large in history and in the Bible, but not Joseph’s. Most commentators believe that Joseph had died by the time Jesus made his ministry debut. One can say he did not live to see his dream and the angel’s proclamation come true. His dreams were not as important as God’s role for him and God’s delight with him.
Be Trustworthy
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.
Holiday shopping is a 220 billion dollar industry. USA Today (12/6/04) revealed that the average consumer this year will spend $541.03 on gifts - $406.52 on family gifts, $71.29 on friends, and $22.12 on coworkers and others.
The National Retail Federation sponsors a survey that interviews 7,861 respondents on what gifts top their holiday lists (USA Today 12/14/04). 53% wants either books, CDs, DVDs, videos or video games. 51% prefers clothing. 33% has an eye on consumer electronics. Home décor or furnishings is the fancy of 21%. Sporting goods or leisure items is the choice of 13%.
Riches, money, and status had nothing to do with Christmas. God chose Joseph and Mary to be the parents of the Son of God for a reason. They were not perfect, sinless, or angels but they were noble, moral and upright. Joseph, in particular, was a righteous man (v 19). God chose an outstanding citizen, a blameless man, and a perfect gentleman to be Jesus’ father. Joseph stands in elite company in the New Testament, attested to be righteous and afforded such honor along with Jesus (Luke 23:47, Matt 27:19), John the Baptist (Mark 6:20) and his parents (Luke 1:6-7), Simeon (Luke 2:25), Joseph of Arimathea who buried Jesus (Luke 23:50), and Cornelius (Acts 10:22). Joseph had a heart of gold. He was good to the core, kind in his nature, and held in high honor. As such, Joseph was a dependable, respected and hardworking man.
Joseph was the strong and silent type, a man of few words but his character speaks volumes and did all the talking. Have you noticed everyone speaks but Joseph in the Christmas narrative? Not even a monosyllabic “yes,” “no” or “huh” reply was attributed him. The mother, the angels, the shepherds, the wise men and the barn animals get all the choicest parts at Christmas, but not Joseph. He was comfortable with his non-speaking, background-hogging part. He did whatever he could to bring stability to the child, the mother, and the family. He had a decent job, not a dream job. He did not come from money nor did he have a government job. Neither was he a physician, a priest, or a poet. He was a carpenter, a modest and unassuming job as such. Joseph and Mary could only afford doves for sacrifice in the temple, a small animal was beyond their budget and out of question (Luke 2:22). In today’s world, one could say he could not afford the latest video games, digital cameras, or the plasma, the big-screen or the flat-screen TVs for the family, the iPod or Playstation 2. .
What defined Joseph were not goods and things, but character and reputation, and that’s the greatest and the only criteria God looked at when he chose Joseph out of all of David’s descendants. It’s been said, “Reputation is what people think and say you are, but character is who you really are.” People and neighbors knew Joseph as the quiet, hardworking, honest, who would not give them poor workmanship, supply them rotten wood, and charge them exorbitant fees. They did not have to worry about the price he charged, the work he did, or the products he hawked.
Be Teachable
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. (Matt 1:20-25)
The Los Angeles Times (8/22/02) asked kids what would they want if they were given three wishes. Christina, 10, from Fullerton, said, (1) To have a horse so I could go riding anytime; (2) that unicorns and flying horses could be real; (3) to have $1 million so we could live in a bigger house.
9-year-old Ericka of Huntington Beach answered: (1) To be in medieval times and be a princess (2) to do back handsprings; (3) to be an interior decorator for houses.
Young 8 year-old Oscar of Van Nuys was more serious. He wished for: (1) That there will be no crime so people wouldn’t die; (2) that people will have food so they will live longer; (3) that I will get good grades so I can get better at everything.
Fun-loving 9-year-old Jonathan replied: (1) I would wish for a pet alligator. It would be big and nice; (2) that I would have my own treehouse and I could paint it Army color; (3) that I could be a famous soccer play.
Antonio, a thoughtful fourth-grader declared: (1) That my family would have eternal life because they are special to me; (2) to become a veterinarian because I love animals; (3) to have peace in the world with no more terrorists destroying our country and no more violence.
Joseph’s faith deserves more praise and attention. One might even say God required or expected more from him than from his wife, John the Baptist’s father, or the night shepherds in the Advent narratives. Joseph did not have the advantage of a visible angelic manifestation that Mary, Zechariah and the shepherds had. An unnamed angel of the Lord appeared to John the Baptist’s father, standing at the right side of the altar of incense (Luke 1:11). God sent the angel Gabriel to visit Mary in Nazareth (Luke 1:26-28). An unnamed angel of the Lord also appeared to the shepherds (Luke 2:9).
The angel of God appeared to Joseph on three occasions, but never in angelic form each time but always in a dream. He did not see the angel of the Lord standing cutely at the right side of the altar of incense as Zechariah did (Luke 1:11) and he was not blinded by the glory of the Lord that shone around him like the shepherds were (Luke 2:9). No angels were flapping wings, playing harps, or wearing halos before Joseph. All three occurrences were in dreams.
The only thing special with the angelic communication was supplied by Matthew the author, who dramatized the angelic visitations on three occasions with the “behold” introduction and exclamation that is missing from NIV but found in Greek and KJV. Joseph’s first dream of an angel is in verse 20. The next was after the wise men’s departure, when the angel of the Lord reappeared in a dream to Joseph, urging him to take the child and his mother to escape the murderous Herod and to remain in Egypt (Matt 2:13). After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream again to Joseph in Egypt to inform him that they could return to the land of Israel (Matt 2:19-20).
Joseph did not experience the earth-shaking event associated with the angels’ appearance at Jesus’ the resurrection (Matt 28:2-4). We are not told if he dreamed in black and white, but the words were loud and clear. Joseph acted in faith and did as he was told. Matthew used the Greek word “take” to demonstrate Joseph’s old-fashioned obedience. The word is used 49 times in Greek, but 6 times related to Joseph – the most in any one account or on any one individual. The first two occurrences of the word were when the angel of the Lord commanded Joseph to take Mary as his wife (Matt 1:20), which he promptly did when he woke up and took Mary home as his wife (Matt 1:24). The second two occurrences of the word were when an angel of the Lord commanded Joseph to take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt (Matt 2:13), and Joseph took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt (Matt 2:14). The last two occurrences were when an angel commanded Joseph to take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel after Herod’s death (Matt 2:20), and Joseph obeyed and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel (Matt 2:21).
Be Tenacious
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead." 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene." (Matt 2:13-15, 19-23)
Several years ago Reader’s Digest (3/95) reprinted Larry Rent’s article from the book “Child” titled “Things You’d Love to Hear” from your kids:
1. You’re so cool, Dad.
2. Who cares if the TV is broken?
3. Pass the broccoli, please.
4. What! No kiss?
5. No, thanks. It’s too expensive.
6. It’s a hard choice. Everything sounds great.
7. Bored? How could I be bored?
8. I’ve already made my bed.
9. It was my fault.
10. That’s okay. None of my friends are allowed to do it either.
At times Joseph must have felt he was useless as a man, less of a man and not much of a man when he couldn’t find an inn for his wife and child. The truth was that he was very central to the family’s well-being, the lone ranger in decision-making, and every inch involved in child-raising. He fought tooth and nail for the family and was extremely devoted to their safety and needs. However, one would have to look hard to track the quiet man’s involvement.
Joseph was the one who gave Jesus His name at His birth (Matt 1:25). The angel had said to Joseph, “You are to give him the name Jesus” (Matt 1:21). When Simeon took baby Jesus in his arms and praised God in the temple courts, both the father and mother, with Joseph’s name mentioned first, marveled at what was said about him (Luke 2:33). The angel again turned to Joseph (Matt 2:13) when the child’s life was in danger at the murderous hands of Herod, who later gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under (Matt 2:16) that were a threat to this throne. There must have been times he pined for a return to Israel, but he kept his family there, pondering if the angel would ever show up again. Just as he had given up on Israel, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph for the third time, this time advising him to return from Egypt to Israel after Herod had died (Matt 2:20). Joseph had a fourth dream, although angels were not specified (Matt 2:22). As a result, he decided on his own that it was best for the family to settle in the rural and remote Galilee rather than busy the hustle and bustle of Judea.
Joseph was not an absentee father, a stepfather, as some suggested, or a godfather. Joseph was not the adopted father of Jesus; he was the appointed or assigned or acting father, the legal, the human, the earthly father! Jesus willingly and gladly followed in his kind father’s shoes and took up the carpenter’s trade (Mk 6:3). Joseph did not keep anything from the boy or treat him differently from other children, especially when the couple later had four sons – James, Joseph, Judas and Simon – and at least two daughters (Mk 6:3). Joseph had his work cut out for him, but still God entrusted His Son to him without worrying about child abuse, parental neglect, unfair treatment, or family dysfunction. Most fathers have enough trouble with their biological kids, never mind being the spiritual father! I would be so out of whack and out of sorts, if not out of here, if I were to care for God’s Son, but not Joseph, who was firm but fair. He was not related by blood, but by belief. The way he handled Mary’s case and treated Mary’s reputation represented the gentleman he was. He was not about to criticize or shame Mary, or confront her parents, relatives, and friends, or let his side of the family know he had no choice.
Joseph and Mary were not perfect parents but they were more than good parents; they were outstanding parents. They were not surviving parents; they were super parents. They were not disadvantaged parents, but were devoted parents.
Conclusion: God has given His all when He gave infant Jesus to mankind. Jesus has come to save His people o sins. God is not looking for gifts and goods in return. He God is looking for the righteous and the obedient and the strong to do His will.
Victor Yap
http://epreaching.blogspot.com/
www.riversidecma.org
www.preachchrist.com (Chinese sermons)
