Three Scenes In A Fateful Night

Introduction:

*Dave Berry—an American Humorist—tells us his favorite Christmas memories as a child was the annual Nativity Pageant at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church "Shepherd was my favorite role because you got to carry a stick. . . Many were the happy rehearsal hours we shepherds spent whacking each other with sticks. . ."

*But nobody wanted to be Joseph, because "Joseph had to hang around with Mary whom a girl played. You had to wait backstage with this girl and walk in with this girl. You felt like a total goof, which was not helped by the fact that the shepherds and three kings were constantly suggesting that you really liked this girl. So, during the pageant, Joseph tended to maintain the maximum allowable distance from Mary, as though she was carrying some kind of deadly bacteria." (1)

*Being Joseph wasn't easy, even in the Christmas play, and it indeed wasn't easy in the real world either. Someone once suggested in a sermon that "Joseph and Mary had been planning a wedding when God told them to prepare a nursery.

A contemporary Christian song you hear a lot this time of year asks, 

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?

 Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?

 Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?

 This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

 It is an exciting song playing out a drama, which I think she did not know as scriptures express her ongoing posture of pondering. 

What I want to know is, Joseph, did you know? 

Why does Mary get so much attention? Well deserved attention, but Joseph has little. 

Where are the songs about the stepdad that helped out too? 

Whom would Jesus have been without a dad?

 Did Joseph know what he was getting into? 

Did Joseph change diapers? Probably not, as they did not use diapers then. 

Did Joseph freak out when a wet child cried out in the middle of the night? 

Did Joseph help out? Or did he say, "Mary, this is your baby. You and God can take care of him?"

People in town knew Jesus was Joseph's son. 

Indeed, there is a miracle that Mary could bring a divinely conceived baby into this world. However, I contend there was an equal miracle that Joseph stuck around and supported this new family.

**Verse 18 tells us that 'Mary was betrothed to Joseph.' That meant a whole lot more than being engaged today. Hebrew marriages had two stages. In the first stage, called 'betrothal,' the couple legally married, even though they did not live together as man and wife.

*This period of being separate but legally married could last as long as a year. It was far more binding than modern engagements. Only divorce could break it apart. And if they had been unfaithful to each other, it would have been counted as adultery punishable by death under Old Testament law. However, the OT gave instructions on how to deal with this situation in Deuteronomy. In such a case, the woman is given the benefit of the doubt—doubtlessly, she cried out but none heard.—while the man who violated her faced the full punishment of the law. (Rick Crandall--https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/joseph-shows-us-god-39-s-way-to-cope-with-a-crisis-rick-crandall-sermon-on-christmas-249522)

*Joseph and Mary had been joyfully making plans for a wedding. But then Mary gave him the shocking news that she was pregnant. Talk about a crisis for Joseph! With those unbelievable words from Mary, Joseph's world began to fall apart, so "the first time we see Joseph in the New Testament, he is planning a divorce." (3) (Rick Crandall--https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/joseph-shows-us-god-39-s-way-to-cope-with-a-crisis-rick-crandall-sermon-on-christmas-2495220

*This is a Crisis at Christmas!

As a young man, I worked as a Funeral Director. A profession that gave me a great deal of satisfaction but may have contributed to my slightly twisted sense of humor. Funeral homes do not close down for Christmas. That may be the busiest day of the year! So for ten years, I comforted grieving people, cared for the dead, and missed out on Christmas with the family. All because death doesn't take a holiday at Christmas.

The hospitals don't empty at Christmas. (Covid-19 pandemic...people in the hospital all alone...families that may not see them in the last hours of life...this is a massive crisis we are facing.)

Marriage problems don't magically go away for Christmas!

Rebellious children don't always come to their senses at Christmas.

Dreams still get shattered at Christmas.

People still get hurt.

*There will be crises at Christmas and every other day of the year. But Joseph shows us how to cope with any concern that comes our way.

Scene One: On The Horns of a Dilemma

When we face a life crisis, there are many ways we try to handle it.