Fourth Sunday of Advent

So many times when we tell the Nativity story, Joseph becomes a background character, an NPC, this old man standing off to the side.  He's probably the most overlooked character in the whole story! But when the Almighty and Everlasting God chose to enter his creation, he chose to have a father. And Joseph is the man whom God chose to raise him, to protect him, to guard him, to teach him and hold him in his arms as a child. That’s astounding. Think about it! God chose Joseph to become the father of his own Creator—the father of the One who created us all.

So who is this man? He appears in Scripture only twice--at the events surrounding Jesus' birth, and then again when Jesus is 12 years old and gets lost in the Temple. After that--nothing. It appears that Jesus did not begin his public ministry until after his father had died. But even that is not sure. Some say he was a widower—much older than Mary, with children from a first marriage. He’s often portrayed in art that way, with gray hair. But we don’t know that.

What we do know is that Joseph was of royal blood, a descendant of the great kings David and Solomon from a thousand years before. Throughout the chaotic history of Israel, God’s people were first split in two, then scattered into foreign lands. Royal succession was lost. But in exile the people’s hopes were lifted by the prophets, through whom God promised to bring his people home and to restore the royal line—not as before, with an earthly king, but with a cosmic Messiah, an Anointed One, a Christ.

By the time of Joseph, the people of God had returned to Jerusalem and Israel, in fulfillment of prophecy, and now they looked with eagerness to the arrival of the promised Messiah. And everyone knew that when He arrived, the Messiah would come from King David’s clan, born in the little town of Bethlehem, David’s hometown.

The rest you know: Joseph and Mary in Nazareth. Betrothed, engaged to be married, in this waiting period of one year before the actual wedding. But Mary is pregnant. And Joseph knows the baby is not his. Maybe he thinks that Mary has broken her vows. Maybe he believes her story of the angelic visitation and finds it too much to deal with. Or maybe he doesn’t know what to think.

No matter what the case may be, he seeks to divorce her quietly, so as not to expose her to public shame. It was his right to have her stoned to death for cheating on him, but he only seeks to care for Mary. Even when he thinks that divorce is the right thing to do, Joseph still wants to guard and provide for her. Little wonder the Bible calls him righteous.

But this Joseph is a lot like his ancient ancestor, the Joseph of the Old Testament, to whom God spoke through dreams. A vision comes to Joseph in the night. “Mary’s Child is of the Holy Spirit,” speaks the angel in Joseph’s dream. “He is the Christ for Whom you have waited, the God to Whom you ever have prayed. You, Joseph, have been chosen for His father in this world. You will protect Him. You will raise Him. And you will give to Him the Name that shall be held above all other Names, for you will name Him Jesus,” which means “God saves.” Without hesitation, Joseph awoke from his dream and did exactly as the angel had said.

What that life must have been like I cannot imagine. Think of it—to hold God in your arms as a baby; to defend the Almighty from cold, from hunger, from violence; to kiss the holy head whose mind birthed the very cosmos. When danger threatened, Joseph, like his ancestor of the same name, saved his family by fleeing to Egypt. He gave the Christ that holy Name at which every knee shall bend. Joseph led the God-Child in bedtime prayers. The Almighty obeyed Joseph as his father, with love and respect. God tasked a carpenter with raising God in the flesh. Imagine being the man who taught the Bible to Jesus Christ!

For thousands of years the Church has marveled at the witness of St. Joseph. This blue-collar worker, with his deep trust in God, has become the model of fatherhood for us all. The church has given him many exalted titles: Guardian of Our Lord, Worker, Terror of Demons, Most Loving of Fathers. But really, Joseph can hold no other title more important that "earthly father of Jesus." The man who protected, guided and loved the virgin Mary and her Son. The one who obeyed God, who believed what God said, who acted according to God's will. The one who raised up his little one and gave him to the world.

And this little One, this promised Savior of our God, conceived in Mary’s womb by the breath of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, is the one for whom we have waited, as well. He will bring a healing peace. He will bring an end to fear—even our fears—and will bring to us the completeness we need, so that we may at last trust that our future is in his keeping. He is with us, even unto the end of the age. He is Emmanuel, God-with-us.      

As you prepare for his coming, and for the annual celebration of his birth, Do not fear, and do not be distracted by the flurry of activity that clogs the roads and the inns. Just as Caesar Augustus called a census, the gods of every age will call us to stand in their lines. This world will always offer its idols for our consumption and worship, but in their midst God will come as he did to Joseph, with words of direction, peace and guidance, so that as the Savior of the nations comes, you, also,  will be ready to greet him. Amen.