The Father of Jesus

 

Luke 1:26-38

(Matthew 1:18-25)

December 21, 2014

 

Mark S. Bollwinkel

 

            In our scripture lesson this morning, a part of the wonderful Christmas story, we hear about Mary’s courage and dedication.  We hear about Elizabeth’s joy.  But what about Joseph?  The father of Jesus is only mentioned in passing.

            It was very important for the gospel writers to point to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would come from the “house of David” in order to prove Jesus’ divinity.  Both Matthew (1:1-17) and Luke (3:23-28) include long genealogies to show Jesus’ lineage back to the greatest king of Israel’s history.  For most Hebrews in first century Palestine, King David was their image of what a Messiah was supposed to be; a great warrior, devoted to the prosperity of the nation and sanctity of the Temple in Jerusalem.  Joseph is of the “house of David”.

            But Jesus is born divine and of a virgin.  Modern logic might find contradiction in a text that argues that Jesus had human and heavenly fathers at the same time but the gospel writers and listeners didn’t.  Such drama was very common in the religious heritage of the Ancient Near East.

            When Joseph is listed in Luke’s genealogy the writer puts in parentheses, “Jesus…the son (as was supposed) of Joseph” (3:23).  Jesus is the Son of God after all, and Joseph is but a bystander.

            Luke will mention him only once more when the hometown crowd at Nazareth tries to throw Jesus off a cliff, rejecting his message.  They scorn Jesus saying, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” (4:22)

            The gospel of Mark doesn’t mention Joseph at all.  In all of his preaching neither does the apostle Paul.  The gospel writer John cites his name only twice.

            So what is Joseph doing there in our crèches scene, really!?

            Matthew gives the best description of the man;

 

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.   When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.  But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; his name is Jesus, for we will save his people from their sins’…when Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.”  (1:18-25)

 

            Joseph was a just man, a righteous man.  The original term suggests that the community recognized such a person as some one who always did things right by his faith and by his neighbors.

            Boris Trajkovski (1956-2004) was a righteous man.  You may not be familiar with the name of the former President of Macedonia, one of the states of former Yugoslavia, just north of Greece and south of Kosovo. (We heard a witness of faith from our UM Missionary there, Carol Partridge, last week…)

            President Trajkovski was a United Methodist.  At his acceptance speech in November 1999, he quoted the prophet Micah from the Old Testament, “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:6).  His audience was shocked.  Macedonian politicians don’t quote scripture. Few know any scripture to quote.  This was a former Communist state after all.  The vast majority of its people, if religious, belong to the Orthodox Church or are Muslim. 

It wasn’t long ago that Protestant churches were regarded with suspicion and hatred.  Protestant churches were burned.   Protestant missionaries were harassed.  In the years of Marshall Tito there were incidents of imprisonment of Protestant pastors and the confiscation of church property.

During the first free election in this foundling democracy, Trajkovski’s opponents said, “If a Protestant becomes President, we will all be forced to become Protestants!”  Cherry bombs were thrown at United Methodist churches.  “Don’t vote for the heretic!” was painted on church walls.

But still the candidate ended all of his speeches with, “God bless Macedonia!”

Boris Trajkovski grew up in a church where every Sunday the children stand at the front of the sanctuary at the end of the service to recite together a verse of Scripture.  As an adult he became a United Methodist Lay speaker.  He taught the Bible in Sunday School.   Although a part of an extreme minority in his country, he did not hide his faith as he has sought to serve his people.

President Trajkovski won the 1999 election with a healthy majority of votes.  Macedonians were not forced to convert to Methodism.  Before his tragic death in a plane crash on February 26, 2004 he was urgently trying to build bridges between all of the communities in his nation as they struggled with terrible poverty and the aftermath of the NATO bombing of Kosovo to the North. 

President Trajkovski was elected because the people could see in his character and faith a future for Macedonia.  That is what “righteousness” means.   People, like Joseph father of Jesus, who do the right thing even when the odds are against them are righteous indeed.

           

            Joseph was a compassionate man. 

In his society it was a disgrace for one’s betrothed to be pregnant before the official marriage was consummated.  He had every right to divorce Mary without any questions asked, but he was “unwilling to put her to shame”. 

            Remember the story of the reluctant Inn Keeper?  It happened at a church Christmas pageant one year.  Susanna had been picked as the Inn Keeper.  She had one line, “Go away, there is no room in the Inn”, which she was to deliver to Joseph and Mary as they came into the Bethlehem scene on their donkey of cardboard.  No matter how many times they practiced the scene, Susanna just couldn’t say her line.  The idea of turning away the parents of the baby Jesus was just impossible, inconceivable, for this very bright nine year old.

            One rehearsal, to the frustration of the exasperated director, she blurted out, “Go away, there is no room in the Inn…but wait, we just got a cancellation!”  Another time it was, “Go away, there is no room in the Inn…have you tried the Motel 6 down the road”.

            The Director and the parents tried to explain that this was only a church play, and that her line was an essential part of the drama and after all it came from the Bible and if she didn’t get right they would have to find another Inn Keeper.

            Susanna relented.  She assured all the adults that she would do her part.

When the big night came, all in the production were on pins and needles as to what Susanna would say.

            The lights were dimmed and the crowd was hushed.  She looked perfect in the bathrobe and turban as the Joseph and Mary came into the scene on their donkey.  They got their lines straight as can be.  Susanna said with clear conviction her all important line, “Go Away, there is no room in the Inn”.  And as Mary and Joseph turned to exit she blurted out, “But why don’t you come in for some hot chocolate before you have to go!”

            We all know people whose compassion defines their living, even to their own detriment.  Joseph must have really loved that young girl Mary. In the end he would risk his own reputation out of compassion.  He would not put her to shame.

 

            Joseph was a faithful man.  He listens to and obeys the commands of angels.  (note: When an angel comes to warn him of Herod’s threat to kill the Christ child and directs the family to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15).  When an angel tells him it safe to return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:19)).

            So does Mary.  In Luke, Gabriel comes to her explaining her role in the miracle of Christmas.  She could have been as young as 13 or 14 years old, yet when confronted by the angel she responses with courage and faith, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord…”

            In modern terms these might be the most unlikely pair to start a family.  A mature and respected man, publicly recognized for his faith.  A juvenile girl, unknown, unwed.

Consider the courage it took for them to go ahead with this marriage.  What would others think, after all?

            Most of us over fifty years old grew up in a culture with the expectation that what “family” means is a man working outside of the home, a women working inside and children happily bounding around the house.  “Ozzie and Harriet” and “June and Ward Cleaver” were our models of what family was all about.

            But now we know that just having a Mom and a Dad is not enough.  Thank God that most families are places of nurture and loving relationships, but they can also be the home for victims of violence, neglect and abuse.

            What makes a family “good” isn’t just having a Mom and a Dad and kids.  What makes a family is the love its members share.  Single parent families, blended step-families, adults without children, kids being raised by grandparents, single unmarrieds adopting, elderly singles living independently from their children, and the traditional two parent family, all kinds of shapes and sized of families are good, when love rules their life together.

By our culture’s standards it took real courage and faith for Mary to do what she was called to do.  The same is true of Joseph.  He was willing to go against the odds and the expectations of his neighbors to love Mary and her son Jesus.

            Shouldn’t love be the only measure by which we judge some else’s family?

 

            In spite of the theological awkwardness of Jesus’ two distinct fathers, at the heart of the Christmas story is the conviction that at a particular time and place…in a way that supersedes the normal course of human events…God acted in history for our salvation.

            God’s steadfast love, his urgent willingness to forgive and love us, becomes flesh.

            Our Christmas story is full of such grace.  In Mary’s courage.  In Elizabeth’s praise.  In the Magi’s searching.  In the Shepherd’s proclamation.  Celebrate its wonder and glory in the coming week.  Let its hope and opportunity be born again in our hearts.

            And don’t forget the carpenter Joseph, even though he is merely a footnote in the records.  He risked social scorn and humiliation to follow the command of God, to love his wife to be, and stand by her when he could have run away.

            Joseph is in our crèches scenes because righteousness, compassion and faith are never forgotten. 

And because he names the baby “Jesus”, which means “God Saves”.

 

                        Amen.