Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Reflection - The Response of Love
An engagement at the time of Jesus' birth was different from what we view an engagement today. An engagement then was a binding relationship. Today we are much more lax in our definition of an engagement. But during the time of Joseph and Mary any unfaithfulness during an engagement would be considered adultery.
Many times in the Old Testament we read accounts of the Holy Spirit's action in the birth of a person of God. But the birth is always conceived between and man and a woman. In this passage from Matthew the birth is beyond conception between Mary and Joseph. The birth of Jesus was a direct result of the Holy Spirit rather than an action taken by "man" alone.
This means of procreation sets a very difficult scene for Joseph and for Mary in their engagement. Joseph did not have intercourse with Mary as stated in the passage above. In this time Joseph was titled the husband and now that Mary was with child, a divorce was in order because, remember, an engagement was a binding relationship.
Now Joseph had to decide between a couple of ways to divorce. The punishment for the crime of adultery was to be stoned. Joseph didn't want this to happen. Joseph was a caring and loving person and loved Mary even as she was pregnant with child. So Joseph had to decide between a court action which would risk stoning or written notice in the presence of a couple of witnesses that would break the engagement. Joseph chose the gentler and kinder solution of the written notice out of love.
It seems to me that in this case of love for Mary and child, Joseph truly now falls into line with the family of Jesus. Joseph may not be the biological father, but in his love, I feel he has become a "Child of God" like no other. Joseph chose to step out of himself and take a loving action that would not normally occur. Isn't that the very same thing God was doing by sending Jesus in the first place for all people? God was stepping outside of the realm of what seems the normal course, to become flesh and blood and to live and die for the sins of all people in order to graciously give us eternal life and eternal relationship with God. This is love! And Joseph's loving action becomes, to me, one of the first loving active responses to God's gift of love for all people.
So, the Holy Spirit comes to Joseph in a dream. A dream that encourages Joseph to not even break the engagement. A dream that encourages Joseph to hang tough and continue in the engagement. In fact more than that. A dream that encourages Joseph to take Mary as his wife. This child in Mary was from the Holy Spirit, a direct action of God, not indirect as in the many Old Testament births of so many couples.
This dream includes a name to be given to the child. That name is Jesus. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua... "the Lord saves". And this Jesus was more than salvation from slavery or the wandering in the wilderness; this Jesus was to be the One to save people from their sins. Salvation and that wonderful full relationship with God that God intended right from the beginning. The beginning when Jesus was there in Light and Word and the will of God. Yes, this loving reaction of Joseph produced in Joseph to his love for Mary would result in the fruition of the greatest loving act of all time between God and God's created people... salvation and eternal life.
Now all of this draws us back into an Old Testament passage mentioned in an earlier reflection from this week. God chooses to save his people. God chooses to be with us. In the promise of a Savior, God would deliver his people from their enemies. In the case of King Ahaz the enemies are not just the powerful ruling armies of the day, but the enemies are our very sinful selfish selves. The enemy was sin, death and the devil. And now, through a virgin, God would deliver ALL people. For now, in this time and in this place, Emmanuel or "God is with us".
God is with his people once again. This time in flesh and blood and spirit. God is with us. God has come to save us. God renews, first hand, the relationship that we all have broken through our sinful actions. God has done it! God has done this for us! God is with us not just in a Temple but with us in our very beings, our very flesh, our very blood, our spirit to become one of us. God is with us in Jesus and has come into this world, our lives and our hearts to save us first hand! What a wonderful action God has taken!
So in the loving response of Joseph to Mary, God moves Joseph from a normal reaction of hatred and the violence of stoning to death Mary, to a loving action of the birth of a child that would enter this world as man and as God to give his life in a loving action to save all people. The Holy Spirit comes to Mary in love. The Holy Spirit comes to Joseph in love. The Holy Spirit comes to all people through the love of Jesus to save all people.
What's your response? How could you not help but to love God and love your neighbor? How else could you act? For now... God is with us... for Jesus has come to save his people from their sins.
Thanks be to God!
Prayer
Lord, you know how to pull us in. Yes, you pull me in close. You draw me away from sin and take me into your love. You birth yourself in me... in my heart... and I respond in love and thanks and praise and honor and glory to you. You are with me... you are my Savior. Take my loving response and turn it out into all the world that all people may know your love... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
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