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 Dream
I had him that night! I had him like I've never had anyone recently. I was in his head and there was no way he was going to get me out of there. He went to bed that night and collapsed. He had a stressful day with some news that totally changed his world, his life and his love. He went to bed totally tired and out of sorts, so I had him in my control that night.. or so I thought...
Oh, sure there were others that I had in the past... I had Jacob so bad he became physical. And then there was Joseph, Abimelech, Laban, Pharaoh, Solomon and I don't know how many old men in the past and present. But this night I had Joseph... well kinda.
Every time I think it's about me, or at least too many times in the past, I figure it's all for my delight when I think I really have the person... I seem to run into an angel. They let me set the stage and then come in and steal the show! I can't stand that!
Joseph was dealing with some shocking news that day. He was engaged to Mary and she came up pregnant with child. Joseph knew it wasn't his! So you figure it out from there. But, this guy really loved Mary and didn't want any harm to come to her... now there is love! So he collapsed in bed having determined that he would let go of Mary in the most quiet way he could the next day or so. That's not easy to do you know! What Mary had done was serious. She was pregnant and engaged. She let herself and her passion go with someone else! In the past she would be stoned! Who knows, maybe the judgment would be close to the same, but it's not going to be pretty this time either. So, Joseph was tired and stressed and I had him in my clutches, until that angel came along and stole the show!
This angel from God swoops in and ruins my whole plot! This angel swoops in and tells Joseph that it's all true what Mary had told him. That she was carrying God's child, conceived through the Holy Spirit. Now, at first I thought this may turn out pretty good. After all, think of where I could take it from here! I could have Joseph tossing and turning the rest of the night, fretting over all the details, but this angel went on to tell Joseph what he was to name this child... Jesus... for he will save his people from their sins.
OK, so how am I going to work with this? That angel! Threw a monkey wrench into all of my plans for the night. Now I had to deal with what was left. I had to make something out of this now. But what?
Now Joseph was a good Jewish man. Joseph knew God's word and spent his time in the Temple in prayer and study. So the angel ties back this whole Jesus thing to something that Joseph would remember reading in the Temple... a prophecy...
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
Then, in the face of it all, the angel instructs Joseph to take Mary as his wife! Hello! She is having someone else's baby! It's not yours Joseph! So, now I figured I had something to torment Joseph with the rest of the night even if that angel did come in and steal my thunder for the evening.
But... even though I tried... from that time on... through the rest of the night... Joseph slept like a baby. Joseph's mind was at ease. Joseph's mind was bound and determined to follow God's new and wonderful message the angel had just given to him. Joseph's mind... yes the core of his very spirit was focused on Jesus.
My work was done for the night with Joseph... no chance of anything else. So, I moved on to Bill... he's easy... I can get him to dream anything... I can get him to talk and walk and do all sorts of goofy things. At least I can entertain myself with Bill the rest of the night.
...but that angel and that Joseph... that's a different story! Way different! So, different the world hasn't been the same since! It's true you know... this dream came true! This Jesus... he saved all the people from sin... and in a way that I couldn't ever top in any fabrication I could ever imagine.
Yes, God is with us! Jesus has come to save!
Prayer
Lord, thank you for dreams. Thank you for angels. Thank you for Mary. Thank you for messengers. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for coming to us and showing yourself, that we may know your love. Thank you Lord... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
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