Telling Dreams – sermon on December 18, 2016
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 fulfill 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.
Sermon: Telling Dreams by Rev. Doreen Oughton
FINALLY! An advent gospel passage that actually relates to the birth of Jesus! What we’ve had for the last few weeks were passages about events that occurred long after the birth – Jesus prophesying about the coming, or return, of the Son of Man, and stories of John the Baptist preparing the way, and then John questioning whether Jesus was really the Messiah. But at last, we turn to the story of the season. I don’t think I mentioned it, but the first Sunday of Advent, Nov. 28, was also the start of a new liturgical year, and this year, year A, is focused primarily on the gospel of Matthew. So today we hear Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. You might notice that there is no trip to Bethlehem, no stable or manger, no choir of angels or shepherds in the field. Just a pregnant, unwed Mary, and her righteous fiancé who has no wish to humiliate her. Joseph decides to quietly end the engagement. And then he has a dream, and that dream changed his mind and heart. And I wonder, with that change, what changed for the outcome of this story? What changed for Mary? What changed for Jesus? What might have changed for us?
The more familiar story of the birth of Jesus comes from the Gospel of Luke. In that story, we hear more about Mary, about her finding favor with God, the announcement from Gabriel that she will bear a son conceived of the Holy Spirit, and that the child will be great, ruling over the house of Jacob. So most people know how important Mary is to the story, that she was the one chosen for this glorious role of birthing God-with-us. But what about Joseph? Did he just happen to be in the right (or wrong) place at the right (or wrong) time? Would it have mattered if Mary had been engaged to someone else, perhaps a farmer instead of a carpenter? I don’t know for sure, of course, but I suspect that Joseph was also chosen.
Does anyone know how the Gospel of Matthew begins? This passage is just the last third of the 1st chapter. What’s in the first 2/3rds? A geneology. The Gospel begins – “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, son of David, son of Abraham. And it goes through 16 verses of who was whose father, the occasional mother thrown in, begat after begat, from the time of Abraham to David; from David to the deportation to Babylon; and finally from the Babylonian deportation to …. who? Mary? No, Joseph, husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born. And did you notice in this reading how the dream angel addresses Joseph – “Joseph, son of David.” Even though within the genealogy there is no claim that Jesus is the son of Joseph, still Joseph’s connection with the house of David somehow matters. The dream angel reminds Joseph of this connection, and of the prophecy to the house of David by Isaiah – “the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son – and they shall name him Emmanuel – God-with-Us.”
Now some people might note two names being tossed around here – Emmanuel and Jesus. Isaiah’s prophecy says that the virgin – not “they,” but “she” – will name the child Emmanuel. Joseph’s dream angel takes some liberty, changing it to “they will name him.” And the angel also tells Joseph that the child is to be named Jesus, or Yoshua, for he will save his people from their sins. The name Yoshua means “God saves.” This is to be his name, but Emmanuel is what he will be called – much in the same way he is called the prince of peace, wonderful counsellor, almighty Savior.
This event that Joseph is caught in is familiar to us, as the story is retold year after year. And we have the benefit of hindsight – of knowing that indeed Jesus does save, that everything the angels said is lived out. But surely if we pause a moment and imagine ourselves in Josephs sandals, we can understand the struggle he had. He must have been in terrible pain. How long did his doubts about Mary’s faithfulness linger? How often did they circle in his mind as he tried to sleep. It may not have been difficult for him at all to abstain from marital relations with her until the baby came. It must have seemed like such a mess – to him, to Mary, to their families.
Isn’t it fascinating that this is how God works? Many of you know that a grandniece was born to my family in May. Her parents are lovely people, bright and healthy, established in their careers, supportive of each other. It’s a solid marriage and they have lots of support from their extended families and friends. My Paige was planted in rich soil. Nothing messy about her coming. I think she is so blessed. I can hardly wait to see her life unfold. And yet God rarely enters in to disrupt the world through such neat and upright situations. Not that God isn’t with their family, or calling them to discipleship. Of course, she is. It’s just that God calls our attention to her presence in places where we don’t expect it: to the barren women who seemed to have been abandoned by God; to the prostitute Rahab who helps with the takeover of Jericho; to the smallest son of Jesse out tending the flock; the foreigner Ruth. God has a habit of taking a messy situation and not just redeeming it, but using it to further his plans.
And isn’t that an incredibly hopeful message for those living in messy, complicated, even hurtful situations – or whose children or grandchildren are. Perhaps some of our loved ones dropped out of school, or got pregnant out of wedlock, or just will not settle down. Perhaps people don’t understand our choices. Perhaps we, or someone we love is out of step with society’s expectations. Well guess what? That is just the kind of place God will step into to disrupt society’s expectations, to say “you think your world reflects my dreams for you? Oh no, oh no. I want for you something different – something better, even if it seems harder.”
Perhaps Joseph had an advantage over people of our time. It was likely more common then to believe that holy happenings occurred, that divine messages could be received by ordinary mortals. The words of the prophets were passed down through generations and finally recorded, taken seriously as messages from God. These days if people go public about having received a message from God, the skepticism is rampant, as is the ridicule. But there was Joseph, caught up in a mess, his betrothed pregnant though they’d remained chaste. Dreams and divine messages were taken seriously in those days, but so was this kind of break with convention. Joseph would have been within his rights to expose Mary to public condemnation, even stoning. Doing so would have protected his own reputation. He was not the one who did wrong and would not be penalized for it. He decided not to do that, but to quietly dismiss her. Perhaps Mary could be sent away to some relatives, maybe pretend to be a widow or something. Their friends and neighbors in Nazareth would just be told that it didn’t work out between them.
But then he has his dream. An angel reminds him that he is of a chosen lineage and assures him that he can take Mary as his wife, that she wasn’t unfaithful, that her conditions is an act of God. The angel connects this “mess” to an ancient and holy prophecy of Isaiah. And Joseph believes it, accepts it, acts on it. He sets aside his fear of scandal, his hurt, and goes to Mary. He takes her as his wife and raises the son as his own, all the while knowing that Yoshua is not his, but ours, the whole world’s.
Has God ever come to you in a mess? Ever given you a message in your dreams or daydreams? I’ve had the privilege of having these types of conversations with people, and I know that it has happened to more than one of you. And the quality I’ve heard people describe is this sense of assurance, that everything would be alright. If you’ve had that experience, it might not be so hard to understand why Joseph did what he did. The angels that come might be our departed loved ones, or just a small, still voice inside, saying, “do not be afraid.” Does that mean the person never had a moment of fear after that, never had skeptical thoughts drift in? I don’t think so. But it is a touch-stone event, something to turn to when those doubts drift in.
Many of you have not had such a message, no clear guidance on how to handle the messes of life. I don’t know why God chooses who God chooses for such dreams, but I do believe that God will offer guidance to anyone who wants it. Your requests for help – your prayers, will not go unheard nor unattended. God’s assurance that you do not need to be afraid may come through a song, through something you read, through a phrase that you hear a few times, or a theme that keeps popping up. God will speak to you through your feelings more than your thoughts – so pay attention to them, even if the feeling is fear. Go deeper than that, though. Go into the fear and see what else is there. Perhaps you find it hard to believe that God has chosen you for some purpose in this world, that you have a special role to play in his story of redemption and healing.
Joseph couldn’t see the road ahead, probably didn’t know that his Yoshua would be persecuted and hung from a cross. Didn’t know how God’s plan would play out – not the death or the resurrection. He just let go and trusted God. Is there a place in your life where you are being asked to let go, even if it seems a big mess? Can you stop trying to control and foresee? What kind of dream or message will it take for you to just live in the assurance that God’s plan, for you and for the world, is unfolding? We are called to live righteously – truthfully, responsibly, compassionately and lovingly, and that is all we need to do. We are not asked to judge, to determine where God should and should not show up, where and how God’s work would be most effectively be done. By our very nature our vision is limited. We can’t see what God sees, and so let’s find our own touchstones of assurance and leave it up to God. May it be so.
