Have a Little Faith,
Joseph!
Matthew 1:18-25
by Rev. Frank Schaefer
You know, humanly speaking things weren’t really going well leading up to that
first Christmas Eve. In fact, the entire Christmas story is one of human
dilemma. The harsh rule of the Romans. The census which forced Mary and Joseph
to go on a long arduous journey. It is a story of human oppression, poverty
and hardship. But it is also a story of simple faith that yields big results.
God never really asks the characters in the bible to muster up big faith--he
always asks for a little faith a little trust, and he takes this little
deposit and turns it into huge profits.
Circumstances couldn’t have been
much worse for Mary and Joseph, not being able to find medical care for the
delivery of Mary’s baby, nor could they find shelter, nor were they married
when Jesus was born. There was not much positive to be expected for Mary,
Joseph, nor the baby. No future, no career, nothing. And all of this was
happening amidst a great political crisis in which an unwanted census was
forced upon the Jewish people by the then super-power Rome.
Let’s talk about Joseph for a
while. In today’s passage we read that he finds out about Mary's condition and
naturally, since he is not the father of the unborn child, he assumes the
worst. Joseph--like any other young man--had dreams and goals in life. His
parents had arranged his marriage, still, he dreamed of the life he would
build with his wife. He would work hard to support his family. They would
raise children - a blessing upon their home. They would go to temple and they
would have a good life, a holy life. They would follow the Torah. He would
bring honor upon his family’s name, the house of David.
And his fiancée was Mary, a
wonderful young woman. She would make a good wife. His heart was full of love,
joy and anticipation. So he rose early each day, worked hard at his craft,
determined to live into his future.
Then the bottom fell out. Mary was pregnant. What on earth? How...? ... Well,
that was that. He couldn't marry her now. How could she get involved with
someone else? She said she loved him. Can you imagine the pain, the feeling of
betrayal, the anger? Perhaps, he fell into a depression. His dreams of a happy
life with wife and family dashed. Still, he planned to dismiss her quietly. To
spare her public disgrace. After all, he really loved her, no matter how much
she hurt him. [continue]
