“Unflashy Servants”
Text: Matthew 1:18-25
12-12-2021
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Have you ever noticed how the flashy people in life are the ones who get all the attention? A football team can have a winning season, but it's usually the quarterback, running back or receiver who shines in the spotlight. And who always seems to get the camera and microphone thrust in their face for an interview? The flashy guys, of course. When it really comes down to it though, these individual players would be nothing without the rest of the team who go about their business unnoticed, as unsung heroes.
Now, you’d never think that such a thing would happen within Christianity when it comes to the legendary saints but it does. I’ll prove my point with a little quiz. Who is the saint that the Church traditionally recognizes tomorrow, on December 13th? Why, Saint Lucy, of course… or, as they say in Italian, Santa Lucia. Hers is quite an interesting story about how she was martyred for her faith. You really ought to read up on her. And I bet you missed the feast day recognizing St. Ambrose on the 7th. I could go on and on but the point is that these folks are overlooked or forgotten because most of them weren’t in the limelight like say, St. Peter or St. Paul.
And all of that is true about Joseph; the man who God chose to be the foster-father of the Jesus. Before I go any further, let me say that I’m not insinuating that the Virgin Mary was a "flashy person" since she seems to get all the attention. On the contrary, she was a perfect match for her husband, Joseph. Together, these two humble believers quietly did the job that God assigned to them. But we hear so much more about Mary don't we? She was honored to carry the Christ Child in her own womb! What a privilege! However, she never sought the spotlight. In fact, as we heard last week, when the angel Gabriel told her that she would give birth to the Son of God, Mary's response was humble. She didn’t do a victory jig in the end zone. Rather, she meekly submitted to God’s will and said: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
Joseph was just as humble and just as faithful. He also didn’t seek the spotlight or do "flashy" things. Our Gospel Lesson tells us that he was a "just man." In other words, he was a true believer in the promised Messiah and lived out his life of faith in quiet obedience to the Lord. That wasn’t as easy as it sounds though. Put yourself in his sandals for just a minute and seriously consider how you would’ve reacted to his calling.
Joseph was betrothed, or as we say “engaged,” to Mary. What you may not realize is how binding an engagement was back then. When a man and woman were engaged to be married their society looked at them as already being married, with one exception. Unlike our modern culture which does it all backwards, the only thing that remained for the completion of their marriage was for the two of them to begin living together after a customary waiting period. That=s why the text uses the word Adivorce@ when it says that Joseph had decided to break off their engagement. They were already as good as married and this was the only way to legally end it.
Now why was Joseph considering such a drastic measure? Well, our text says that he found out that his fiancé was pregnant. But did you notice, it doesn’t say HOW he found out? In the Gospel of Luke, we're told that after the angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her she was pregnant with the Christ Child, she hurried off to visit her relative Elizabeth. There’s no indication that she stopped in to share the news with Joseph {or anyone else, including her parents} before she left. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for 3 months. Let’s be honest, after that amount of time Mary’s pregnant condition was beginning to show. She had a baby-bump. And when she returned home it was visibly obvious that Mary was pregnant and Joseph knew HE wasn’t the father.
Can you imagine how that must have floored him? He never saw it coming. And it’s only natural that he’d be thinking that the woman he loved and had pledged his life to, had been unfaithful. That must have hurt! Joseph could have responded with anger. He could have publicly disgraced Mary because everything pointed to infidelity. He could have accused her of adultery and the punishment for that was stoning her to death. But Joseph didn’t do any of that, because he was a righteous man of faith. Even though he felt he had been harmed, he didn’t seek revenge.
So often in our lives when someone hurts us like that, we simply want to strike back; make them pay; make them suffer the way that we had to suffer. But Joseph didn’t. In fact, from what the Scripture tells us it doesn’t sound like he told anyone about this. Instead, he lived with his pain in silence. As he wrestled with what to do Joseph finally came to the conclusion that he would divorce Mary without fanfare. What a humble act of faith! He refused to make Mary’s presumed sin into a public spectacle. However, by doing this, Joseph was probably setting himself up for public disgrace. But he was willing to do that, even though the woman he loved seems to have hurt him badly.
Now, I know it doesn’t say it but you can be sure that Joseph was praying fervently about his dilemma. It’s a logical conclusion because remember, the Bible called him a just man. Prayer is what the righteous children of God do. He took the pain in his heart and turned it over to God in prayer. And God heard his prayer. The Lord answered Joseph’s anguish by revealing to him the important role that he would perform in the life of the Savior. God used divine intervention to explain Mary=s unbelievable news.
The Bible never tells us that Mary ever tried to explain to Joseph how she got pregnant. And that makes perfect sense. What could a young lady possibly say to convince you that she got pregnant without ever having sexual relations with a man? Joseph was human just like the rest of us and I’m sure he would have doubted Mary no matter how much he loved her. So, God delivered this supernatural news in a supernatural way so that Joseph could believe it. An angel told him in a dream to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife because the Holy Spirit was the one who had caused her to conceive a baby in her womb. In this way, God assured Joseph that Mary had indeed remained faithful and something very special, something divine, would come of it. All of a sudden, his fears, doubts, and anguish vanished.
It may seem like such a simple statement when the angel said: "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus." But in it, Joseph was being told what his role in the life of Christ would be. It was a father's responsibility to name his son and Joseph was given that job. You see, in order for Jesus Christ to be accepted into Jewish society, he had to be considered a legitimate child. If Mary had been a single Mom Jesus would have been a social outcast. But with Joseph as his earthly stepfather, He would be accepted by the world he was born into. Not only that, Joseph was also called to protect the Christ Child, provide Him with food and shelter, as well as teach and train Him as He grew in years. And I=m sure he showed love toward Jesus like any good father would. The thing we need to notice though, is that he willingly obeyed the plan God had laid out for him. Just like his humble wife, Joseph faithfully obeyed God=s wishes. No questions asked. He did exactly what the Lord called him to do.
The most remarkable thing about Joseph is that he did all this without any fanfare. He wasn’t one of the "flashy people" who insists on notoriety. He never complained that he was being relegated to “play second-fiddle” in the Christmas story. Instead, he quietly did the Lord=s work. He allowed the spotlight to focus on the most important person in his life: Jesus. That’s because Joseph knew that this child was born to be his Savior too!
There's an important lesson in the life of Joseph for all of us. God has called each and every one of us to do something special in this life. Whether He has called you to be a father or mother, a husband or wife, a son or daughter, a single person, a student, or WHATEVER, God has an important role for you fulfill. It may not seem very flashy. It may be something as unglamorous as changing your baby’s diaper or taking care of your aging parent. It may be as unglamorous as befriending a classmate who’s been picked on or ignored. It may be as unglamorous as providing financially for your family to the best of your ability. You may work very hard at these tasks and yet remain unnoticed. But like Joseph, God simply calls you to humbly trust and obey Him. By doing so, we are revealing that we too have been made righteous by the Lord through faith in Jesus Christ.
With the benefit of hindsight, we can now see how important Joseph’s duties really were. And even though we may not recognize it right now, God has an important role for each of us to fulfill as Christians. When we face difficult situations in our God-given vocations, situations that we don’t understand, we may give into the temptation to just quit and walk away. But like Joseph we can learn to trust in God’s plan for our lives and walk by faith. And like Joseph, we can step back and let the spotlight shine upon the most important person in our lives: Jesus Christ. May God give us the humility to hold up our Savior Jesus as the only one deserving of all of our attention, trust, and adoration. Not only during the Christmas season, but all throughout the year. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!