Isaiah 7:14
Therefore
the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will
give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
We
have fully entered into the Christmas season. A sure sign of this is the
proliferation of “Christmas” movies that are now appearing on TV. If you happen
to have access to Netflix or the Hallmark channel, you can fill your days with
such movies. Many of these movies are rather sugary sweet. The prevailing message
is that Christmas is a time for sentimentality. I would like to suggest that
the true message of Christmas is not sentimentality but courage.
Sunday
was the first Sunday of Advent. The purpose of Advent is to prepare us for and
lead us to the birth of Jesus. Unfortunately, we have a rather sentimental view
of the Christmas story. We focus on an idealize image that sanitizes the realities
of the genuine event. The truth is that God asked two people to be extremely
courageous in the face of challenges they would rather avoid.
In
Luke’s gospel, we are invited to listen in on a conversation between the
Archangel Gabriel and a young girl named Mary. Mary is pledged to be married
and is looking forward to all that entailed. Marriage meant security for the
future. It meant the promise of children and establishing a home. Mary’s
expectations were most likely pretty simple. She would live an uneventful life
as the wife of the local carpenter. She would have children and raise her
family. She would live out her days in the familiar surroundings of her
community. When Gabriel showed up, all of that changed.
Look
carefully at what God was asking Mary to do. He was asking her to risk her
marriage to Joseph, her security for the future, her reputation in the
community, and her dreams of a quiet, simple life. To accept what God was
asking her to do was to take a very difficult path. God was asking her to risk
everything and trust Him beyond trust. For her to accept was a supreme act of
courage.
In
Matthew’s gospel, we get to see Joseph’s side of the story. Joseph was living
in anticipation of his marriage to Mary. According to tradition, he would have
been preparing a home for them to live in. As a carpenter, he may have been
spending all of his extra time crafting the furniture that would equip their
new home. Joseph would have been anticipating having children who would carry
on his name. He would pray that God would bless him with sons. He anticipated
living a simple life as the village carpenter in the familiar surroundings of
his community.
When
Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant, his dreams evaporated. His dream of
establishing his family within the community, with the woman he loved, was
shattered. Everyone would know that Mary was pregnant before the wedding. The
tongues of Nazareth would be wagging. Either Joseph had failed to exercise
self-control or Mary had been unfaithful. Either way, their marriage was ruined
before to had a chance to begin. Matthew tells us that Joseph struggled with
the decision about what to do. He really loved Mary, but he could not marry her
under these circumstances. It was just too big of a hurdle to get over. He had
no choice but to end their relationship.
But
God stepped in and challenged Joseph to set aside his fear and to trust Him. He
informed Joseph, in a dream, that this was all a part of God’s plan for the
redemption of Israel. The road before them would be hard, but God would go with
them. He was asking Joseph to exercise unprecedented courage and to go forward
with his marriage to Mary.
Both
Mary and Joseph had a decision to make. Both had to make their decision alone.
Both had to trust God and trust each other. Both had to exercise courage. Both
chose to risk everything to do what God was asking of them.
There
is very little value in this season if our focus is on temporary
sentimentality. It can make us feel all warm and fuzzy for a time, but it will
not change our lives. But if we understand that this season is calling us to be
people of courage in our world, then it can change our lives. Just as God asked
Mary and Joseph to trust Him completely, He is asking us to do the same thing.
He is asking us to carry Jesus into our world. It will mean that we will not
fit the common patterns of life. It means that people will misunderstand and
even find fault with us. It means that our plans will be altered. But it also
means that we will step into the most exciting adventure possible.
Luke 1:38
"I
am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have
said." Then the angel left her.
Luke 9:23-24
Then
he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life
will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
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