Sermon - December 19, 2010Year A - The Year of Matthew - Advent 4
Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25
We hear a great deal today about leaders being out of touch with the people. Politicians are out of touch. Church leaders are out of touch. Leaders do what they wish and do not listen or care what anyone else wants. People from seventeen to seventy have most likely heard this all their lives.
None of this is new. In fact, as much as we complain about such things in the course of history, what we have today is comparatively very mild.
In the days of Jesus, a group of leaders in Israel controlled the temple. They were called the Sadducees. These were the temple priests. They were the group with international connections, and as such, they considered themselves citizens of the world. They loved Greek culture. Who could blame them? Greek culture was ultimate in the Roman world. It was seen as the pinnacle of refinement, philosophy, and education. In fact, the Greeks would become the base of Western Civilization. What we know as Western civilization eventually came about through a marriage of Greek culture, Roman law, and Christianity.
However, many if not most of the Sadducees had such love of Greek culture that they had contempt for the backward Israel in which they lived and served. They even had contempt for the rites of the temple. They wanted something much more stylish and with an international feel to it. However, at the same time, the Sadducees jealously guarded the temple for from it they garnered their power, wealth, and influence. The high priest was a position that was sought after to such a point that political maneuvers and bribes were used to attain it. This was done not because they had such devotion to the office high priest, but because they wanted the influence and power that come from occupying the office. Many high priests barely performed their official duties once in office because they were more concerned about impressing the elite of other nations, and the profit and gain they could obtain.
Day after day, and year after year, thousands of Israelites would come to worship at the temple. In the mean time, the Sadducees, who were supposed to be the most dedicated to the temple, looked with contempt upon those who arrived. The devoted Israelites were an impediment to the grand dreams and desires of the Sadducees. However, the people came to the temple just the same. They knew the corruption. They understood the contempt. They saw the gulf between those who led the temple and those who came to worship. However, they arrived at the temple with joy because nobody, not even a corrupt priesthood would divert them from the reason they arrived in Jerusalem. They came to worship God and worship God alone.
This is the background of today's Gospel. In a small town in Nazareth, an honorable carpenter is faced with confusion. The woman to whom he is engaged is with child. Joseph even though he was a descendant of King David, would have been someone the Sadducees would not have noticed. The line of David had fallen over the centuries. Now, a descendant of the greatest king of Israel was a carpenter in a very tiny town in northern Israel.
The town of Nazareth was small enough that carpentry would not have been all Joseph did. Carpenters and other tradesmen would also keep a garden and a couple of animals for food and subsistence farming to eke out a living in rural Galilee. When townspeople needed some carpentry done that was beyond their own skills and tools, Joseph would be the one they called. Joseph would have fashioned doors, beams, and gates. He would make plows, yokes and other wood implements. There were no furniture stores; all furniture in Nazareth would be made by Joseph.
Joseph, a good man who works hard, and is respected in Nazareth is faced with a crisis. Joseph wants to marry his fiancé, settle down, and raise a family. Then it happens; Joseph learns that Mary is pregnant, and he knows that he is not the father. The engagement must end, and along with it, the hope this couple has for a happy life together.
Joseph decides to end the engagement quietly rather than subject Mary to public disgrace. A quiet ending will spare Mary and their families a great deal of grief. However, Joseph is heartsick. Nothing is to come of his love for Mary. She will have no future; and he does not want the future that probably awaits him. Joseph lies awake at night pondering the events that have overtaken him. Finally, he falls asleep; but his sleep is not peaceful. His sleep is disturbed by a dream.
In his sleep, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph. The angel calls Joseph by name and reminds him that one of his ancestors was David, Israel's greatest king. Then, the angel tells Joseph not to be afraid, but to keep his pledge to marry. The child that Mary carries is from the Holy Spirit. The baby will be a boy, and Jesus is to be his name. That name means Savior. It will be the right name for this child, for he will save his people from their sins.
God has made a contrast in this story of Joseph and Mary. The Savior, the Messiah is to be born. However, notice where the drama and announcement occurs. It is not in Jerusalem. It is not to the temple priests. It is not to the Sadducees. Instead, it all happens in and among the places and people for whom the Sadducees had contempt.
God knows what he is doing. He also knows the hearts of people. When we lose track, God has a way of pulling us back to where we need to be.
When we are fallen in our hearts and minds, God knows how to bless and keep us. The Messiah is not about what is fashionable. The Savior is not about what is wonderful in the eyes of people. Christ is born because you and I fall short. We sin. We have times in our lives when we will not be what the world sees as beautiful, glamorous, or fashionable. We will be sick. We will be frail. We will be facing death. Our Savior is with us when the world is not. Our Savior is with us in our struggles and times of trouble. It was true of Joseph and Mary, and it is true of us.
We are coming upon the celebration of Christ's birth, the angels are saying to us as they said to Joseph, "Do not be afraid." God is with us. The opinions of the world do not matter. The laziness of leaders does not mean a thing. We continue. We worship. We love. We pray. We live knowing that Jesus is Emmanuel the God who is with us especially when the world is not. Amen.