Great Dads; Great Sons

December 19, 2010
Year A
Great Dad’s; Great Sons
Isaiah 7:10-16
Matthew 1:18-25
Fourth Sunday of Advent

The image of Hope of Mother and Child

A mother and her baby is one of the most important images of hope that the world knows. Wherever you go, in whatever culture, you can always find that endearing image of the Virgin Mary and her Holy baby.
One of the most precious images of hope that I have seen this season, was not a picture of a mother and her child. It was a picture of a male colleague. He posted a picture of his dad and him when he was a baby. He wanted to honor the man who taught him everything about becoming a man. Not just a man, but a righteous man.
Matthew does the same thing on behalf of Jesus in today’s scripture. He honors the man who taught Jesus everything. It was Joseph who not only gave Jesus his name, he gave him a mission, and a way of life. Joseph was a carpenter – Jesus was a carpenter. Joseph was a descendant of David, Jesus was the son of David.
Jesus went on to become one of most famous men in history, we really have no idea of what ever happened to Joseph. Did he die early in Jesus life? Did he and Mary have other children? Why was he not present when Jesus was crucified. We have absolutely no record of anything beyond the birth stories.

Comparison of the intention of Matthew and Luke

The early church fathers like Paul, were simply not concerned about Jesus life as a baby or a young child. And they don’t say much about his family.
Mathew and Luke are the only two places in the gospel where we hear about Jesus’ birth. And they don’t talk much about it after chapter 1.
Luke is the story of Jesus’ mother – that is the story that we are most familiar with, and the one that gets repeated year after year. Luke is the story of the underdog and the underserved. Luke was concerned about the poor and those who did not have a voice in society. Since Mary was a woman, a person without a voice in which no one cared about – Luke tells her story.
Matthew is a gospel written to the men, those who had status, who were in power and could make a difference. It is not that Matthew did not care about the poor and underpriviledged – but he cared more that the men of the church – did not take their status for granted. He wanted them to be intentional about becoming true disciples of Christ, and to make a commitment to be righteous in whatever they did. He wanted them to learn to always do the right things no matter what.
Luke traces Jesus’ family through his mother, Mathew traces Jesus family through Joseph. In Luke the salvation of the world is brought to us through the actions of Mary, in Mathew it is through the actions of Joseph.

Joseph as Stepdad

Afterall it was just as dangerous for Joseph to raise Jesus as it was for Mary to tell the world that she was pregnant. Even though they were not married, they were engaged. If Joseph were to admit that he slept with Mary before Marrying her, her brothers would have killed him. If he told the world that it was not his baby – then he was just as guilty as she was. If he told his neighbors that he was raising the son of God – they would have killed him
And yet he agreed to do just that – to become the stepdad for God’s son. In today’s world a man who chooses to raise a child that is not his own is pretty common. There are men who adopt children, men who raise foster children, men who marry or live with women with children who raise them, and even men who know that a child is not theirs biologically, but they make the decision to raise the child anyway. This is all pretty normal today. But back then, and even today in middle eastern countries that could mean death.

Joseph’s Dream

And if it wasn’t for a dream – it would not have happen. An angel of the lord came to Joseph in a dream and told him not be afraid.
The angel uses the reference of Isaiah – a virgin shall give birth to a child and name him Emmanuel – God with us.
Joel asks us how do we know that God is with us – our old men shall have dreams and our young men shall have visions.
Matthew is a call to action to our men – to dream, to vision, to carry the dreams of God forward out into the world in whatever you do.
Advent is the chance for all of us to dream, not of the world as we want it, but to dream of the world as God intended. To look at our life, to look at life in general and to take account of what needs to change, and what we need to do to change it.
Dreaming for dreams sake is useless. Our dreams don’t always make sense by themselves. How do we know if our dreams are messages from God, or something that we made up in our imagination.

Joseph and Ahaz

Afterall, the old testament was about a man and his dreams. Ahaz was the king of isreal, struggling with the right thing to do for his country. And he asked for a sign to know God’s will. He was given a sign, but he chose to ignore it.
The sign was the same as Joseph – young maiden would give birth, and by the time the baby was old enough to go to kindergarten the threat would be over and everything would be okay. All he needed to do was trust in the Lord – that the Lord is always in control and will take care of everything.
What was the difference between Ahaz and Joseph? How do we know if our dreams,our visions our signs are really from God?

A righteous Man

The bible calls Joseph – a tsaddik man – a righteous man. A man who is intentional to be faithful in all of his relationships. A man who never turns his back on those in his life. A man who always prays in order to determine in all things what is the right things to do, and what is the wrong things to do. And always intentionally chooses the right thing – no matter what the personal cost. A man who is willing to follow the will of God, even when it is unpopular and puts us at risk in the minds of other people.
As disciples- we are all called to be tsaddik – righteous. And advent is our time to look at our integrity in our relationships and to always do the right things.

The Gold diggers and the new baby
There was a commotion in Roaring Camp. Cherokee Sal, the only woman in this rough, tough mining settlement, was dead after giving birth to a son whose father was unknown. Around the crude cabin where the newborn child lay helpless and crying, the hundred or so hard-bitten goldrush miners gathered in curiosity and concern. Death was so common here, but birth - this was a whole new experience.



Stumpy, a fugitive from justice on charges of bigamy, had by common consent taken charge of the little one's arrival. Shortly he allowed the miners to view the new baby, suggesting that it would be appropriate to make a contribution for the helpless orphan. So they came filing in, unconsciously taking off their hats in the presence of this miracle of new life, and putting their gifts at his side - a revolver, a diamond ring, a sling shot and a silver spoon. But now what to do?

The next day the inhabitants of Roaring Camp met in serious deliberation, and without the usual slugging and brawling, decided that working together they would all help raise this child. Stumpy was designated the particular guardian with a female mule as his first assistant. Strange to say, the little one thrived under their care, and equally strange was the effect on Roaring Camp. The little infant was named "Tommy Luck." His cabin, a filthy mess before he had been born there, was scrupulously cleaned, whitewashed and fixed up. A cradle was packed in by mule, and that made all the rest of the makeshift furniture so shabby in contrast that by common consensus, the whole place had to be done over.

In turn the local gambling joint and bar, the so-called grocery store, had to be spruced up to be in keeping with the Luck's cabin, and before long, the remainder of the settlement followed suit. This, and Stumpy's remarkable but understandable refusal to let anybody hold the Luck unless he was spotlessly clean, shaven and shorn, produced miracles in the miners' appearances. And equally amazing was the change in their conduct. Shouting within sound of Tommy's cabin was forbidden, lest he be wakened, and shortly the usual profanity was practically given up as not right for their boy to hear. From being Roaring Camp, the ugly drunken frontier settlement became, as one Cockney criminal inhabitant expressed it, "kind of 'eavenly." There was talk of further improvement and even of inviting some decent families to live there to benefit Tommy Luck with their presence. Word got around to the outside world of this miracle of change through the pony express riders who would say, "They've a street up there in Roaring Camp that's better than any street in Red Dog. They've got vines and flowers round their cabins, and they wash themselves twice a day ... and they sure worship an Injun baby."


Advent is our chance to become righteous disciples

Advent is your chance to clean up your house for the coming of the new baby. God really doesn’t care about the condition of your physical house – but the condition of your spiritual house.
Is your heart prepared for the coming of Christ into the world? Are you right in all of your relationships? Or is there something that you need to work on. Is your relationship with God the most important thing in your life? Or is there something that you need to put aside?
Finally in Jesus day, there was no such thing as a DNA test to prove whether you were the father of your wife’s baby. A righteous mans word was always the final determination. If the man came forward and claimed the baby as his own – and he was willing to give the baby a name- then the baby was his a part of his family, irregardless of the circumstances, and whether everyone else knew your business.
His destiny named his Emmanuel, his daddy named him Jesus. He promised to be God with us – even to the end of the age. Let us pray…….