Christmas is my favorite holiday. I have fond memories of Christmas growing up, my parents did a lot to make our Christmas morning special. As we all know, these last few years have been rough. No matter how difficult the year is, Christmas always represents joy and hope to me. This year I am reading a book on Advent, anticipating Christ in my Christmas. I love this quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.” This sums it up well for me.
The book I am reading to build on that anticipation is called “The Journey, Walking The Road To Bethlehem” by Adam Hamilton. He emphasizes that we are called as Christians to be modern day Immanuel's to those around us. To notice the vulnerable, the one who does not have a voice. The one who may feel like a Nobody. To be a modern-day Immanuel is to be a physical reminder of God’s presence and love. When I am going through tough times, that’s the main thing I need to know - that God is with me and loves me.
In reading about Joseph, who we don’t know as much about as Mary, I am struck with how much he was a part of the miracle too. We read that Joseph learned that his young betrothed was pregnant, Matthew tells us that Mary “was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.” Joseph must not have believed the story Mary told about the angel and the virginal conception; if he had believed it, he would not have been looking for a way to break off the engagement. Was he devastated? He likely felt dishonored, humiliated and hurt. “Joseph knew that after he ended the engagement, everyone would soon discover that Mary was pregnant. They would naturally assume that Joseph was the Father and that he has slept with her……It was not his obedience to the law, nor his pursuit of justice, that defined Joseph’s righteousness. Instead, it was Joseph’s compassion and mercy that led Matthew to call him righteous.
At the very moment when Joseph was at his lowest, God was at work in Mary’s womb, doing the greatest thing God had done since the creative of the human race……God was inviting Joseph to play a critical part in this plan. Something amazing was about to happen, but Joseph could not see this yet.” That night Joseph went to sleep and had a dream that was almost a vision, The Messenger said “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matt 1:20-21. This new Immanuel was God’s way of assuring humanity that no matter how dark your circumstances, no matter how afraid you might be, no matter what is happening in your life or in the world around you, God is always with you. Jesus is the visible sign from God that God is with us.
As Christ followers, we too are called to be signs of Immanuel - of God’s Presence in the world and to be visible reminders of hope.” We are called to remind those hurting, vulnerable, and without a voice that God has not forgotten them.
The author, Adam Hamilton contrasts the life of Joseph with the life of Herod, the King of Judah during Joseph’s lifetime: Herod “the Great”. He sought praises and admiration. “He hoped to be seen as the messianic king the prophets foretold, even if he did not meet the criteria. Unlike Jesus and Joseph, Herod had nothing of the servant’s heart.” For him greatness was found in affirmation and acknowledgement and a life of ease and luxury. He sought to prove his own greatness and to secure his place in history. He rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem, exceeding the splendor of Solomon even. “He built cities and seaports, fortresses and palaces.” He made a man-made mountain in the desert - his winter palace and fortress. It rose 400 feet in the air and was adjacent to Bethlehem. “It could be seen from nearly anywhere in Bethlehem….The ruins of Herod’s monuments stand as a testimony to a man who was remembered for his self-centeredness, self indulgence, and arrogance. Joseph, on the other hand, left no monuments. We don’t have a single recorded word he spoke. In contrast, he was a simple, humble man who did what God asked…..When we look at Joseph, we are meant to see God’s call to humble service and obedience. Most of us want to be like Joseph - to serve God and others, without regard for recognition and affirmation. Yet there is enough of Herod in us that sometimes we we get discouraged because nobody seems to notice us.
Joseph’s task of raising Jesus and teaching him how to be a man, he did this without recognition, without the praise of others, solely because God called him in a dream to care for God’s Son….God favors the humble rather than the proud.” We are called to serve and represent Him to a hurting and broken world. To show the world that Hope is worth hanging onto. Merry Christmas!