Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Give Us This Day

Home
Evangelical
Christmas Eve – Matthew 1:18-25

Christmas Eve – Matthew 1:18-25

Last updated on: December 22, 2015 at 6:59 pm by Fr. Charles Erlandson

Christmas Eve – Matthew 1:18-25 2015-12-22T18:59:10-05:00 Fr. Charles Erlandson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Matthew 1:18-25

Emmanuel – “God with us.” That is the great theme of Christmas.

When God became man, even His infant presence brought blessing to all who beheld Him. We think of faithful Anna, ministering at the temple, and of Simeon. John the Baptist kicked in the womb when he felt the presence of Mary and of the blessed Jesus still inside her. And of course Mary was the most highly favored one of all.

The characters and plots of the Christmas story are familiar to all of us. But there is one person who is often neglected in the Christmas, someone who has much to teach us. He is the focus of this morning’s gospel lesson and much of the first two chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. He is who I call “The Forgotten Man of Christmas,” and his name is Joseph.

Where is Joseph in the whirlwind of activity of the birth of the Savior of the World?

As I meditated on the life of Joseph, I took an informal survey of the portrayal of the Christmas story in art through the centuries. I looked at approximately 100 paintings depicting scenes such as the birth in the stable, the visits of the shepherds and magi, and the flight into Egypt. I was amused at what I found. In some paintings I found just what I expected: a Joseph in the thick of things, looking adoringly at his son who was also the Son of God. But in a large percentage of the paintings I found Joseph portrayed in the following ways:

absent, to the side, way in the back, way in the back to the side, way in the back beating chestnuts (in one painting), with his back to us, with his back carrying a saw, and asleep (sometimes with his head in his hands). The consensus opinion of tradition seemed to portray Joseph as “bewildered and inadequate,” “tired and burdened.”

But when I read the Gospel According to St. Matthew, that isn’t the portrait I see. Instead, I marvel at how much attention he gave to this Joseph. I find a Joseph who is a godly father, and a Joseph who is an example to us of faith, as well as an example of God’s grace in our lives.

If you try to imagine Christmas without Joseph, if you imagine for a moment the Holy Family, there is a gaping hole without the silent but strong presence of Joseph. Without a Joseph, Jesus would grow up the son of an unwed mother. It would be hard to imagine the Jews seriously considering His claims had he grown up in such a fashion. It’s probable that he already had to contend with jeers and sneers on account of the fact that Mary was pregnant before she married Joseph. But in time these would have been forgotten because the fact was that Jesus did have a human father.

And Joseph was a true father to Jesus. And I think I’ve got a lot of pressure on me as a father! Can you imagine what a burden it would have been to have to raise a son who was the Son of God? When do you assert your fatherly prerogatives, and when do you hold back for fear that you might be in the wrong? What do you do when your little son begins correcting you?

And how must Joseph worried at times, knowing he was the human protector of and provider for God’s Son on earth! In spite of the angelic words of comfort, wouldn’t he have been a little afraid when he heard Herod wanted to kill this special son of his, whom he was to protect?

But Joseph was truly the father of Jesus.

Joseph was there to give Jesus advice as He grew in grace and stature. He was there to teach Jesus about God from the time He was born. Children form a great deal of their conception of God from their fathers. Even the mere presence of Joseph, who is all too often absent in art, would have been important to Jesus. And Jesus had to grow in His knowledge of God just like the rest of us. It must have been the wisdom, righteousness, and faithfulness of Jesus’ earthly father that provided him with much of his ever-growing knowledge of His heavenly Father.

Joseph gave Jesus his trade. In time, the Son of God became a carpenter, just like his earthly father. Joseph must have spent many hours with his son Jesus teaching him the tools and techniques of his trade. And though Jesus was without sin, that doesn’t mean that he could drive a nail straight the first time he held a hammer or that he never hit Joseph’s thumb when learning to hammer. After all, Jesus would still have been a little human boy holding sharp objects in his hands!

Joseph also gave Jesus his name and lineage and inheritance. But Joseph was willing to give Jesus his good name even though Jesus would not be his natural son. He unhesitatingly adopted Jesus as his own son and treated him just as a natural born son, in fact giving him the place as his firstborn, with all of its rights and privileges. Joseph had to agree to make a part of his family and to give his name to one who was not of his flesh and blood.

We know that Mary pondered or treasured all of the events surrounding Jesus in her heart. But what must have Joseph felt, knowing that it was his name that was to be given to Jesus: Jesus, the carpenter’s son, or Jesus bar Joseph of Nazareth. And in fact, it was Joseph who was given the privilege of naming the child, in obedience to the angel’s word. Unlike his relative Zacharias, Joseph believed and obeyed, and Joseph called his son’s name Jesus, “He saves.”

But Joseph was also a righteous man of God whose example of faith we would do well to follow, for wherever we find Joseph in the Gospels we find him doing what is right.

Even before Joseph hears the good news of his son, Matthew makes a point of telling us that Joseph was a just man. Though his betrothed, his wife to be Mary, had apparently gotten herself pregnant out of wedlock by a man other than Joseph, we see no signs of jealousy or hatred or spite or revenge on the part of Joseph. Instead, we find in Matthew 1:19 that he “was a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.” Even though he had apparently been wronged, he would not do wrong back. He had no desire to “teach Mary a lesson” or to publicly humiliate her.

Next, we find Joseph being visited by the angel for the first time. The angel tells Joseph to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. Now I’m sure Joseph had many questions about what the angel said. There was so much he must not have understood, for who could comprehend such marvelous and mysterious words! But we see no sign of hesitation in Joseph, only a simply comment in v. 24 “Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him. . . .”

How different from the response of Abraham and Sarah or Zacharias when he was told the news of John the Baptist, also by an angel! They laughed or questioned. Joseph quietly believed and obeyed.

Joseph responded just as faithfully when the angel told him to flee to Egypt from Herod’s slaughter of the innocents. When it was time to return back to Israel, we find that Joseph was afraid to go back, for the son of Herod was now ruling. But this is what we read in Matthew 2:22 “But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee.”

Isn’t Joseph, in this passage, the very essence of faith? Being afraid of the personal consequences in store for us, we nevertheless obey the word of God when He speaks to us. In this forgotten man of Christmas, we find the kind of faith we all wish we had.

There is one final reason we should remember Joseph this Christmas, and that is because he is a symbol of the grace which we all receive from Jesus Christ.

Hail, Mary full of grace!! the angel sang. But he could just have easily sung “Hail, Joseph, full of grace!” It’s true that Mary carried the Son of God in her womb, but Jesus was no less a son of Joseph, whose name and inheritance, and blessing and trade he took.

Joseph, of all the men who ever lived, was chosen to be the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we have already seen, this was no easy task, and perhaps the old masters were right in painting Joseph as burdened and tired, bewildered and inadequate. But he was faithful in all that God had given him to do while here on earth.

If Mary, the recipient of an angelic visit, was full of grace, then Joseph, the recipient of three angelic visits, was certainly also full of grace. God’s unmerited favor, His grace, came down upon Joseph.

We have already seen that Jesus was adopted into the family of Joseph and given his name. But in a more important sense Joseph was adopted into the family of Jesus-the family of God. Joseph, being a just man who feared God, had to be brought to a knowledge of Jesus his son, Jesus the Son of God.

This, above all other things in the life of Joseph, demonstrated the grace of God.

In a way, many of us may feel like forgotten men, women, and children. Forgotten, neglected – even rejected. Maybe someone on your Christmas card list forgot to send you a card or maybe some of you kids didn’t get for Christmas all that you expected. Maybe for some of us the gifts we could afford weren’t quite as nice this year. Or perhaps more seriously for some reason we can’t seem to find it within ourselves to rejoice in this season of Christmas. Maybe there are trials on the job or at home, within our own families.

At times, we all feel forgotten.

But Christmas is a time for all to remember, to remember that God is indeed with us. If you believe that Jesus, the son of Joseph, is the Lord who was born to die for our sins, then you will be adopted as a child of God. God has adopted us, and like Joseph He has made us all a part of His Holy Family – the church.

There are no forgotten Christians at Christmas time, for God has remembered His people. God came to earth to be with us, and when He came, He came bearing gifts for all who love Him.

Resolution: I resolve to find one way to imitate Joseph today by my acts of faith and faithfulness or by acknowledging myself to be the recipient of God’s grace and responding appropriately.

Prayer: Almighty God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end.

Point for Meditation:

How can I be more faithful in my calling, as Joseph was in his calling as a father?
How can I demonstrate more faith, as Joseph did in accepting Mary and Jesus and protecting them in the face of fear?
How can I accept more freely and joyfully the grace of Jesus Christ in my life today?

Book of Common Prayer

Fr. Charles Erlandson

Previous Post

December 22, 2015

Wednesday of the Fourth Sunday in Advent - Revelation 21:9-27

Next Post

December 22, 2015 Christmas Day - 1 John 4:7-14

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Reviews Featured Give Us This Day Give Us This Day Devotional love me love my wife Love My Wife Reformed Catholicism Blog Spirit-Reality Take This Cup Uncategorized

Select a Month February 2022 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 September 2018 July 2018 March 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What major prophet often used object lessons, such as a ruined loincloth?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Malachi Isaiah Jeremiah Habakkuk