ADVENT IV-A -- December 19, 2004

For me, the highlight of the Advent Season happens this Sunday but not at this Service. Now I have nothing against our worship this morning. The Eucharist is always the highlight of my Sundays. But this is a special Sunday. This is the Sunday of our annual Children’s Christmas Pageant. That’s why it is the highlight of the Advent Season for me. In fact, it is almost the highlight of the year for everyone. The church is usually full -- with proud and smiling parents and grandparents and godparents all there to support their little ones. I trust this year will be no exception.

As with most Christmas pageants -- and this year will be no exception -- there are always lots of characters -- shepherds and wise men and angels; even sheep and goats and camels; and of course, Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus. Over the many years of my priesthood, the oldest girl always seemed to get to play Mary and the tallest boy got to play Joseph. And it always seemed that Joseph was almost an extra to the production. The wise men brought gifts; the shepherds knelt in adoration. Mary held baby Jesus. And Joseph just stood there, almost like a bump on a log.

But I have always liked Joseph, maybe partly because Joseph is my middle name, maybe partly because as a child I sometimes felt like a bump on a log. So, if you don't mind, I would like to reflect with you for a few moments about Joseph and what he means to you and me in the whole of the Christmas story.

We all know that story very well. Joseph was engaged to Mary. It was probably a pre-arranged marriage, as were most marriages back then. But Joseph discovered before the wedding that she was pregnant. Now Joseph knew that he wasn't the father. I don't know about you, but if I had been in Joseph's place, I would have been rather upset. Maybe the marriage had been arranged. Maybe Joseph and Mary were not truly in love; but at least Mary should have had the decency to save herself, as they say, for Joseph.

But Joseph had an out. He could legally have Mary executed, stoned to death, because she had obviously committed adultery. And no one would have blamed him, not even Mary's family. The law said that adulterers should be stoned to death, publicly executed. So Joseph was within his legal rights to demand that justice be done. On the other had, Joseph could have chosen to be fair to Mary; accept her explanation of how she became pregnant, and simply divorce Mary quietly. She could then go live with her family and raise her illegitimate child.

But if Joseph would have done what was legal or even what was fair, there would be no Christmas. After all, with Mary dead, there would be no Jesus. With Jesus as an illegitimate child, there would be no acceptable teaching. You see, the Jewish faith was a family faith and only one who was from a real family could teach family values.

Fortunately for us and for all of humanity, Joseph chose to do neither that which was legal nor even that which was fair, but he chose to do that which was best. Joseph went beyond the law. Joseph went beyond fair. He reached out to what was best for everyone involved. It was not an easy decision. But that was Joseph's decision. And that is why we can celebrate Christmas this week, this year, always.

But there is more to the Joseph story than Christmas. There is more to Joseph than a man who went beyond doing what was legal and what was fair to doing what was best. Joseph was Jesus’ father, his so-called "foster father." But Joseph was more than that. He was truly a father to Jesus. And years later, when Jesus began his ministry, when he began to describe to people who he was, Jesus’ life with Joseph played a very important part.

Jesus described God as Father. Now there is a big debate going on in the church about how to describe God. Is God father? Is God mother? Is God father-mother? Is God Creator? How do we describe God? If we listen to Jesus, God is like the person who was father to him, Joseph. Jesus, in the language that he spoke, Aramaic, called God Abba. That is translated as "Daddy." Joseph was Jesus’ Dad, someone who did not just what was legal or even fair, but someone who always did what was best.

And isn't that, in a very real way, what Christmas is all about? Isn't Christmas all about what Joseph was all about -- always trying to do the very best we can? We can always justify doing only what the law requires, no more and no less. We can always even justify doing what is truly the fair thing to do in every situation. But do always want to do what is best, even if it isn’t always the legal thing to do, even if it isn’t even the fairest thing to do, isn't always doing what is best what Christmas, what Jesus’ father, what Joseph, calls us to do? I think so.

God came among us at Bethlehem through people like Joseph. God still comes among us today through people like Joseph. May we be such people, people who always try to do what is best for everyone -- just like Jesus, just like Jesus’ father, Joseph.