The day of the congregation’s annual Christmas pageant brought quite a dilemma.  On the night of the big event, the evening of that fourth Advent Sunday, the director came running down the hall of the church.  She had been in the fellowship hall where all the young actors were gathering to put on their costumes.  Breathlessly, she was proclaiming, “We have no Joseph!  We have no Joseph!” 

          In a panic, she explained to her pastor that the kid who was to play Joseph was taken by a terrible bout of nausea just before he was to leave home and come to church.  His mother had called to say that he wouldn’t be in the pageant.  So, thirty minutes before the pageant, there was no Joseph. 

          The minister said, “Well, let some shepherd stand sort of near the manger with Mary.  Nobody will notice the absence of Joseph.  He doesn’t even have a speaking part in the story.” 

          Everything went fine.  The pageant went off without a hitch.  But, in light of today’s gospel reading, I question the propriety of dismissing Joseph from the Christmas scene.  We need a Joseph.  I’m wondering where we can find a Joseph.[1]

          He’s easy to overlook.  Mary, on the other hand, is front and center stage.   The early verses of Luke tell us a lot about her.  But Joseph….he was just a small town carpenter who I suspect was leading a well-ordered life. 

          Into Joseph’s well-ordered universe God intrudes.  When God comes, things become topsy-turvy, a little messy for Joseph.  His fiancé, Mary, is pregnant. 

I suspect shock waves swept over Joseph when he received that news as he began to question Mary’s sanity and her moral standards. 

          After a quick recovery from the shock, Joseph shifted his attention to the question of how he was going to respond to the news.  “What am I to do about our engagement?  What am I to do about Mary, about this baby?”

          Joseph is a righteous man.  He knows the scriptures.  He lives according to the law.  Joseph has the same righteousness exhibited over the centuries by his ancestors.  For such a righteous man, the choices are clear: cast Mary aside in disgrace or have her stoned in the public square, for all to see.  Both are perfectly legal, perfectly righteous options. 

          Joseph did that which was inconsistent with the norms of that day and place. He viewed the scriptures not only through the lens of torah but also through the lens of the loving and merciful nature of God. Joseph sought another solution, another path out of this awkward and messy situation.   

          The night of the day that Joseph learned of Mary’s pregnancy, I imagine Joseph could not rest.  He tried to close his eyes and keep them shut, but couldn’t.  He could only stare into the layers of darkness between him and the ceiling above.  Filled with agony, Joseph pondered and weighed the choices. The law and righteousness, on the one hand- Mary and my genuine love for her, on the other hand.  Then, the decision came to him.  It would be a way to honor both Mary and the law: a quiet divorce that would not publicly embarrass Mary or put her or the baby in danger.  Having made his decision, Joseph fell asleep.  

          Not long after Joseph fell asleep, an angel appears to him in a dream.  According to theologian Walter Brueggemann, the angel tells Joseph that “what appears to be a moral outrage is, in fact, a holy disruption. The child in Mary’s womb is not a violation of God’s will, but an expression of it, a gift from the Holy Spirit.”[2] 

          “Go ahead and marry her, Joseph”, the angel said.  “When Mary gives birth, name the child Jesus, for he is one who will save people from their sins.” 

          When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel told him.  He took Mary as his wife.  After Mary gave birth, Joseph named the baby Jesus.  Joseph offers a portrait of righteousness, yes, and, also, of obedience to God’s directives.  Joseph stepped into the future, not knowing exactly what the future might bring.  He trusts Emmanuel, trusts that God is with him showing his grace in the midst of a circumstance that at first seemed full of disgrace. 

Unlike Mary, Joseph sings no songs.  He makes no speeches.  Silently, without a lot of attention, Joseph assumes his place in the unfolding Christmas story. Through Joseph’s actions, God’s mercy and love become incarnate in the world.

Do you see the importance of having a Joseph on stage, of having this man of trust, obedience and faith as part of the story of God’s incarnate grace?    

          I am wondering where we can find a Joseph for this year’s unfolding drama of the Christmas story and of God’s story of love and mercy merging with our life’s story. 

Is there a Joseph among us, someone willing to step onto the stage, not really knowing fully what awaits him there, but trusting fully the one who meets him and empowers him for service?  Is there someone-perhaps even somebody short on words-willing to go wherever God leads, even into scandalous situations if necessary for God’s love and mercy to become incarnate? 

          Is there a Joseph present today?  What Joseph is and does is what God would have us be and do. When we trust and do what is kind and merciful and loving, in heaven there is great rejoicing; great rejoicing when the child is born into our lives and through us into the life of the world; great rejoicing when God’s love becomes incarnate in us!