It was a quiet man, a sturdy, stable, and practical soul that was chosen to fulfill an important role in the glory of the story of Christmas. After Joseph heard that Mary left town, he had been considering all the consequences. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him not to be afraid, but to take Mary as his wife, because the child conceived within her was from the Holy Spirit. The angel announced that Mary would give birth to a son, and His was to be Jesus. This child would somehow save people from their sins. Any person might awake from just any dream and question “what was that all about?” But Joseph was confident that he saw an angel, and he remembered every word that he was told. The instructions were clear. Get married and father a child, not your own. Puzzling and confusing, Joseph courageously obeyed.
God chose a quiet carpenter who was sensitive and obedient to the voice of God. Our Father knew Joseph would protect a young virgin who was subject to much ridicule. The child in her womb was not his, but humbly Joseph knew that this child was the Messiah, the hope of the world. He knew his first allegiance was to his heavenly Father.
With great confidence in a dream, Joseph gently packed up a pregnant unwed mother to go on a tiring expedition to Bethlehem. While birthing pains were increasing, Joseph found the stable that God had predestined. Joseph never spoke a word in the Christmas story. Thousands of years later, Joseph’s willingness to step away from the spotlight speaks volumes. Amazingly, not one word from Joseph is recorded in the Christmas story. Lesson: we may feel invisible, insignificant, or like a janitor, or a maid servant. BUT GOD —
God has His plan in place. The King has a crown for those willing to serve behind the scenes. Joseph took time to sort through a wide range of emotions when he learned that his betrothed suddenly left town. He most likely felt frustrated, confused, disgruntled and concerned about his small village would be thinking. Trusting the still small voice, Joseph, a man of integrity considered quietly breaking off his relationship with Mary. Joseph is an example of walking in faith, even when we can’t know the outcome.
Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. Joseph went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born, and Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you GOOD NEWS that will cause great JOY for all the people. Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host sang, “GLORY to GOD in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom HIS FAVOR RESTS.” Luke 2 Christmas gives us hope.
Hark the herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild. God and sinners reconciled. Joyful, all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies. With the angelic host proclaim: Christ is born in Bethlehem. Hark! The herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King! Christ by highest heav’n adored, Christ our everlasting Lord! Late in time behold Him come, offspring of a Virgin’s womb. Mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth. Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!
O come all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant.
O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, Born the King of Angels O come, let us adore Him.
Joseph trusted God and trusted a dream, and took actions that yielded generations of blessings. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Joseph walked in confidence that God gave him the dream, and he obeyed God without fetching the opinion of others. His quiet acts of kindness never went unnoticed by the One who knit us all together in our mother’s womb. Hope Rising
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Alan Kearns wrote about the personal discoveries of Mary. “The first is her personal discovery, followed by the powerful discovery, and finally, her privileged discovery. In her personal life, Mary was an ordinary lassie doing ordinary everyday things until Gabriel appeared to her “fear not Mary for you have found favour with God” – that was extraordinary.”
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