Christmas on Canal — Take Mary Home

This is how. This is the Genesis (Matthew 1:1, geneology; 1:18, birth). The goal with the genealogy of Jesus is to confirm him as a descendant of Abraham and David and therefore qualified to be the Promised One. 

Last week we read Luke’s introductory history of the birth of Jesus beginning with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist through an angel in the Temple. Matthew skips the birth of John and goes right to the birth of Jesus, calling it the New Testament “genesis” in Matthew 1:1 and 1:18. 

I have studied the Bible all my life. But I seldom read or studied church tradition. I was startled when I first visited the Holy Land to hear the guide talk about the people and places of church tradition—people like Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary. The Protoevangelium of James (an infancy narrative written around A.D. 150) gives us their names and describes them as a wealthy couple who were infertile for many years, leading Joachim to fast for forty days and nights in hopes of having a child. 

In fact, the guide took us to the ruins of a home in Zippori, about six miles from Nazareth, and told us that this was the childhood home of Mary. We knew that to be speculation on his part. But it was interesting to imagine Mary’s house and parents and the environment in which she grew up. 

Respond to Life with Faith and Love:

"'do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.'" - Matthew 1:20 

“Found to be pregnant.” God is at work in your circumstances even though they seem difficult, even terrible, and all your choices seem wrong. 

Your Dilemma as a Faithful Person 

• You keep the law of love. You try to live within the revealed will of God, loving your neighbor, your family, your friends, and treating them as persons whom God loves.

• Those you love do not keep this law of love. They hurt themselves and others. They break their promises. 

Joseph is likely older than Mary. He may even be a widower as tradition suggests. 

• Joseph has a home. He is taking Mary into his home.

• Mary is only 14 years old, according to tradition. She is now pregnant. Everything about this situation is extremely difficult for Joseph. 

Joseph is filled with fears for himself, for Mary, and for his family. He is thinking about, considering, what to do. 

• He does not know who the father is. Was she raped? Does she have a lover? Is she the person he thought her to be?

• He does not want to receive a wife who loves another.

• He does not want a stranger claiming Mary’s child.

• He does not want to harm Mary who is barely a teenager, exposing her to public scandal and perhaps stoning.

• Divorce her quietly, he reasons. 

But the angel basically says, “Love Her and Protect Her. She is God’s chosen vessel for his greatest miracle.” 

• Don’t be afraid this Christmas. Your family situation is no surprise to God. 

Your family needs your faith not your fear.  

Believe the Miracle:

"'what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.'" Matthew 1:20 

Joseph is told by the angel--probably Gabriel--in a dream that Mary is still a virgin. Joseph is asked to believe that Mary is still pure, that she has not betrayed his trust, and that her pregnancy is the result of a divine plan to bring the Messiah to the human race. 

This miracle is called the Supernatural Conception. It is the miracle that begins the Incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth. The miracle that ends that incarnation is his resurrection from the dead. 

The Angel clarifies for Joseph—and for us—the event of Mary’s pregnancy and its meaning. 

• Jesus had no earthly father. His father was God. The first prophecy in the Bible about the coming of the Messiah many would identify as the word to Adam and Eve that the “seed of the woman” would crush the head of the serpent.

• Jesus was the fruit of Mary’s womb, her son. He was fully human but not merely human.

• God Became Human in Jesus of Nazareth, distinguished by two miracles, the virgin birth (miraculous conception) and the resurrection. These are one-time events in human history. They begin and end the incarnation of God in human flesh. 

This is the meaning of Christmas. Christmas is not simply a celebration about the goodness in people or the goodness in the world. Christmas is the celebration of the birthday of the Messiah—his Virgin Birth. 

You are asked to believe the truth of this miracle—that God became human in Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus came from God, and in his ascension he returned to God. 

Receive the Savior:

"'he will save his people from their sins.'" Matthew 1:21 

The Name: Joshua. Two Joshuas have great importance in the Old Covenant. 

• The first is the Captain of the Hosts of Israel, Joshua, who leads them in the conquest of the Promised Land.

• The second is Joshua the High Priest after they returned from captivity in Babylon.

• Jesus is called the Captain of our Salvation and our High Priest. 

The Salvation: from sins. 

• The Human Condition is that we are sinners. When we learn to discern right from wrong, we inevitably choose to do wrong. We hurt ourselves and others with our choices. We have freedom of choice, and we are responsible. We are accountable for our actions.

• This universal scourge of sinfulness brings shame and guilt upon us. We know that we cannot fix this ourselves, that we are broken.

• God sent the Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, born of a virgin, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. 

Immanuel: “God with us” 

• This is the meaning of the Incarnation. God is with us. 

• This is the heart of our salvation. God is with us. 

• This is what brings us “good tidings of comfort and joy”—God is with us. 

This is the kind of King we have. 

Follow Through:

"'he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him.'" - Matthew 1:24 

Joseph knew how to follow orders. He proved this every time we encounter him in the Scripture. 

Sometimes what we really lack in our faith is follow through. We have good intentions. We make good promises. But we do not follow through. 

Christmas is a time to recommit ourselves to following God in his faithfulness to us.