Day 14: The Story of Joseph

The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.

While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus – ‘God saves’ – because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this – a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son.

They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for ‘God is with us’).

Isaiah 7

Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25, The Message

What did it take for Joseph to do EXACTLY what God’s angel commanded? It’s a fantastic story, so long as it keeps its distance from us! But God refuses to keep his distance. He moves in on us - gently, lovingly, graciously and mercifully. But he moves in nonetheless.

He gives and he asks. His giving is not dependent upon us answering all his questions, “YES!” because he gives out of a wellspring of lovingkindness. I find this incentivizing in a world that often feels like love is conditional.

Joseph was an ordinary guy asked to do an extraordinary thing. Most of us will never be asked to do something so extraordinary. So with the pressure off - what would you be willing to do as an expression of loving (attitude) kindness (action)?

Day 14: The Story of Joseph

The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.

While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus – ‘God saves’ – because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this – a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son.

They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for ‘God is with us’).

Isaiah 7

Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25, The Message

What did it take for Joseph to do EXACTLY what God’s angel commanded? It’s a fantastic story, so long as it keeps its distance from us! But God refuses to keep his distance. He moves in on us - gently, lovingly, graciously and mercifully. But he moves in nonetheless.

He gives and he asks. His giving is not dependent upon us answering all his questions, “YES!” because he gives out of a wellspring of lovingkindness. I find this incentivizing in a world that often feels like love is conditional.

Joseph was an ordinary guy asked to do an extraordinary thing. Most of us will never be asked to do something so extraordinary. So with the pressure off - what would you be willing to do as an expression of loving (attitude) kindness (action)?

Day 15: The Story of Mary

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, beautiful inside and out! God be with you.

She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.’ The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; He will rule Jacob’s house forever—no end, ever, to his kingdom.”

Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”

And Mary said,“Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.Then the angel left her. Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly, “You’re so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed! And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, the babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true!”

Luke 1:26-45 The Message

And they wait. They believed what God said.

So unlikely - two women, one an old barren wife of a priest, the other a young virgin from a blue-collar neighborhood engaged to a carpenter. They knew. They understood. They worshipped. They waited.

What is something unlikely, but totally like God to do, that you need to know, understand, believe and wait for?

Day 15: The Story of Mary

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, beautiful inside and out! God be with you.

She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.’ The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; He will rule Jacob’s house forever—no end, ever, to his kingdom.”

Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”

And Mary said,“Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.Then the angel left her. Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly, “You’re so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed! And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, the babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true!”

Luke 1:26-45 The Message

And they wait. They believed what God said.

So unlikely - two women, one an old barren wife of a priest, the other a young virgin from a blue-collar neighborhood engaged to a carpenter. They knew. They understood. They worshipped. They waited.

What is something unlikely, but totally like God to do, that you need to know, understand, believe and wait for?

Day 16: The First Advent...

When the first recorded evidence of the Advent tradition occurred so very long ago, they were not the first people to wait:

During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old.

It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering. Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.

But the angel reassured him, “Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.

“He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he’ll get the people ready for God.”

Zachariah said to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.”

But the angel said, “I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time—God’s time.” ...When the course of his priestly assignment was completed, he went back home. It wasn’t long before his wife, Elizabeth, conceived. She went off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy. “So, this is how God acts to remedy my unfortunate condition!” she said.

Luke 1:5-20, 23-25 The Message

As we wait, we remember how God has acted towards his people in the past; oftentimes, even the good guys, like Zachariah struggled to make sense of what God was up to. If you’re feeling confused about who God is and what he is up to, if the signs of God’s presence seem fuzzy and out-of-sync to you, you are not the first person nor will you be the last to question God. Breathe.