On the eve of the Christ-Mass

On this holy night, dear friends in God, may the peace which passes understanding calm the war in the world and the war in our hearts. And may we keep watch, even during the holy feast, for the coming of the peaceable Kingdom. Below is Advent 4's sermon...

4 Advent A RCL 2007
(Isaiah 7: 10-16; Ps 80; Rom 1: 1-7; Matthew 1: 18-25)

This is how God chose to change the world.

There was no new program, there was no new plan. There was no new candidate, there was no new throne. God chose an old, old way, one that had been spoken of and written of from days beyond days, from the beginning of speech and thought about the one God. And with that old, old way, God chose to make all things new.

NPR reported on the Presidential candidates’ Christmas ads. One appeals to God, another to family. One sits under a Christmas tree unwrapping gifts addressed to the country. “Universal health care” says one box, “balanced budget” says another. Sounds like pretty cool presents. But the real gift that the world wants and needs is not given on camera, paid for by rich contributors, produced for political mileage. The real gift is prepared somewhere else, in the home of someone unknown, far from the glittering glamorous centers of power and control.

A prophet said to a king, “Ask for a real sign from God.” The king refused to ask. So we got the sign instead. A poor woman will have a child, born homeless and soon to running for his life. He shall be God-with-us, and when he comes he will astonish us. He is the one, says passionate Paul, who is of royal blood yet comes poor and humble, whose royal throne was the cross and tomb and whose coronation was rising from the dead. Peace, peace and grace will be ours for ever through his name.

And because he comes as one of the poor, he needs us to give him shelter. He needs us to take him in. He will not force himself through divine decree or threat of violence or even majority vote. He needs us to say “Yes”.

At Christmas we usually think of Mary’s “yes”. “Yes” to the angel’s words, “yes” to the astounding, terrifying, transforming adventure of bearing God to birth and beyond.

But today we have the other Christmas “yes”. We have a quiet “yes”, Joseph’s “yes”. Joseph, the average Joe from Palestine, named for the beloved son of Jacob, the master of dreams. The first Joseph listened in his dreams for the whisper of God, and so first escaped prison and then saved his whole clan from certain death. This new Joseph listens to his dreams as well, and by listening to his dreams delivers us all from slavery. He listens and obeys, although it costs him. “Hey Joe, your fiance’s pregnant, and of course the kid’s not yours. Marry her anyway. Raise the kid like your own. The kid is God’s, and in a way hard to explain the kid IS God.”

No one would have blamed Joe if he’d quietly let the pregnant girl go and moved on. But he listened to his dream, and trusted that there was a God who moved and breathed in the world and could do a new thing. He trusted that even if what God wanted seemed outrageous, it was for the good of us all. He trusted that God’s plan for his life might be better than his own plan. Joseph trusted that God’s will was better than the wills of all the powerful and the wealthy of the world. A priest recently said, “Joseph's mastery of fear should inform our faith. His loyalty to Mary should inform our relationships. His accepting of God's name should inform our priorities.”

To master our fear. To hear the whisper of God in our sleeping or waking dreams. To be loyal to those whom we love. To accept and obey the strange, loving will of God. The way of Joseph may seem hard. But the way of Joseph leads to wonders.