Scripture Text (NRSV)
Matthew 1:18-25
1:18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.
When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived
together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
1:19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to
expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
1:20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be
afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is
from the Holy Spirit.
1:21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he
will save his people from their sins."
1:22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the
Lord through the prophet:
1:23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they
shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."
1:24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord
commanded him; he took her as his wife,
1:25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne
a son; and he named him Jesus.
Comments:
What's in a name? Something running around in my head is that text
from Revelations that says: Behond the dwelling place of God is with
men"--Emmanuel Early ramblings. GH
On another site, it was suggested that Joseph planned to dismiss Mary
because he did not want to usurp another man's right to the child --
that this gift of a son was not his to claim. How often have we or
others been in the same place as Joseph, that Jesus is not for us,
that we have no right to claim Jesus for ourselves, that this gift
from God is not for us. The angel's intervention becomes key in this
passage -- go ahead, Joseph, name the child as is your right/claim the
child for yourself/make the child an integral part of your life. When
Joseph woke, he accepts the child as his own -- as should each of us!
OLAS
A coupled of years ago I found a narrative of Joseph that was written
in the first person. In it, Joseph explained his feelings and actions
about Mary's surprise pregnancy and such. It is a perspective we don't
often hear. I wore a costume and presented it as if I was Joseph. It
worked very well, but I have sice moved and lost my copy. Does anyone
out there have a copy? I would like to do it again. SLW
SLW, I too was planning on doing a 1st person monologue on Joseph, If
anyone does find it I would greatly appreciate it. There are a number
of Legends about Joseph, I am a desperate preacher who would like to
know as many as possible to fill in the holes that are left in
scripture about this man. cb in ttown
slw: contact me at revncarmichael@ yahoo.com I have a monolog for
both. Each is written as if the other does not exsist. Other wise I
think that one is in a companion type book written by "Faces of the
Cross". That may not be the title. The one I am using angels too. I am
also playing Amy Grants "Breath of Heaven" now to find the actors!
I am curious about all the early starts on the 4th Sunday in Advent.
Could it be that you are having Cantatas the third Sunday as is the
case at the church where I serve. I want to high light the dream
aspect of Joseph's story. This sort of reminds us of the Old Testament
Joseph. If we call persons dreamers in a modern, secular sense, we
think of them as out of touch with reality. Only occasionally do
people turn dreams into realities. Biblically speaking, dreams tell us
more about what is truly real than even that which we can observe in
the day time, fully awake. TN Mack
In our lectionary study group yesterday our main focus for this text
was on the incarnation. As part of that we worked to look beyond the
details of this story, which not all people may agree with, we looked
beyond the details to the deeper meaning, the deeper truth. And as we
went around the table, the deeper truth (beyond the details) is very
simply that God sent Jesus to be with us, to guide us, and to try
everything within his power, to save us. In my two churches on this
Sunday we're going to be concluding our stewardship campaign
"Celebrate the Faith." So my focus will be the gift of Jesus, how God
gave us him, how he gave us himself, and how in turn, we are to give
ourselves. And in response to Mack, not a cantata, but rather a Sunday
School Christmas Program! Mark in WI
I once used this scripture as the piece to let both Joseph and Mary
express all their doubts. I called it Dear Mary, Dear Joseph, and
wrote a series of letters back and forth from one to the other. A man
read the Dear Mary parts and I read the Dear Joseph parts from Mary,
explaining about this child of God. We concluded with the recording
done by the Gaither's, Mary, Did You Know? It was a powerful way to
say to people you too can express your doubts. I will need to focus a
different direction this time, so I'm thinking of Joseph's being
obedient. Any ideas out there on obedience to God's call? GH
I once used this scripture as the piece to let both Joseph and Mary
express all their doubts. I called it Dear Mary, Dear Joseph, and
wrote a series of letters back and forth from one to the other. A man
read the Dear Mary parts and I read the Dear Joseph parts from Mary,
explaining about this child of God. We concluded with the recording
done by the Gaither's, Mary, Did You Know? It was a powerful way to
say to people you too can express your doubts. I will need to focus a
different direction this time, so I'm thinking of Joseph's being
obedient. Any ideas out there on obedience to God's call? GH
When this passage came up before, I did a dialogue sermon with a man
who read Joseph's letters to Mary and I read Mary's letters to Joseph.
I called it Dear Mary, Dear Joseph. We expressed all the problems and
doubts of following God's leading when it seems crazy to do. We ended
with Joseph finally having the visit of the angel and telling Mary he
now believes her and will do all that is necesary. He ends on the
excited note of saying: Mary did you know that we are chosen to be
parents to the Messiah, to God's own son? May did you know, etc. WE
ended with the CD of Mary Did You Know which is a poplular modern
carol as if they were Joseph's words to her. It worked well, but this
time I have to come up with a new direction and I thank all of you for
the thoughts. GH
When this passage came up before, I did a dialogue sermon with a man
who read Joseph's letters to Mary and I read Mary's letters to Joseph.
I called it Dear Mary, Dear Joseph. We expressed all the problems and
doubts of following God's leading when it seems crazy to do. We ended
with Joseph finally having the visit of the angel and telling Mary he
now believes her and will do all that is necesary. He ends on the
excited note of saying: Mary did you know that we are chosen to be
parents to the Messiah, to God's own son? May did you know, etc. WE
ended with the CD of Mary Did You Know which is a poplular modern
carol as if they were Joseph's words to her. It worked well, but this
time I have to come up with a new direction and I thank all of you for
the thoughts. GH
When this passage came up before, I did a dialogue sermon with a man
who read Joseph's letters to Mary and I read Mary's letters to Joseph.
I called it Dear Mary, Dear Joseph. We expressed all the problems and
doubts of following God's leading when it seems crazy to do. We ended
with Joseph finally having the visit of the angel and telling Mary he
now believes her and will do all that is necesary. He ends on the
excited note of saying: Mary did you know that we are chosen to be
parents to the Messiah, to God's own son? May did you know, etc. WE
ended with the CD of Mary Did You Know which is a poplular modern
carol as if they were Joseph's words to her. It worked well, but this
time I have to come up with a new direction and I thank all of you for
the thoughts. GH
There is an excellent song for this Sunday from Michael Card's album
"The Final Word" called "Joseph's Song". It is a moving look at
Joseph's wonder at being chosen to be Jesus' earthly father. By the
way, there is an old Jewish saying, "You always know the mother, but
you never know the father." and so it was important on the eighth day
at the circumcision to name the child, and so on that day when Joseph
say his name is Jesus Bar Joseph, he legally became Joseph's son.
B Rock in HI
I am struck that in Year A, the beginning of the liturgical calendar,
on the fourth Sunday of Advent, the Gospel points to the scandal of
the Gospel, the subversive act that almost gets annihilated.
As Mary's pregnancy was a scandal to Joseph, so is the Gospel a
scandal.
How to we touch, handle, proclaim this scandal?
tom in ga
I've been using the Christmas Classics for advent last Sunday I used a
Christmas Carol and talked how Scrooge had visions that let him see
how others and God saw him and his need for repentance and compared
that with how others and God see us and our need for repentance. This
Sunday I used a Miracle on 34th street and talked about the trial
proving that there was a Santa then I asked the question that John
asked is Jesus who he said he is and if so what we should be doing
about it. This next Sunday I'm using the Waltons Christmas how the
Father came home a different way than was expected and how Jesus came
a different way than the establishment expected or wanted. They wanted
a worrior king instead they got a servant king.
Harold in Alabama
In revisiting the Covenant history from generation to generation
Matthew presents the people of faith, who "hear with ears of faith",
this disclosure of God acting in personal/human, autobiographical,
history, the stories of four women preceding the Mary story: Tamar,
Rahab, Ruth, wife of Uriah and mother of Solomon, and Ruth...and then
Mary, the fifth story with extraordinary Self-Disclosure of God in the
ordinary! In an age hungry for a "messiah" the birth of Jesus in the
theological context of Matthew declares the mystery of the Incarnation
in the "extraordinary" miracle that lies beneath our "ordinary"
experiences. Yet we seek to "have" god only in extraordinary miracles
which some how, when we get through with our theological magic,
removes god to a realm beyond and exclusive of our ordinary
experiences, our ordinary situations, our ordinary life. Wouldn't it
be something if when we get to heaven and meet Matthew to discuss the
Incarnation in all its extraordinary meaning and he simply witnesses
the "inclusive" gospel of faith in the presence of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth,
Bathsheba, and Mary concerning the inescapeable Presence of the
'Christ in you, the hope of glory', the Incarnation mystery in
everyday experiences. (PaideiaSCO reflecting on why Matthew included
the stories of these women in the Covenant history of the birth of
Jesus)
Paideia: I am confused by your post ... exactly what in this week's
Gospel pericope "presents the people of faith, who "hear with ears of
faith", this disclosure of God acting in personal/human,
autobiographical, history, the stories of four women preceding the
Mary story: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, wife of Uriah and mother of Solomon,
and Ruth...and then Mary ...."
Are you reading beyond the listed verses? Or reading into them? This
Gospel lesson seems, to me, to focus our attention not on Mary so much
as on Joseph! Should we not direct our congregants' attentions to his
faithful witness this Sunday. A feminist/womanist reading of Scripture
is all well and good -- but is telling the stories of Tamar, Rahab,
Ruth, and Bathsheba as precursors in faithfulness faithful to the
intent of this pericope?
My intent is to draw on a meditation about Joseph written by St.
Bernardine of Sienna:
"This is the general rule that applies to all individual graces given
to a rational creature. Whenever divine grace selects someone to
receive a particular grace, or some especially favoured position, all
the gifts for his state are given to that person, and enrich him
abundantly.
"This is especially true of that holy man Joseph, the supposed father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and true husband of the queen of the world
and of the angels. He was chosen by the eternal Father to be the
faithful foster-parent and guardian of the most precious treasures of
God, his Son and his spouse. This was the task which he so faithfully
carried out. For this, the Lord said to him, ‘Good and faithful
servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.'
"A comparison can be made between Joseph and the whole Church of
Christ. Joseph was the specially chosen man through whom and under
whom Christ entered the world fittingly and in an appropriate way. So,
if the whole Church is in the debt of the Virgin Mary, since, through
her, it was able to receive the Christ, surely after her, it also owes
to Joseph special thanks and veneration.
"For he it is who marks the closing of the old testament. In him the
dignity of the prophets and patriarchs achieves its promised
fulfilment. Moreover, he alone possessed in the flesh what God in his
goodness promised to them over and again."
Blessings, Eric in KS
I hope I don't open up a can of worms here, but...
When I was in seminary there was a big push to de-genderize God and
some wanting to restate the Trinitarin blessing of Father, Son, (+)
and Hloy Spirit.
It seems to me that in this text we realize that God (the Father) and
humanity (Mary) come together to produce offspring Jesus the Son of
God and the son of man.
It appears that Incarnational theology stands on God taking and
claiming the Father role with humanity being in the feminine role.
Maybe we should let God be God and worship Him and accept Him for how
He has chosen to reveal himself to us. Food for thought from the
Midwest
Eric, I appreciated so much your contribution from last week
concerning the meaning of liturgy as being "Holy Play". This construct
communicated to me the concern for the aesthetic experience within
worship. Likewise, in my preparation for this week (Matthew 1:18-25),
I first sought to read/pray this scripture in concern for "Holy Play",
i.e., the aesthetic, experiential, and/or existential meaning one
finds in the participatory "hearing" of the word through faith...as
opposed to the treatment of scripture as if it is describing
impersonal objective historical "fact" from a modern scientific
worldview. ["This is the Word of God, the Word of Faith, for the
people of Faith."]
(1)I used the New Interpreter's Bible for reflection on the Covenant
History from genereation to generation preceding Matthew's present
story. Outstanding in that preface to our present lectionary reading
was the number 7 and/or 14 as well as the mention of the women in the
geneology. The primary emphasis on our Jewish Gospel in Matthew was
his theological and/or Incarnational concern as opposed to an accurate
quantitative number in the family tree. The mention of these women was
interpreted as declaring our poverty King provides an "inclusive"
Kingdom since these persons fell outside the boundaries of pure blood
line Jew. (2)The treatment of sacred covenant history as having a
meaning concerning how God makes Divine Intervention into our common
spacetime was not only a problem for Matthew, and Joseph, but
precisely is our problem in praying scripture and then doing the
hermeneutical task to which we are called in interpretation and
Witness of the Word. (3)I believe that "Holy Play" in this
hermeneutical task has to do with "people of faith" hearing and
confirming the Word of God as it is written in the common spacetime on
the text of their hearts, i.e., their autobiographies, as opposed to
simply a remote past across an ocean of "what-is-no-more". (4)In what
way can this scripture unveil the Living Word of God's Divine
Self-disclosure in our lives, our personal and congregational
histories today? This is my question and this is my quest! At least
for me, treating Jesus as if he is somehow half god and half human,
much like one Greek mythology, does not quite affirm the faith of the
Incarnation, "very God of very God, very man of very man". (5)How do
we, or Joseph, or Matthew wrestle with and make meaning of the paradox
in this Covenant history (story) as God brings extraordinary meaning
out of the ordinary stuff and struggles of life? In an interview with
Joseph Campbell he shares the difference between the kind of aesthetic
meaning one receives from sacred story as opposed to impersonal
objective descriptive meaning one receives in reading a modern history
book or in behavioral science. What he shares is what I found in your
liturgical concept "Holy Play". For this reason, I have continued to
prepare--but probably off task as you suggest-by comparing the great
birth stories of the hero in a variety of cultures from Otto Rank's
"The Myth of the Birth of the Hero". (PaideiaSCO trying to respond to
a very good question by Eric)
Hi All
Joseph was a man of deep faith who did the right thing. I'm going to
show a clip from Tim Allen's the Santa Clause. Like Tim's character
became Santa so Joseph accepted his fate. He was open to God's
revelation by the angel and he was obedient. Later an angel would
reveal God's will to him and again he was obedient.
Just some Monday thoughts. Love, Paula in sunny FL
Does anyone know how to settle an arguement of why Jesus was not named
Emmanuel?
Was that part of Isaiah's prophesy wrong?
Matthew sort of states that all this is to be done in fulfillment of
Isaiah, and then quotes Isaiah saying that the child should be named
Emmanuel, but a few verses prior the angel says the name is to be
Jesus.
There seems to be equally important meaning behind both names.
Probably not going to make this a focus of my sermon, but I was just
thinking about the apparent difference.
+ JP in CO
Paideia: Thank you for your reply. I begin to see where you are coming
from and going ... I think there may be a tie-in here with the
question raised in last week's discussion about how it is that a girl
apparently from the priestly line (Abijah/Levi) ends up married into
the Davidic line (Judah). The tie-in, I think, is in the message of
Gabriel to Joseph: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take
Mary as your wife...." In other words, do not be afraid to enter into
covenant with her in the same way God has not been afraid to enter
into covenants with not only "pure" Jews, but Jews of mixed lineage
and even non-Jews. Whenever discussion strays into this area of God's
Covenants with "the chosen people" I am reminded of a line in Amos
(9:7) in which God says through the prophet: "Did I not bring Israel
up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the
Arameans from Kir?" Amos clearly demonstrates here that God has
concern for and has had arguably covenant relationships with other
nations!
JP in CO: That Emmanuel/Jesus thing has always bothered me too. I
guess that Matthew wants us to accept that "God saves his people" (the
root of Yehoshua, Jesus) and "God with his people" (Emmanuel) are the
same thing. In order for this to be equivalent, the concept of
"saving" would have to include the presence of the savior with the
saved. If that is true, are the names thus not equivalent? If a savior
must be present with the saved than "God saves his people" necessarily
includes "God with his people".
Blessings to all, Eric in KS
I'm sure glad we don't get graded on this site for grammer and
spelling! I'd really be in trouble.
Blessings, Eric in KS
Interesting Jewish Custom or Law or whatever. Two people were going to
marry, or were pledged by their families to marry, then they became
engaged and eventually married. The committment that they made when
they became engaged was as binding as marriage and the only way to end
the relationship is if one of the couple die, or the man divorces the
woman. Yes, he had to divorce her even if they were just engaged, that
is how binding the marriage contract was. I always had wondered why
Joseph said he would divorce here when they were not married! I
thought this was interesting. Toni in WV
Good stuff this week, thanks! My sermon title is from a recent country
song, and is "The Dad That He Didn't Have To Be." The song is about a
little boy whose mother kept dating guys who would disappear when they
discovered she had a little boy. Then a man showed up in their lives
who even let him go along on some of the dates, who became a father to
him in every good sense of the word, and married his mother. Part of
the chorus is, "I hope that I can be at least half the Dad that he
didn't have to be." Joseph didn't have to be a part of this "mess." He
could have saved himself a lot of trouble, but he didn't. He accepted
the scandal, the gossip, etc. Which reminds me that God came into the
world and played by the rules of our world. God entered into the
"messiness" of our lives. Born to an unwed teenage mother, therefore
having a scandalous beginning. Most of us have stories in our families
that we either accept or choose not to talk about and they become a
source of shame. Stories of "messiness," of not living up to the
"Leave It to Beaver" image of family. Teenagers get pregnant, someone
gets divorced and/or has an affair, someone "good" makes a mistake,
etc. But I think by God choosing to enter the world in a very human,
"complicated," unacceptable by moral standards-way, God embraces our
messiness and shows that the messiness of our lives can be redeemed. A
family can love their pregnant teenage daughter and the child she
brings into the world, and seek to raise that child in an environment
of love, and who knows what kind of special person that child will
grow to be? Too often we seek to deny the messiness of our very human
lives and are loaded down with shame, not realizing that God can
redeem anyone and any situation... even change the world through such
a "situation" and story. Just some thoughts... PM in PA
to Harold in Alabama I like your Christmas Classics idea What did you
do for the 1st Sunday in Advent and will you be adding a classic for
Christmas Eve/day? Mehrke in South Dakota
I'm also working on the name/names theme this Sunday. In particular
"Emmanuel". I thought of the Bette Midler song "From a Distance"--
beautiful song with beautiful sentiment, but horrible theology. I
don't need a God who is "watching us from a distance"--I need a God
who is right here in this mess with me-- forgiving, loving, healing--
things that are hard to do from a distance. jo in va
Since this is song-association week ;-) who was it that sang "What if
God was(were?) one of us...just a stranger on a bus, etc." Really
thinking of that "Immanuel" implication: Just finished a couple books
for an adult class, Yancey's "The Jesus I never knew" and Borg's "The
God we never knew", Borg suggest two major metaphors for God, the
"Supernatural Theist" (includes deism, also the huge, "misty mountain"
and downright scary God) and what he calls the "panentheistic"
(everything is in God). For the latter, we experience an immanent (cf.
"Immanuel!") God, right here with us. Granted, Christianity sometimes
acts like this God doesn't exist in Hebrew Scriptures--only the
former, S.T. God--but the "Jahwist"/2nd Creation story, Genesis 2
includes God walking with the earthling in the garden. Pretty
intimate, immanent, ALMOST (?)incarnate. Still, incarnation is a new
thing. And isn't that the way the N.T., with Matthew begins? It does
indeed, like with Genesis, Matthew begins with "An account of the
GENESIS (gennaoh) of Jesus the Christ/anointed..." How is
Christmas/Advent more than nostalgic memories but rather, the
effective "new thing" (present in a new way... GOD IS/WAS one of us!)
that God is doing and has accomplished for the sake of creation? Peter
in WI
Peter in WI
"What if God was one of us" is sung by Joan Osborne. It's a great
song, I've used it in a sermon myself.
CMW in IL
OLAS,
A friend of mine tried an experiment the other night... at the local
Barnes and Noble Bookstore... he gave five $1.00 bills to his youth,
had them walk around and drop the dollar behind unsuspecting
customers... then the youth would reach down and tap the stranger on
the back and say, "Excuse me sir, or mam? Did you drop this?"
Much to his surprise, no one took what was not theirs to take...
someone else at our Text Study this morning said that we are so used
to "GETTING" that it is very hard for us to "GIVE" or truly
"RECEIVE"... Santa gives, Easter Bunny gives us candy, the May Baskets
at our doors, the Tooth Fairy under our pillow, the Valentines of
chocolate and flowers, etc. etc...
Don't know how that relates... just thinking on electronic paper...
thanks for the help as always,
pulpitt in ND
The Legend of the Christmas "DOAT"!
6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with
the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little
child shall lead them. Isaiah 11:6 (NRSV)
"A Christmas 'Doat'?"
Children turn our understanding of the world, upside down. Here is
just one example, for there are many! :?)
Following worship last Sunday morning… I was stopped in the hallway in
front of my office. It was another Grandmother. This time the story
began… "Pastor Rick, have I got a story for you?!" Pastors usually
cringe when we hear that expression. Many times it is a story; a shade
off color…one I've usually heard a couple dozen times in every church
I've served over the last 17 years, it's usually one people wouldn't
necessarily have the nerve to share in the sanctuary… but in the
hallway in front of the office they can safely tell the story.
This time though, the story was different, it was an "out of the
mouths of babes" kind of story. Apparently her grand-daughter, who is
three, had been bugging her mother and grandmother about getting her
her very own Nativity. Or in her words, "A Jesus House" that she could
play with… as the story continued my mind drifted back to our children
at that age.
A Lutheran clergy friend's spouse in the first community I served out
of seminary, Arlington, SD… made us a crocheted Joseph, Mary and Baby
Jesus. It was the kind your children could play with and you wouldn't
worry about it breaking. We thought it to be a wonderful idea in the
midst of the hands-off crystal and/or porcelain breakable versions
most people have. Our children spent hours playing with Baby Jesus in
the hand soap sized manger under our Christmas tree at home. But, back
to the Grandmother's story… the Grandmother had been out doing some
Christmas shopping and picked up a “Jesus house” for her granddaughter
as an early Christmas present. When she brought it in for the first
time, the grand daughter "shook and trembled" with excitement. Sure
enough, her very own Nativity… complete with all the people and
animals of that first Christmas nativity; Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus,
wise men, shepherds, sheep, an ox, a donkey… "Where's the DOAT?" said
the little girl. "The what?" "THE DOAT, the Christmas DOAT Grandma?"
"Tell me about the Christmas Doat…" said the wise grandma. "You know,
the "doat" was the one… that guarded the baby Jesus… and breathed… on
the baby Jesus’s head… and kept him warm…all through the night.
Apparently the mother was asked how the baby Jesus stayed warm when it
was so cold on that first Christmas night. It was then, the
Grandmother realized that the “Christmas 'Goat'" was what her grand
daughter was referring to. Sure enough she's been searching ever since
for that Christmas "Doat!"
It was surprising to me that the child was told about the Christmas
Goat rather than the Christmas Lamb. You remember the other story,
people were separated… the sheep are on the left and the Goats are on
the right? How I hope I'm a sheep and not a goat I've often thought !
I'm afraid though, that many times I become the Christmas Goat of
Billy Goat Gruff fame. It's nice to know someone has a different image
of those "scapegoats" that take away the sins of the world… banished
to the desert wilderness with the sins of the early church. A
Christmas Doat? This Christmas Goat, sounds like an animal legends are
written about. All that talk from our childhood about not judging a
book by its cover comes into clearer focus this Christmas. My hope and
prayer is that you'll each have your own Christmas Doat in your “Jesus
house," and you'll love him or her anyway. Yes, children turn our
understanding of the world upside down.
That's why Jesus came in the first place, wasn't it? To turn the world
upside down, and to bring joy to those who knew no joy prior to his
coming. In closing, were you able to see the Children's program last
Sunday? Through the eyes and mouths of babes, we witnessed once again
a portion of that Joy made manifest on the earth that first Christmas.
With eyes squinted tightly closed, shepherds and angels sang out "Joy
to the World the Lord is Come… let earth receive her King…” I found
that joy in them as they led me through that old, old story… "and a
little child shall lead them."
Following the "doats" and the little ones to the stable with you,
PS The Grandmother called me early this week, she found a Christmas
GOAT for her nativity...
Merry Christmas!
http://faithumcfargo.com
pulpitt in ND
To clarify yesterday's remarks on "Genesis", it's the first sentence
of this week's text (not the first sentence of the BOOK of Matthew)
that begins, "Now the birth/gahnaysis of Jesus..." Thanks for the Joan
Osborne reference. Peter in WI
To: Mehrke In South Dakota
The First Sunday I used the theme from It's a Good Life. With the
message of hope. Christmas eve is always special in that I have a come
ang go communion service and spend a moment with each individual
family and pray specifically for them and their needs at that time. My
folks yook forward to this every year, Hope this helps
Harold In Alabama
There is an excellent article about "What if God was one of us...?"
I am preaching the need to Let God be with us. Probably, I will extend
that to recognizing that God is one of us indeed. And by the way GOD
IS A WOMAN!!! Just kidding, how would I know? Mary Christmas,
SunCityRev
Does anyone have the narrative of Joseph that was written in the first
person? If so how could I get a copy of it??? Blessings from CO
"God SO loved the world" in the Greek really refers to HOW God loved
the world rather than how MUCH God loved the world.
"God loved the world in this way: that he gave his only begotten son
to die for us so that whoever believes in him may not perish but have
eternal life."
Tigger in MN
Why wasn't Jesus named "Emmanuel?"
Because Isaiah was not predicting the future; he was prophesying--as
the biblical prophets tended to do. He addressed his generation, not
Mary and Joseph's.
Matthew, as evangelists tended to do, read Isaiah and saw Jesus in the
prophesy, not to the letter, but good enough. Jesus, for Matthew and
other believers of his day WAS "God with us."
pHil
Here's something I wrote about Joseph:
BELIEVE 4th Sunday of Advent
Matthew 1:18-25 Believe and Do
“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded
him and took Mary home as his wife.” Mat 1:24 (NIV)
Of all the people in the drama of the Nativity his place is pretty
much backstage. He has no lines and pretty much plays a supporting
role. Even when the boy is twelve and his parents do the “Home Alone”
thing, leaving him in his Father’s house, it’s Mary who speaks for
both of them: “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for
you." After this, Joseph isn’t mentioned again.
I can’t help thinking that sometimes he felt like a third wheel, but
never-the-less, there he is, standing behind the mother and the child.
Luke says that Mary pondered all these things in her heart but there’s
a part of me that believes Joseph possessed more than his share of
“Kodak moments.” There were the dreams that he kept having, the way
that Mary looked when she held the child. But the best one of all was
the first time the baby grabbed on to his finger. And whenever the two
of them would walk to the workshop and the boy would reach up for his
hand, there was no convincing Joseph that this wasn’t his son.
I marvel at Joseph and fill in the blanks that the Gospel writers
leave. Joseph is a simple, quiet man, who has mastered perhaps one of
the most important things a person could learn. He simply does what
God desires of him. Plain and simple, Joseph obeys the One he
believes.
Prayer: God who watches and prepares me, God who causes me to rejoice,
would it be too much to ask today that you also help me to believe? In
the name of the One who obeyed even unto death. Amen.
John near Pitts.
Eric, Like the quote but couldn't find anything (web search) on St.
Bernadine. Can you tell me anything? Thanks. Peter in WI pkne@hotmail.com
one of the ideas I had was to discuss what could have happened under
the then jewish law to an unwed pregnant girl. why we do not follow
all the things that are in the Bible and how that it was truely a
mirical that she or Jesus survived. Also, how we treat such people
today. although we do not stone them we can make life miserable and or
death seem like a good alternative to the young mother to be. bd in
chicago
To Peter in WI
I believe you are looking for St. Bernadette of Lords (1844-1879). She
is often called St. Bernadine. She had several visions of the Virgin
Mary. William H. Gentz has an article in his Dictionary of the Bible
and Religion.
Harold in Alabama
To all who requested the Candlelight service and the Joseph and Mary
monologs. You should have them if you do not re email me at
revncarmichael@yahoo.com
Eric read your sermon last week and should have appropriated, for it
hung together better than mine. Nancy-Wi
Peter in WI:
By the way, the citation for that bit of St. Bernardine's sermon is a
book entitled "From the Fathers to the Churches: Daily Spiritual
Readings" edited by Brother Kenneth CGA (Collins, London, 1983), page
659.
Blessings, Eric in KS
How very interesting!
Peter's request for info about Bernardine of Siena got me to
re-reading his biography (at the site above listed) and I was reminded
that B's sermons were characterised (in the words of that article) by
"Sienese gayety and characteristic Franciscan playfulness."
Convergence! Paideia's approach to the Scriptures with Holy
Playfulness following my citation to Kirster Stendahl's description of
the stuff of "high" liturgy as "Holy Play" ... New thought for this
Sunday's focus on St. Joe! Did he play with Jesus the way fathers play
with sons? I'm sure he did -- Was there ever a moment in their lives
when they engaged in the First Century Palestinian equivalent of a
game of catch, going to the movies together, showing his son how to
pound a nail, etc.? There must have been. Were there ever those
"tense" moments between father and son ... you know the sort I mean
(some of which are hinted at, actually, in the pseudopigraphic
"Infancy Gospel of Thomas")?
Catholic tradition has almost always focused on Joseph's relationship
(or lack of one, LOL!) with Blessed Mary, but seldom considered the
influence this foster father had on Jesus. His influence must have
been enormous! What a pity that we know so little about him!
Blessings, Eric in KS
Here's some stuff from The Catholic Encyclopedia about Joseph....
"It will not be without interest to recall here, unreliable though
they are, the lengthy stories concerning St. Joseph's marriage
contained in the apocryphal writings. When forty years of age, Joseph
married a woman called Melcha or Escha by some, Salome by others; they
lived forty-nine years together and had six children, two daughters
and four sons, the youngest of whom was James (the Less, 'the Lord's
brother'). A year after his wife's death, as the priests announced
through Judea that they wished to find in the tribe of Juda a
respectable man to espouse Mary, then twelve to fourteen years of age,
Joseph, who was at the time ninety years old, went up to Jerusalem
among the candidates; a miracle manifested the choice God had made of
Joseph, and two years later the Annunciation took place. These dreams,
as St. Jerome styles them, from which many a Christian artist has
drawn his inspiration (see, for instance, Raphael's "Espousals of the
Virgin"), are void of authority; they nevertheless acquired in the
course of ages some popularity; in them some ecclesiastical writers
sought the answer to the well-known difficulty arising from the
mention in the Gospel of 'the Lord's brothers'; from them also popular
credulity has, contrary to all probability, as well as to the
tradition witnessed by old works of art, retained the belief that St.
Joseph was an old man at the time of marriage with the Mother of God."
***
"... we may well suppose that Jesus's foster-father died before the
beginning of Savior's public life. In several circumstances, indeed,
the Gospels speak of the latter's mother and brothers (Matthew 12:46;
Mark 3:31; Luke 8:19; John 7:3), but never do they speak of His father
in connection with the rest of the family; they tell us only that Our
Lord, during His public life was referred to as the son of Joseph
(John 1:45; 6:42; Luke 4:22) the carpenter (Matthew 13:55). Would
Jesus, moreover, when about to die on the Cross, have entrusted His
mother to John's care, had St. Joseph been still alive? According to
the apocryphal 'Story of Joseph the Carpenter', the holy man reached
his hundred and eleventh year when he died, on 20 July (A. D. 18 or
19). St. Epiphanius gives him ninety years of age at the time of his
demise; and if we are to believe the Venerable Bede, he was buried in
the Valley of Josaphat. In truth we do not know when St. Joseph died;
it is most unlikely that he attained the ripe old age spoken of by the
'Story of Joseph' and St. Epiphanius. The probability is that he died
and was buried at Nazareth."
Hmmmmm.... 90 years old at marriage, huh? To a 13-year-old girl...
hmmmmm... hardly seems likely ....
All this seems to be written by (and accepted by) folks who want to
preserve to so-called "perpetual virginity" of Mary. That sort of
overlooks the statement in Matthew's Gospel that Joseph "had no
marital relations with [Mary] until she had borne a son [i.e., Jesus]"
(sort implies that afterward ... well, you know).
Anyway, I thought some apocryphal information about St. Joe would be
fun to play with this week.
Blessings, Eric in KS
I may be way off base. It is been a difficult Advent Season - so
permit a little craziness:
If this were a modern day allegory - Mary would represent that part of
ourselves open to wonder, love and grace - receiving into herself
God's promise. Joseph represents the superego, the legal, rational,
side of our lives. Quickly wanting to do away with this scandal, this
embarrasment!
So what happens to the young girl who bears within her self the
Christ-Child?
So what happens to a newly baptized person who bears the cross of
Christ and the Spirit of his divine adoption?
So what do we do with those things that cause scandal in our lives? Is
that why we don't take Christianity too seriously for it would be a
scandal to those around us? We don't want to be Jesus-freaks in this
secular culture.
What does Joseph have to teach us about living our faith in a world
that doesn't understand?
tom in ga
my thinking has been on Joseph also this week. I have a pin that has
dangling from it Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. The only problem is
that Joseph has fallen off! Then I looked around and noticed how often
Joseph gets merged in with one of the shepherds anyway. It made me
think of all the people I hear say how God must have saved them for
some purpose. I believe that have a purpose already, but what i try to
convey is that what God is calling us to do may not be the center
stage kind of stuff. we may never even realize what an impact we've
had on someone. JOseph made a huge difference by going ahead and
raising Jesus as his son and marrying Mary, but he always fades out
for us. We may make a huge difference too.
sorry i've been out of touch for awhile - just way too busy. many
blessings and gifts of time for you all.
rachel
For those just getting started and are really desperate by this
Friday.
I was thinking about the Carols we sing vs the songs mentioned earlier
and playing with the idea of contrasting them.
"From a distance" pictures a interested perhaps caring God who watches
only.
"What if God were One of us.....as one line states Just a slob like
one of us...a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home" Misses
the point that the very question the Joan Osborne asks has been not
only answered but has actually happened in the incarnation.
Not clear in my head yet but thinking of comparing and contrasting
these songs with advent song of Carol.
Blessings. ChapTim
Thoughts to consider about the name - JESUS:
1) Why do people insist on using Jesus name in vain. In "Die Hard"
Bruce Willis exclaims: "Jesus f__kin Christ." Why? What is there about
the name of Jesus that illicits such response? I have never heard
anyone use Buddha's name in vain. 2) Why do even Christian people have
difficulty using the name of Jesus? They will talk about God but at
times the name of Jesus get stuck in their throat. 3) The same people
who stop to celebrate Christmas hate the name of Jesus. A good friend
was one of the prayer participants at the Yankee Stadium "9-11" event.
He prayed in Jesus' name and was given a cold shoulder by the other
participants. The world is very pleased with "god-talk" and
spirituality, but speaking about the unique claims of Jesus Christ is
being mean-spirited.
As Bill Gaither put it, "There is something about that name."
DM
Thanks for the pin story and the extraordinary call and ordinary call
stuff, and center stage. I will sleep tonight! Nancy-Wi.
For what it's worth on a Friday evening, I will be talking about
Joseph following his dream rather than what he had planned to do. Not
that dreams always lead us in healthy ways, but in this case... Sharon
in Bethlehem
Thanks Eric, This reflection resource mixed with exegesis and
exposition almost reach the theological center I have been wrestling
with! Namely, does not the sacred story of Jesus' birth (as well as
the birth story of other heros) imply the connection, if you will,
between the Christmas tree or Chrismon Tree and the tree of Calvary.
UMC old Cokesbury Hymnal has a hymn "Into the Woods My Master Went"
and in it the olive trees are not blind to him as they minister
empathetically to Jesus who is in prayer about the crucifixion, and
the trees and leaves also embrace the Christ as he comes forth from
the woods in resolve to bear the cross-suffering upon the tree. The
point is: does not the birth story reveal Christ Jesus' birth as a
bearing in birth the/our tragic sin he carried in crucifixion death?
Is it not a story about the mystery of God's Agape/Unbounding Love
reaching us in our ordinary circumstances of human tragedy of sin in
an extraordinary miraclious event? Like the Emmaus journey of
despairing disciples being touched and transformed by a stranger with
a Gospel of Hope, so the Christmas story is realized in the real stuff
of everyday life, and its tragedies, which are all about us in
everyday concrete situations. Our darkest night of the soul is not,
thank God, dark to the One who blesses with the Gift of Light...even
miracliously out of the darkness...Holy Night! Our "thick darkness" is
not dark to our Heavenly Father! Perhaps Paul says it most clearly for
me..."Who shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord?" Jesus'birth story is perhaps also about or connected to our
birth story, our autobiographies, even our illigament birth in sin. He
carries/bears our tragedy in sin birth-(which is also related to a
tree in the midst of the garden)- as he did in death...yet out of the
purity of God's unbounding Agape love. (PaideiaSCO still reflecting in
north ga mts.)
Dear Eric, I have observed your comments as well as your "responses"
to the reflections offered by others. I value a collection of diverse
opinions but I hesitate to offer my own as it appears that you tend to
utilize this Lectionary Discourse as an arena for theological
debate....and become angry when others are not in agreement with you.
None of us are perfect......Only Christ. Love and Peace REV SLPE
Rev SLPE wrote to me (I guess it was me, unless there's another Eric
around here) ... "you tend to utilize this Lectionary Discourse as an
arena for theological debate....and become angry when others are not
in agreement with you."
I think you must be reading a whole lot more into my postings than I
mean to be there. I've never expected everyone (or even anyone) on an
ecumenical site to agree with me, nor (to the best of my knowledge)
expressed any anger at disagreement (only at rude behavior ala our
departed friend Rick in VA).
If you'd care to explicate your comments privately, please write me at
rector@stfrancis-ks.org
Blessings, Eric in KS
