En el nombre de Dios, creador, redentor, y santificador… In the name of God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Amen.
Extraordinary faithfulness. This was a term used by one of our Bible studiers this week as we engaged our readings for today. Mary and Joseph both showed extraordinary faithfulness in recent gospel stories - last week with the angel’s in-person (so to speak) visitation to Mary, and this week with the angel’s visitation to Joseph in a dream.
The question came up: Will we do now what Mary and Joseph did then? It’s a good question, which we’ll get to shortly.
First, let’s take a look at our Collect because it speaks to how Mary and Joseph lived extraordinarily faithful lives. The Collect begins: “Purify our conscience, Almighty God, with your daily visitation…”
What do we hear when we hear the word “purify?” If we look at how Jesus used this word during his ministry (think about the Beatitudes we read recently), we learn that to be pure is to be completely aligned with the will of God.
Our readings today give us a clue about what God’s will is. God is ready to do a new thing, to be known in a new way, and God needs us to stop thwarting that plan, as Ahaz did, and get on board with it, as Joseph did.
In the reading from Isaiah, the Jewish people have been besieged by war, but their King, Ahaz, who is visited by God, can’t or won’t respond faithfully because he has put his obedience to the human-made rule of not putting God to the test ahead of God’s current call to him.
In our gospel story, this prophecy is referenced and connected, but taken even further. The angel tells Joseph that he is to name the son born of Mary, Jesus, Jehosua, which means YHWH (God) is salvation, for he will save his people from their sins.
Jesus isn’t the first person in our Scripture with this name. The first Jehosua, Joshua, who succeeded Moses as the leader of the Israelites, led his people to military victory, saving them from their enemies.
This Jehosua, Jesus, will save the people from their sins. This matters because that’s something only God can do. This Jehosua, Jesus, is not just a man in whom God is acting. This Jehosua is God.
In the gospel story, Joseph is presented as a faithful Jewish man. His betrothed, Mary, has turned up pregnant and he knows it isn’t his. In his day, the law required Joseph to divorce Mary, that is, to nullify their contract to marry. The law also required that Mary be stoned to death as an adulterer.
Joseph, being a decent man, considers disassociating from Mary quietly, ostensibly, not outing her as pregnant, in order to spare Mary’s life and her family the shame. Anyone who’s ever lived in a small town, however, knows it won’t be long before the whole town knows the whole story.
An angel, speaking to Joseph in a dream, tells him that Mary has not been unfaithful to him or their contract. The angel then quotes Isaiah to him, assuring him of God’s presence in this moment.
If he consents to participate in what is being asked of him, Joseph will pay a heavy social, religious, amd interior price. His consent will require him to let go of his expectations and all of the religious guardrails that gave him security. He will have to trust, and launch into something new and unknown - with Mary and Mary’s baby - as protector and usher of this new thing God is doing in the world.
Extraordinary faithfulness.
Looking back at last week, the same is true for Mary. The angel is asking her to become pregnant before she marries, putting her very life at risk. Mary asks the obvious, ‘How would that work?,’ then accepts the angel’s explanation that it is God at work in her. Mary consents, surrendering her whole life to God’s care. Mary had to let go her own expectations for how her life would be and the religious and social guardrails that safeguarded her. She would have to deal with the shame-filled rumors that would follow her and head off with Joseph into something new and unknown. And she did!
Extraordinary faithfulness.
When Steve and I were newly married and trying to start a family - it wasn’t easy. I suffered multiple miscarriages and was feeling desolate and afraid.
I had quit working full-time in marketing to reduce my stress, hoping that would help my body hold on to a pregnancy. We finally did have two babies, 13 months apart! God’s abundance (ha!).
It was a LOT, so we made the decision for me to say at home. This was a huge emotional risk for me: becoming financially dependent on a man again (even though this one was good and worthy of my trust).
Living without my salary meant we couldn’t keep up with our country-club lifestyle. When Christmas came around, we couldn’t load the living room with gifts as we’d done before.
So, we made a decision. We stepped out of the rat race of commercialized Christmas and refocused on what Christmas means: the love of God being born in us in a new way. How could we experience and share that?
We decided to connect with loved ones and make memories, rather than buying gifts. We informed our extended families and friends that we were no longer buying them presents. Instead, we would spend time doing something fun - making memories to last a lifetime. We wondered if our friends would abandon us and our strange new way, but they didn’t.
This new way gave us a sense of freedom we still enjoy. It also has given us so many cherished memories, something we value far more than any trendy new gadget or toy.
Moving outside of accepted expectations and established societal and religious structures can be scary and lonely. We need support. We need each other, and God makes those connections for us.
Last week I led a retreat at a church in VA where I met a woman of extraordinary faithfulness. Two of their members, young immigrant women with proper documentation, had been illegally arrested by ICE, and sent to detention in FL. (News article) The church was (and is) reeling from the injustice and terrified for the girls’ safety.
The rector found herself fighting against an unjust system outside of her knowledge, experience, and expectations as a rector. She gave her ‘yes’ to God and suddenly had a whole new job, on top of leading her church.
On the edge of burnout, she texted me: “I’m jaggy and cranky, over-tired and worried. I’m usually good but somehow the potential deportation to certain death of women I love has taken my normal self care off the table.“
My reply to her was: “Give all you have without fear. God’s abundance is enough and will carry you through. Please listen to your body and trust the moments of rest God sends you. All shall be well. You have been chosen.”
“The Holy Spirit did a good thing when she connected us. [the rector said]. I was expecting something amazing for our Vestry and congregation …but I wasn’t expecting a soul-friend at the same time.”
Society looks out for itself. God looks out for us.
Knowing which expectations and societal or religious structures to walk away from or fight against requires discernment: time in prayer with God, listening for the voice that tells us when, how, and where to go. As we prayed for in our Collect: Purify our conscience, Almighty God….
Inviting God to purify our conscience is a daily practice, not just an Advent thing. We must intentionally, prayerfully, and daily enter God’s presence so that God can guide us just as God guided Mary, Joseph, and so many others in the stories of our faith.
So… back to the question: Will we do now what Mary and Joseph did then? Will we a) listen for the voice of God, b) ponder the request made of us with open hearts, c) let go of our expectations and guardrails, and, d) respond with our yes?
I pray, for the sake of the world Jesus loved and gave his life for, that we will. Amen.
