"Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man..."

In my Sunday school class, we have been using a study that follows the lectionary.  I have really enjoyed looking at the lessons and reading what the commentators have to say about it.  Last week's lesson was about Mary and this week's lesson is about Joseph.  I have thought a lot about these two individuals the past few Advent seasons.  What were they like?  Did Joseph ever fully understand who Jesus was?  What made these two stand out to God to be chosen as the earthly parents of the savior?  While St. Luke's gospel focuses on Mary, St. Matthew chooses instead to focus on Joseph.  Unfortunately, in Scripture we rarely get the full episode or the feelings and thoughts of the people in the narrative.  However, we are given clues here and there to help us come to grips with these people.  Mary is told that she has found favor with God.  Joseph is reported as being a righteous man.  It's interesting to me that if we follow the thread through Scripture, we find others who are lifted up as an example of finding favor or being righteous.  Noah found favor and was saved, along with his entire family, from the flood.  Abraham's faith was counted to him as righteousness.  God looked at King David's heart and chose him to be the true earthly king of the Israelites.  Esther, Moses, Deborah, and Jacob all caught God's eye.  The first disciples stood out to Jesus for some reason to be called into ministry with him.  St. Paul himself was hand picked by God for important ministry.  What was it about these people that inspired God to bring them into his salvation story?  

As I said before, we don't always get all of the answers to the questions in the Bible.  But let's look at Joseph again.  I love the line that comes after St. Matthew calls him righteous.  Let's look at the paragraph.  "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.  Her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.  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.  She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins'" (Matt 1:18-21).  

I find this passage fascinating.  If we compare Joseph's response to Mary's unplanned pregnancy to the woman caught in Adultery in St. John's gospel, we find something incredible.  The Pharisees brought the woman to Jesus demanding him to tell them what to do with her.  They cited the Law as stating that they were to stone such a woman.  You probably remember how Jesus responded, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (See John 8:1-11 for the entire story).  According to the mindset of the "holy" people of the day, at the very least Joseph had a case to humiliate Mary with a public divorce.  I wonder if he could have even pressed for her to be stoned...I really don't know.  But that's not what is said about him.  He chose to quietly leave her so that she wouldn't be publicly disgraced.  Maybe he was going to allow her to marry the other man and save face.  I don't know.  Regardless of what he was thinking, it does look as though he was willing to extend a grace similar to the grace that Jesus himself extends to all people.  Joseph looked a lot like Jesus here.  He took a woman pregnant with a child that was not his as his wife.  He gave the child his name which meant that he adopted him as his own.  He raised that child as his son.  That, to me, speaks volumes about this man.  No wonder Joseph caught God's eye as the earthly father of the savior of the world.  

This week as Advent comes to a close and we begin the feasting of Christmas, let's not forget about Joseph and his righteousness.  Let's remember to meditate on the people God has chosen to use for his good and for his glory.  I personally know several people like that and I hope that someday others will see me like that as well; a signpost pointing to the grace, peace, love, justice, mercy, and righteousness of God the Father, through Jesus Christ his Son and our savior, by the power of his Holy Spirit.  Amen.

God bless+,
Dustin