The Music of Christmas, Day 5

 The Quiet Strains

Read Matthew 1:18-25

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: 

he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. 

And he called his name Jesus.

“The strong, silent type” -– a stereotype used to describe individuals who don’t say much but whose actions demonstrate an unexpected strength. While these men and women don’t seek the spotlight, their actions speak louder than their words. Anyone observant enough to notice usually stands in awe of what they see. I think Joseph fits that description. He may have had one of the most critical, yet overlooked, jobs in God’s redemptive story. God used Joseph’s obedience and humility to ensure safe entry into the world for His one and only Son. 

 

The news of Mary’s pregnancy must have shocked and hurt Joseph more than anyone. While others might have assumed the couple caved to temptation before their wedding night, Joseph knew better. From his perspective, Mary had been unfaithful. The remedy for such a betrayal was public humiliation and possibly death. It was within Joseph’s power to end Mary’s life, and thereby, to end the life of the unborn child. But even before God’s messenger arrived to steer Joseph in a different direction, Joseph had decided against exercising the law against her. Instead, he planned to do things quietly, spare Mary’s life and probably send her to another town until the little one arrived. That decision, as merciful as it was, did not factor into God’s plan for Jesus. And so, God sent an angel and Joseph willingly accepted responsibility for Mary and the baby he did not father.

 

His quiet strength paved the way for the Holy birth as it also made a way for Jesus’ survival into adulthood. Joseph, along with all those living under Roman rule, had been required to return to his ancestral home and be counted for the census. While details of that journey are unknown, it’s easy to imagine the strain Joseph endured — submitting to Roman authorities, traveling with and protecting his pregnant wife, finding a safe place for the birth, and somehow providing everything needed for his new family to live from day to day. 

 

This God-fearing man received not one but three angelic visits. The second directed Joseph to flee with his young family to Egypt. They lived as refugees for months. And it was only after the third that Joseph heard the “all clear” and took his family back to Galilee. There he resumed his work as a carpenter. By the time we read of him again, Jesus' boyhood training in carpentry had no doubt begun.   

 

The biblical record is clear that Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father. Still, that didn’t keep humble, unassuming Joseph from being faithful to quietly fulfill a fatherly role in the boy’s life.

 

I will never forget the moment it dawned on me that Joseph was a stepfather. Growing up the son of a single mom, I envied friends who lived with both biological parents. What I wanted, more than anything, was to be like them. To be a kid who lived in a home with Mom and Dad. I’m not sure when, or if, I ever stopped longing for it. But years later, my mother remarried and I experienced something quite unexpected. God used a man who was not my Dad to demonstrate the real love of a father. He became more than Mom’s husband or my stepfather. He was instead a father who stepped in. He was willing to accept responsibility for children not his own.

 

The Bible does not reveal what became of Joseph. Like so many other faithful servants, he did what God called him to do and then faded from the scene. The world needs more men like Joseph and my stepfather. Men willing to follow God’s direction even when that leads to responsibility for someone else’s kids. Men and women willing to set aside their rights, or well-laid plans, or a promising future for the cause of the Gospel.

 

Are you currently wrestling under the quiet strain of bearing another’s burden? It can be difficult, and thankless, but God sees you. He knows of your faithfulness and He will redeem your efforts even as He accomplishes a greater purpose.

 

 

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for men and women of quiet faith 

who obediently step in to serve Your purposes. 

Thank You for people who take up the cause of the orphaned and neglected, 

offering a picture of Your unconditional love. Give me the faith of Joseph 

that I might lay aside my selfish will and plans in order to serve Jesus.
Amen.

The Music of Christmas is available in print or digital formats.

The Music of Christmas, Day 10

 Imperial Dissonance

Read Luke 2:1-7

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” 

– the prophet Isaiah

 

Every four years people living in the U.S. go through the pains of a presidential election. I don’t use the word "pains" to suggest that democracy and the right to vote isn't worth it, but to instead draw a comparison to childbirth. The process of delivering a democratically elected leader is preceded by a long and difficult labor filled with debates, campaigning, touring, speeches, interviews, and more. And after the clamor and noise of a presidential election, many in our nation turn attention to a very different labor and delivery. Not a figurative one, either. The birth of this child took place in a stable tucked inside a tiny town rather than in the hallowed halls of democracy.

 

Augustus Caesar issued a proclamation about taxes shortly before the child’s birth, exerting his control over the conquered people of Israel. Joseph and Mary, obligated to travel from Galilee to Bethlehem, surely felt the political oppression many Jews had come to accept. Revolutionaries attempted to overthrow the Roman government, but most people simply tried to live life, provide for families, survive, and go unnoticed by the Romans. And so, Joseph obeyed the Roman decree, taking his pregnant wife on the fateful trip to Bethlehem. With a journey so often rehearsed and romanticized, it’s easy to overlook one key fact: Jesus’ birth came, and the Christian faith with Him, at the height of a political oppression.

 

Joseph’s willing obedience to abide by Caesar’s decree does not seem like a great beginning for a Messiah expected to deliver people from bondage. Joseph submitted, and that response foreshadowed an exchange between Jesus and the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, thirty-three years later. “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above.” (John 19:11) The oppressive climate surrounding Jesus’ birth and death were the work of a godless empire. Yet, according to Jesus, a much higher power was at work.

 

Jesus did not model a weak pacifism, but rather a deep and abiding faith in God. For His Father not only held the world in His hands, but also worked His will despite, and sometimes through, the evil deeds of pagan kings. To clarify, the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem was not the result of Caesar Augustus’ decree. It was not a cause-and-effect relationship. It was, instead, the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy: “But you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” (Matthew 2:6 quoting Micah 5:2) And neither was Jesus’ crucifixion evidence of Pilate’s authority, but rather, God’s sovereignty.  

 

That’s why, just a few decades after the Resurrection, the Apostle Paul encouraged Christians still living under the oppressive hand of the Roman empire to be subject to the governing authorities. “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed.” (Romans 13:1-2) Seem like good advice? Maybe, if those in authority are just. But what about rulers bent on evil? Paul’s words still stand, whether our leaders are just and good or evil and unmerciful. 

 

Caesar and Pilate are not remembered as good and just. In fact, the Roman emperor ruling when Paul wrote those words was very likely the same man who ordered Paul beheaded and oversaw the execution of hundreds of Christ followers. Yet the blood of martyrs has watered the seeds of the Church. Augustus is dead. Pilate is a footnote in history. The once mighty Roman Empire is no more. But the Church of Jesus prevails.

 

Born into hostility and political upheaval, Jesus stands at the center of a world in relentless pursuit of peace. Kings and rulers of this world have long sought to establish more perfect forms of government. Their promises, even those well-intentioned, fall short. Every four years, Americans go to the polls hoping to elect someone who might bring true and lasting peace and prosperity. And four year later, we try again. What if, this Christmas, we finally recognize that peace is unelectable at the ballot box? What if we truly accept the peace delivered to us in a manger and wrapped, not in any nation’s flag, but in swaddling clothes?

 

 

Sovereign God, 

Nations rage and kingdoms fall, but Your Word is forever. Grant me the faith to believe that You work all things – even the evil intentions of others – for the good of those who love You and are called according to Your purposes. Give me the faith of Joseph to trust that You are working through the difficult circumstances of my life. Help me to remember that there is no king or ruler who can destroy Your plan or remove me from Your hand. 
Amen.

The Music of Christmas is available in print or digital formats.