Joseph was told that his fiancé, Mary, was to have a
baby. Enough of a startling revelation
as it was, but to be visited by an angel who tells you this child is the
promised coming Messiah is almost too much.
I think of the emotions swirling about in Joseph’s mind. After all, any ordinary man would have a mixture
of such emotions—the internal adjustments you make as you process in your mind
and heart that 1.) your fiancé whom you have not yet been intimate is pregnant;
2.) you realize, perhaps by surprise, that your love and compassion outweighs
your need to save face; 3.) that this child who isn’t yours is to be raised by
you; 4.) that this child is the promised one of God, who will save you from
your sin. You would feel—what, doubt and
skepticism, fear and worry, overwhelmed, joyful, sorrowful—this is almost too
much for anyone to grasp.
Yet Joseph, a good man who wants to do right by his promise,
has the very human idea of distancing himself from the entire situation; not to
extract vengeance as was his right and not to play the wounded lover, but to
simply, quietly, give her back to her family and call the whole thing off. She and her family can deal with repercussions
of the situation. But, that is not the
way God wants it to be. He is to marry
her, care for her and the child, and all of this knowing that this child may
indeed be the anointed one of God who would come to save Israel. Could you be this obedient in the face of
personal humiliation?
Good men, truly good men, the kind with ethics and morals
that are uncompromising and true are hard to come by. It is as difficult for today’s men to live up
to the Captain America standard (manly, brave, a moral compass that points true
north, looks good in a costume), as it is for women to live up to the Proverbs
31 woman (in charge of the home, makes her husband and kids look good, while
still having her own career). I think,
however, Joseph was not some illusive image of a good man, but truly one who
shows mercy, loves justice, and in spite of the emotions that follow, walks
with God humbly. Are you a Joseph kind
of person? One who simply does what you
believe to be right quietly and without fanfare, without seeking your rights,
but rather protecting the rights of others.
I think Joseph is a good example for all of us—male and female—this season
of Advent when there is so much going on in the world that gives us the
opposite understanding of what is right and wrong.
