Reorienting Our Expectations and Dreams

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.” From Matthew 1:18-25

This Sunday, we hear a perspective of the Christmas story we often don’t dwell on—what part of this story required Joseph to change everything he knew in light of a dream that allowed the birth of Jesus to occur?

Joseph primarily occupies an underwhelming part of our nativity scenes. He is there, but I imagine most of us hardly notice him compared to the angels, the baby, Mary, and even the animals. He’s next to the manger and obviously had a part to play—yet he’s not front and center.

The Gospel of Matthew has a very different sense of his role. As the pater familias, descended from the house of David, he is crucial in determining that prophecies are fulfilled by this birth. He is described as righteous. When I think of his righteousness, I jump ahead to his willingness to spare Mary public disgrace. Their betrothal was considered a binding contract, yet her pregnancy would not be disregarded; the circumstances in which he found himself would require that the marriage did not go forward. The part about his righteousness I never paid attention to before was that his beliefs required him to dismiss Mary, yet he planned to do this with quiet kindness.

For this righteous and kind person to listen to a dream is quite amazing, and of course it changed the course of history. Mary and Jesus were protected. Joseph would later lead them to Egypt, and we can only imagine the many lessons he taught Jesus during his childhood. The ability to listen, especially when our expectations are thwarted, is an amazing witness to faith and trust.

There is so much in our world that is not as we would hope. I’m naming a few here: violence, antisemitism, and polarization leave us wondering what we can reasonably expect. Joseph is a good model for us in these days. He was committed to his beliefs, but he also knew that he had to remain open to how God might call him to something he could never have imagined.

To dream of a new way is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Grounded in love and community, we can be flexible enough to change course when that is what is needed. Listen to your dreams, and see what God might do for the world.

Peace, Beth +