Courageous Faith
Today’s reading sounds so very familiar to us. Especially as we are still surrounded by the sights and sounds of Christmas. “And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” The birth of our Savior was a truly miraculous event. A young girl who had never known a man became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. That is miraculous enough, but God didn’t stop there. Her fiancée believed her. That was a miracle too. Joseph could have divorced her quietly as he had initially planned. He could have exposed her as an adulterer and had her stoned. Instead, he stepped out in faith and believed the words of an angel given to him in a dream (Matthew 1:18-25).
We know very little about the man who stepped in to raise the Son of God. We can speculate that he died before Jesus began his ministry simply because he is not mentioned while Mary is. However, while we know he was alive when Jesus was twelve, we do not know how old Jesus was when his earthly father passed away. What we do know of Joseph, we mostly gather from the story of Christ’s birth. While no one can deny Mary was specifically chosen to be the mother of Jesus, we have to also acknowledge that Joseph was also specifically chosen to be his earthly, adopted, father. We can see why God chose this man by the way he walked in faith. Mary had an in-person encounter with the angel Gabriel. Joseph had a dream. After the visit of the Magi, we see Joseph jumping into action after another dream reveals God’s will for him to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus (Matthew 2:13-15). Mary’s humility and obedience are often celebrated, but should we not also celebrate Joseph’s unwavering faith and action?
Christmas is the revelation of one miracle after another. We can allow the details of the nativity to become so familiar they fade into the lights and songs of the holidays. We can get so wrapped up in the To-Do List that comes with the holiday season that we neglect to respond to the challenge of faith Christmas brings. We can, but let us choose not to. Let us choose to pause and reflect on the miracle of Christ’s birth. Let us be encouraged and challenged by the faith and obedience of these two amazingly average people who were chosen to raise the Son of God. No matter what our circumstances are, we can be courageous for Christ. No matter what limitations, distractions or obstacles we face, we can walk in obedient faith. When we do, we will see miracles. We will see God move in ways we never could have imagined, and we will be remembered as servants of the Most High God.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
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