the    sides

Part of our weekly evo series on the birth of Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25.

Lots of people make a big deal out of Mary and that’s understandable on one hand. The only woman ever to have God inside her womb…God’s mom…I mean, that’s a pretty exclusive club. A membership of one.

But I think about Joseph…mainly because I’m a guy. Mainly because one of the happiest days of my life was when Amy told me we were going to have Cooper. In fact, I can remember each of the days I found out we were having another child. It’s crazy…you start crying at the drop of a hat and start watching chick flicks. (Okay - not so much true about the chick flicks.)

But Joseph on THAT day. He wasn’t married to her yet, hadn’t BEEN with her yet and she tells him she’s pregnant. He KNOWS it’s not his child. The hurt, confusion, anger. I admire that Joseph didn’t want a public spectacle. Just let her go on her way…maybe the real father will take care of her.

And I’m impressed that Joseph decided to change his mind after the visit by the angel. Wonder what scared the bejeezus out of him more - the fact that he was visited by an angel or the fact that he’d been pick to be the dad of God?

“I’m a freakin’ carpenter.” Honestly, that’s all I can imagine him repeating over and over and over again.

Can you imagine the next morning when he seeks out Mary? Think that conversation was odd? Grandparents? The rest of the town? It’s just one great big hassle under this enormous cloud of scandal.

The easy thing would have been to walk away. No one would have thought less of Joseph for it. No traveling to Bethlehem and leaving family. No sleeping in a stinky barn or delivering a baby in a feed trough. No running for their lives to Egypt when that nut case Herod came into power.

I’m not sure what tipped the scales for Joseph to take the risk. To trust the angel and Mary. I’m sure there were nights when he looked at Jesus and went - “This is the son of God. What the heck am I doing here? What do I bring to the table? Teach him how to work wood? Clean a fish? Annoy his mom?”

Maybe it was later that Joseph began thinking about all of this. Maybe the only reason Joseph stayed was because he was scared of the angel. Or because he loved Mary. Or maybe he just trusted that somehow, someway, someday God was going to make sense out of all of this and he just wanted to be obedient.

Whatever the motivation, Joseph didn’t give up on Mary…or God.

And God didn’t give up on him either.

Trust God and do the next thing.