A Series on Advent
The candle of hope – Joseph
(Click
on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 1:18-25
[Advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Tradition includes lighting four candles: hope, love, joy and peace. To celebrate Advent, we will be looking at four people plus one who were intimately involved in the Christmas story, and then relating their part of the story to one of the Advent candles.]
Recently, my wife
and I went to Disney World with our daughter, son-in-law and three
grandchildren, ages 12, 8 and 4. It was Magical! Where else could you do any of these?
Eat in a restaurant where Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Grumpy or Snow White might stop by your
table for a photo op.
Go to “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party” where we dressed up as the Seven
Dwarfs. (After all, there was seven of us.)
Go on the roller coaster ride Expedition Everest, where during part of the ride you’re in total darkness going backwards! It's wild!
I would imagine
that Joseph might have felt like he was on a roller coaster ride with all the ups
and downs; flying around turns; abruptly changing directions with no control
over where he went; riding in total darkness, not knowing where he was going.
It was unchartered territory.
After all, Joseph
was your “average Joe” – nobody special. He was just living life. He had started
his carpentry business and was engaged to be married, when suddenly the roller
coaster went off the rails. His fiancé was pregnant… but not by him.
An angel appeared
to him in a dream, telling him an unbelievable story. That Mary is pregnant by
the Holy Spirit; that he should still take her as his wife; that she will have
a son and they should name him Jesus. Why that name?
21 And
she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his
people from their sins.” NLT
You could imagine
when Joseph woke up the following morning the thoughts that were running
through his mind. “What just happened? Did I have bad pizza last night? Was the
dream even real? The angel couldn’t have said all those things. Surely, I
misunderstood.” But he didn’t.
24 When
Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his
wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with
her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. NLT
Like Joseph,
sometimes life can feel like a roller coaster… out of control, even hopeless.
But, there is a plan; there is hope. For Joseph, that plan included the extraordinary
fulfillment of prophecy from Isaiah.
22 All
of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look!
The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will
call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” NLT
As you contemplate
and celebrate the birth of Jesus, keep in mind that God has a plan and that he
is sovereign. And, because of this, there is hope. And, because of that hope, we can live faithfully like Joseph.
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