a righteous man

Monday, December 3, 2007

Psalm 76; Matthew 1

I assigned all of Matthew 1 (which will be one of the longer, if not the longest, readings we'll have this time around) because most of us don't read genealogies carefully. Understandable. But there are some interesting names in there. If you want to consider this further I posted two blogs about it on October 18: dicristina

And, of course, Immanuel is a beautiful theme to meditate on. Matthew is the only gospel to include this quote, and note how Matthew changes the quote from Isaiah 7:14. It's so subtle we miss it. Compare them and see if you can find it (I don't mean word order, but a substantial change in a noun).

I do encourage you to go back and check out the Old Testament passages, and their contexts, when Matthew says something took place "to fulfill" what was spoken by the prophet... It's a good way to get acquainted with Jesus' Bible. And it's something quite important to Matthew.

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What strikes me, devotionally, today is Joseph (my middle name because I was born near his feast day, and the name I chose in confirmation... a Roman Catholic thing): that he was a just (or righteous) man and that he did all that the angel of the Lord commanded him. This Jesus, or Immanuel, is obviously the main character in the big story, but at this point we've only heard his genealogy. He's the son of Abraham, the son of David... We haven't had a "picture" of him yet, a story that lets us see him and what he's like.

But as we begin Advent, we do hear about a righteous man and his obedience and faithfulness to do all that the Lord commands him. This was the person to whom God entrusted his son to be his earthly father. In his relationship with God, and with Jesus, Joseph was righteous, as well as tender and compassionate. Can you imagine if he had not been obedient to God? Our savior could have been named Mortimer, or Englebert, or one of those impossible to pronounce Old Testament names... :) (it would have ruined a lot of good worship songs...)

Seriously, Joseph participated with God in his restoration project. He certainly had no idea that God would use him in such a way, but the first description we have of Joseph is that he was a righteous man. In other words, he had set his life in a certain direction already. He loved God and God's Word, and sought to observe it. (We see in Luke's account especially that Joseph and Mary we "observant" regarding dedication, circumcision, purification, Passover.) So when a difficult situation arose, we read first that he was going to handle it in an honorable, just way; but secondly, and more importantly, when the Lord spoke to him through the angel he obeyed. He was willing and able to adjust his life and his expectations, and to do all that was commanded.

As we prepare for the coming of the Lord, as we await the return of King Immanuel to make all things right, let us follow Joseph's example. Discipleship is not about trying to be who we ought to be and do what we ought to do when the moment of truth comes, it is about training ourselves day by day that we might be able to when the test (or temptation) comes. I pray this Advent might be a time of renewal for each of us in our daily walk with God that we might fully participate with him in restoring the world, and joyfully greet him when he returns.

"Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
(Matthew 24:42-44, the Gospel for the 1st Sunday of Advent)