Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 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.”
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Today’s Gospel made me think of one of the latest trends in our social media culture – the “gender reveal” party. Have you seen or heard about or maybe been a part of one of these? They seem to be the new addition to the list of things many couples do to celebrate the coming of a new baby. The short of the long is, the baby’s sex is kept a secret from all but a couple of family members or friends and a clever way is concocted to reveal the news of the baby’s biology to the parents-to-be, and often-times, to the newest baby’s siblings-to-be, as well.
You can Google it, if you’re curious. I decided to spare you this morning. Because I’ve seen videos of blue smoke bombs on the beach… Race cars that blow pink exhaust when the engine is revved… Exploding golf balls… Cakes, cupcakes, and donuts, all filled with the appropriately colored filling… Fireworks, of course… I even saw a couple who commissioned the lights on the Ferris wheel at a local carnival to turn blue for their big announcement.
And you can file this one under “Pastor Mark must be getting old,” but I’m kind of glad “Gender Reveal Parties” weren’t a thing yet when my kids were on the way. It all just seems like too much to worry about. (For what it’s worth, I’m also not on board with “prom-posals” and whatever over-the-top, Instagram-worthy thing the kids these days have to do to get someone to go to “HOCO” with them, either.) I know! I might actually be my father at this point. Or my grandfather. Or the Grinch. I don’t care. Get off my lawn!
Anyway, Christa would probably say it’s because I’m lazy when it comes to that sort of thing. But I think there’s enough to do to get ready for a new baby as it is. Aren’t there enough clothes to buy and furniture to assemble? Aren’t there enough showers to host or to attend, without adding another special event to the calendar? Let alone one where you have to coordinate a sharing of top-secret information between the OB-GYN and your mother or mother-in-law or best friend or the most disinterested third-party so as not to make any of the aforementioned Very Important People angry about who got to know what before who?
And then there’s all of those extra-special ways people concoct to reveal the big reveal… pink cupcakes and blue balloons, exploding golf balls and fireworks … the possibilities are endless, really… and one more way to make an already crazy, anxious, stressful, uber-exciting time in your life, even more of all of those things, it seems to me – crazy, anxious, stressful and all the rest.
Still, no matter how hard you try – none of these modern day “Gender Reveal Parties” even come close to what happened for Joseph and Mary in the days before Jesus was born.
There they were, this First Century, happy, couple-to-be. Joseph was betrothed to Mary, which meant they were promised to each other, but hadn’t made it official – in any of the ways yet, if you know what I mean. They were being patient. They were jumping through all the appropriate hoops. They were staying the course. They were living by the law.
Then Joseph finds out that, despite all of their best efforts, all of their righteous and holy living, Mary is pregnant. And he knows it’s not his – it can’t be. He must have wondered who would believe him. He must have wondered what people would say. He must have wondered what he should do next.
When you read this story with 21st Century eyes, you might think Joseph would have to be a jerk to simply “dismiss her quietly,” which was his plan. But when you remember when he lived and realize what he knew, Joseph turns out to look more like a hero.
Because Joseph knew he would be expected to do more than just “dismiss her quietly.” Joseph knew his culture and his faith told him he had a right to – at the very least – shame and disgrace and shun the woman who was supposed to become his bride. He may even have been expected to have Mary put to death – as was the custom for a jilted, first century bachelor, in such a predicament.
So, just when Joseph makes the bold decision to dismiss her quietly, to let her go, to essentially break from custom and break the law and to eat crow in order to save her from disgrace and abuse and all sorts of pain and humiliation, he has this revelation in a dream.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” Joseph hears from the angel. “I know what it looks like. I know what you’re thinking. I know what everyone else is going to think… and say… and assume. But this is none of that.”
“This is a holy thing. This will be a holy birth. This will be a sacred baby. Do not dismiss Mary quietly – don’t dismiss her at all. Believe her. Take her as your wife, just as you had planned. Marry her in spite of what everyone might say or think or do. Have this baby. It’s going to be a boy, by the way. You should name him Jesus – because he’s going to save his people from their sins.”
Now that’s a “gender reveal” – and then some – with a punch – am I right? And believe it or not – like it or not – all of this “revealing”, whether it’s a cupcake in 2019 or an angel in a dream, back in the First Century – all of it means to accomplish the same thing:
These “reveals” mean to fill us with hope and expectation. These revelations mean to move us action. They mean to prepare our hearts and our lives and our homes and our world for the new life that’s on the way.
I guess if the cupcake is blue, some people would paint the walls to the nursery accordingly. I imagine if the confetti is pink that means you might shop for clothes and accessories differently. No matter what, the reason for knowing and sharing and celebrating the news is so that you do something about it, in preparation for the one who is to come.
And the same is true – and tremendously more significant – where Jesus is concerned. What would… what could… what should… we do differently as we prepare to celebrate his coming, yet again? How will we live and move and be differently, knowing what we know about God’s intentions for Jesus’ birth? What does this big reveal reveal about our own lives in this world – here and now, and in the days to come?
Who can we tell about this new life that’s on the way? How can we share what we know this Jesus means for our lives and for the sake of this world? Where can we be more generous? How can we be more kind? In what ways can we be more grateful and forgiving and hopeful and patient and faithful and like this child who comes among us to be all of those things?
It’s a boy, people! His name will be Jesus… Emmanuel… it means “GOD IS WITH US”… and he comes to save us from ourselves, to save us from our sins, to save us for the sake of the world. All things – and each of us – can and should – be different and better and blessed because of it.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
