Matthew 1:19,20
19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her (Mary) to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Springford Baptist Church: KNOWING PEACE
December 4, 2022.
On this 2nd Sunday in Advent, as we consider KNOWING PEACE by KNOWING GOD, I wonder what are our expectations of PEACE? How willing are we to allow God to lead us on a path of PEACE that will require us to follow His directions?
Notice with me the important words of the angel of the Lord to Joseph. He addresses him as Joseph son of David. This makes it clear that the angel is speaking directly to Joseph. Then the angel of the Lord says very strongly, “do not be afraid…” (Matthew 1:20)
KNOWING PEACE by having our fear replaced with abiding PEACE may require specific actions that God shows us to take.
Let me illustrate this by telling you about a memorable experience from my childhood. I was in Grade 2 at the time at East Oxford Central School on County Road 14. It was a blustery winter day and I recall that as we sat in our classroom with our teacher reading story after story, it seemed that the school day was going longer than usual. Then the announcement came that because of a severe winter storm the buses could not get through and we would need to stay all night at school. I remember thinking that this was quite an exciting adventure. I now know that for the teachers it was a very anxious time. They had to figure out how they were going to feed 400 children and what we would do for sleeping arrangements overnight. Careful plans were implemented and some nearby neighbours helped to prepare food. Supplies and meals were delivered by snowmobile. Some of the food had come from the general store in Oxford Centre. We played games and sang songs and watched TV in the gymnasium. Then the girls slept in the library, which was carpeted, with our coats over us for warmth. The boys slept in the gym on mats. The next morning parents, if they were able to get through, were arriving to pick up students. My Dad came for my brothers and I and we roared off down the Old Stage Road only to get stuck in a huge snow bank on the Brant Oxford Townline. We had to get out and walk about 2 ½ miles to get safely home to the farm where my Mom had hot soup to warm us up.
The retelling of this experience highlights that at various points there was action to be taken to dispel fear. Strategies had to be figured out by the teachers to feed several hungry children. Arrangements had to be made to provide a set up for spending the night at school. There needed to be reassurance for students who were scared or upset. When our family got stuck in a snowbank, it was not a time to sit in the car and to wait for rescue. We had to take the initiative and trudge home to get the tractor to pull the car out.
As people of faith who believe in God and trust God to help us, still there are things for us to do to combat fear. Yes, we place things in God’s hands. At the same time, we need to be listening for what God instructs us to do in any anxious situation.
There may be specific actions for us to take in order to welcome the PEACE that God wants us to know.
We can know that God does know every detail of what we think and feel. Other people may discount what makes us anxious or not even be aware of what we are facing, but God knows.
God knew the turmoil of Joseph’s heart and mind when he discovered that Mary was pregnant and was trying to figure out what to do.
It is apparent that Joseph cared deeply for Mary and was thinking to try to resolve things quietly without “exposing Mary to public disgrace” (vs. 19). If he said what was the truth that the child she was carrying was not his then Mary was the one who would be humiliated. He wanted to prevent this, but wasn’t sure how.
The angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream to guide him in a different way of handling this. Hear those words again,
“…do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife” (Matt. 1:20)
God knows that Joseph will be afraid unless he has the full truth. This is understandable that Joseph is distressed and afraid about what to do.
The angel of the Lord clearly tells Jospeh what to do and why this is the right thing to do. It is right for Joseph to take Mary home as his wife and to protect her from public ridicule because, “what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20)
In a remarkable and miraculous way, this is all part of God’s plan. This is how God is making it possible for anyone to find PEACE in our troubled and complicated world. PEACE can only be known through His Son Jesus Whom Mary would bring into our troubled and complicated world.
If Joseph had rejected the message of the angel of the Lord then he would have missed the PEACE that was being offered to him.
When we pray and ask God to bring us PEACE, are we willing to obey what he instructs us to do?
In the times when we say, I would do what God tells me if I could just be sure what that is, will we trust God to make that plain to us in His time?
Hear this truth, God is completely aware when we are afraid and are scheming to figure out how we will handle a particular situation. How would things be different if we invite God to show us what He intends us to do?
We can be confident in God’s plans even when we do not understand them at the time.
If we keep insisting on our solutions, we will miss the possibility for God’s PEACE.
It sounds so inviting to replace our fear with God’s gift of PEACE.
We long to turn over to God the heavy burden that we have been carrying.
When God gently whispers, “Do not be afraid, do this”, how will we respond?
Will we begin to list all the reasons we are not willing to do that or will we get stuck in concerning ourselves with what others will think and how we will explain to them our actions?
When considering what to do, think about it this way. Who has the clearest perspective on any circumstance that causes us fear? Is it us or God? Since God knows every motive and every outcome of any choice people make, our best choice is not to try to create our fix to a problem, but to look for what God is already doing to solve things.
Joseph did just what the angel of the Lord instructed Him to do. He took Mary home as his wife.
What will we do when fears swirl in our hearts and minds and threaten to overtake us? Will we listen for God’s invitation to replace our fear with PEACE and will we do whatever He leads us to do in order to KNOW PEACE?