December 19, 2016

Matthew 1:20 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”

I’m told the most often repeated command in the Bible is “do not be afraid.” Here it was given to Joseph by an angel in a dream. Seems like pretty flimsy rationale for such a big step- “Yes Dad, I know she is pregnant; No Dad, I didn’t father the child; Yes, I’m going to marry her anyway; Yes because of the dream; Yes, the one with the angel.” Such a crazy and disrespectable start to the “greatest story ever told.” So Joseph was, or at least was susceptible to being, afraid. Life had gotten off track and would never be what he thought it was going to be. I guess I’ve been afraid for far less. But this is how the savior comes, this is how hope is born into the world, this is how “God with us” arrives. If things seem out of control in your life, and in whose life don’t they feel that way, do not be afraid- at least not to the point that you don’t move ahead as best you can. The message of Christmas is that God comes to us, sometimes in the ordinary, sometimes in the extraordinary. How is God coming to you this Christmas.