Serve in Faith                                Matthew 1:18-24

Christmas is right around the corner so it’s time to look at the story of Jesus birth. I thought we’d start with the first account of this event which are in the first gospel, the gospel of Matthew. One thing that always makes me look deep into scripture is when events are being described by writers who were not present when they occurred. When this happens, it re-enforces to us that the Holy Spirit is leading the hand of the author, and that there is meaning underneath the surface of simple facts.

Verse 18, “Mary, who was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.”

Mary and Joseph had a nice little life to look forward to. Joseph was successful in his profession, fully able to provide for a new wife and any children that came along. They were young, energetic, enthusiastic, and like all new couples, eager to start building a happy life together. And then God comes along and turned everything around. First layer in this story; God is all powerful and all authority lies in him. No matter what we may have planned, God’s plan trumps our own.

If we look at Luke’s account, Luke 1:30, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.” And in our account, Matthew 1:20, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.” Mary and Joseph’s first reaction at being called by God to do his work is fear.

“You have found favor with God.” God doesn’t call you to him, doesn’t call you to be his advocate because he’s trying to punish you. God calls you to do his work because he is bestowing on you his favor and his blessing. Rather than feel oppressed by what God wants, we should be upheld knowing God, the maker of the universe, wants me to do something for him. He doesn’t need me. I can’t do anything that he can’t do himself. So instead of feeling burdened we should be elated that God chose us.

The angel told both Mary and Joseph, “do not be afraid,” and they both came to accept the responsibility God was putting on them. Mary and Joseph came to trust in God. They came to a place of deep faith in God.

Now I want us to think of why Mary and Joseph were afraid. They were not married, and she discovers she is pregnant. Things were very different then; Mary would be put to shame. In her society she could have been stoned to death. At the very least she would be an outcast, losing her home, her family, and any future she may have hoped for. Joseph, if he married her, would also be looked down on. He very possibly would lose his business because those in the area would not engage in his services. He would be condemned to an impoverished life with a starving family, and no chance of support or help from friends or family.

Sometimes the hardest thing God wants us to do is to go against society’s norms. Sometimes God asks you to risk losing everything save your trust in him. Olympic champion Eric Liddell lost his life in China during World War 2 because he was answering the call God placed in his life, giving aide to the poor and desperate.

Verses 22-23, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet, ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”)’”

God was telling Mary and Joseph “Trust me, I’ve got a plan.” We may not understand it, we may not want to do it; but nothing with God is just a whim, he has a grand plan. Exodus 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman…” God had a plan from the moment of the fall. In fact, God gave us free choice at our creation so it might be said God had a plan from before he even created heaven and earth.

We have plans for our lives based on what we see today. We look ahead a few years and say, “I want to do that in the future.” But we are extremely short sighted. How far in the future do we look? How much does my actions influence the future? If we’re lucky, the things we say and do will help our children, maybe our grandchildren, but not much further. God sees all eternity. His plans affect millennia.

Luke 1:38, “I am the Lord’s servant; Mary answered.” Matthew 1:24, “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded…” Mary and Joseph believed God, trusted God, had tremendous faith in God, and did what God told them. They risked ridicule, excommunication, and humiliation. They risked their entire future to do what God said.

Did they have the ability to say no? I believe they did, we all have free choice. But notice that after they accepted God’s plan, scripture does not record any incidences of suffering on their part because of it.

Luke 2 gives us the story of twelve year old Jesus staying behind in the Temple when his parents started home after the Festival of Passover; Luke 2:44, “Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.” Mary and Joseph were not ostracized, they were rewarded with many relatives and friends who shared their lives, people who loved them and obviously cared about them and their family.

Let me tell you a story. Almost fifteen years ago God called me. He wanted to do his work. And like the God loving man that I am, I zealously ran in the opposite direction. I was happy with what I was doing, I had plans. I resisted with all I had; God won, and my life has never been more blessed.

The Christmas story is a glorious account of the birth of our Lord and the restoration of our relationship with God. But there are many layers in it for us to understand beyond just the facts of Jesus birth.

Each of us is on a different path. One is a teacher, another an attorney. One may be a plumber, another a nurse. Each of us may face discouragement, temptations, or disease. And each of us may be called by God to serve him according to his will. According to the plan he has for our life. For each of us the specifics of his calling may be different, but the message he gives you will be the same one he gave Mary and Joseph; don’t be afraid, I have a plan.

Our reading shows us that the realities of God’s calling include these: we may have our life planned out, but God’s plan supersedes ours.

Our plans involve what we see, what we experience, what we desire. But God had our lives planned long before we were born and decided what we wanted.

Our plans are finite, they involve a short time in the passage of time. Yes, our plans may seem important to us, but God’s plans involve eternity and are important for all time.

When we do what God asks us to, we will be rewarded and blessed in ways we can’t imagine. Even in the worst like Eric Liddell, we will be blessed with heaven, and heaven is so beautiful, we can’t even imagine its full glory.

Mary and Joseph show us we should have faith and trust in God, faith, and trust in his plans.

And last, something we should all know; faith and belief are not the same thing. Belief is knowing God exists and Jesus came to earth for our salvation. Faith is being unsure of what we’re called to do, afraid of the consequences of what we’re called to do and doing it anyway because God asked us to.

Christmas is about belief, belief that Jesus Christ was born in a dusty manger in the tiny town of Bethlehem. This year I’m asking us to make Christmas about faith. Faith in God, faith in God’s plan, faith in doing what he asks, according to his plan.

I pray you will all have a holy Christmas, and a life full of faith.

Amen