INTRODUCTION
A few years ago I remember watching a public service announcement on TV where the opening image was a close-up of a young teenage boy running for all he’s worth. In the background the announcer spoke of how as a boy this young man had dreamed about what he would be when he grew up. Then as the camera pulled back from the young man you could see two police officers in hard pursuit and hear the commentator conclude with these words, “what he didn’t dream of was growing up to be a drug dealer.” How does one seek to describe such a turn of events from hope to ruin? Perhaps Robert Burns put it best when, after seeing his brother chasing a helpless field mouse, wrote these words
But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of Mice and Men,
Gang aft agley,
The best laid schemes of Mice and Men, often go Astray. When this poem was first published in the Kilmarnock edition it moved the critic Snyder to acclaim “the tragedy of the mouse has become the tragedy of Burns himself, and of all heart-broken folk who review the past with regret, or await the future with misgiving.” What lead Snyder to make such a statement was that prior to November of 1785 Burns had lost both his father and a brother and so, at the writing of this poem had devastation on his mind. What do you do? What do you think? What do you say, when all your plans turn to dust at your feet? You’re fired! It’s cancer! I’m pregnant! What words can restore broken dreams. This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. What do you do? when all your plans turn to dust at your feet? You pick up the pieces as best you can and you go on. One step after another. You wall away the pain and you go on as best as you can. Much like Joseph did.
If the birth of Jesus had been left for us to arrange, I wonder what we would have decided? Probably a committee would be formed to decide on the best parents. Then there would be a selection process until we arrived at the ideal couple. I don’t suppose an unmarried mother and her carpenter fiancé would have stood much of a chance. In many ways Mary represents much that has been rejected by humanity throughout the ages. She was young, unmarried, and pregnant. And so at this early stage in the story, Joseph’s response seems normal. Shocked by her sudden pregnancy, his instant reaction was to ditch her. And that’s exactly what would have been expected by good, decent people. Although Joseph was too gentle a person to demand the stoning of Mary, as was his right by law, nonetheless it was his duty to get rid of her. So he decided to quietly drop the engagement. When you take it at face value, this story surrounding the birth of Jesus is pretty sordid. But Matthew exclaims that it was God who wrote this story. What could He have been thinking? And because God was the author those caught up in this story find a different meaning to the events at hand. After Joseph had considered what he was going to do 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.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
As I listen to this part of the story I can’t help but think back to my childhood days listening to the comedy of Billy Cosby and what I expect to hear is Joseph saying, “Ya, Right! Am I on Candid Camera?” I mean, after all this story is crazy! Who in their right mind would believe a line like this? “But when Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” What on earth was Joseph thinking?
Lord I know He’s not my own.
Not of my flesh, not of my bone.
Still Father, let this baby be
The Son of my love.
Father show me where I fit
into this plan of Yours.
How can a man be father
to the Son of God?
Lord, for all my life
I’ve been a simple carpenter.
How can I raise a King?
How can I raise a King?
What can you see now Joseph after a dream filled night that you didn’t see before you laid your head down to rest? What do you grasp now you Son of David that you didn’t understand before the angel of the Lord appeared? The prophet Isaiah declared that a virgin would give birth to a son and he would be called Emmanuel which means, God is with us. That is the truth Joseph grasped after the angel announced his message. That is the word that gave Joseph the courage to go ahead and take his wife to himself, and raise that child as his own. That is the message the angel proclaimed, God is with us. God is with all of us. Not just Mary, not just Joseph. God is with all of us. With you and with me. In all of our lives, In the story of our lives. This is the story of our lives, that God is with us in the good and the bad. This is the story of Joseph and of Mary, and it is our story as well. It is the story of a God who chooses the most unlikely candidates as vessels of His divine will.
CONCLUSION
Fred Craddock tells the story of a time that he was on vacation. He and his wife had found a quiet little restaurant where they looked forward to a private meal, just the two of them. While they were waiting for their meal they noticed a distinguished looking white haired man moving from table to table, visiting guests. Craddock whispered to his wife, “I hope he doesn’t come over here!” He didn’t want the man to intrude upon their privacy. But that’s exactly what the man did. “Where you folks from,” the man asked. “Oklahoma,” said Fred. “Splendid State, I hear. Although I’ve never been there. What do you do for a living?” “I teach homiletics,” Said Fred hoping that this would scare the man off. “Oh, so you teach preachers, do you! Well, have I got a story for you!” And with that he pulled up a chair and sat down. Dr. Craddock said he groaned inwardly thinking to himself, “Oh no! Here it comes. Another preacher story. It seems like everyone has one.” At that point the man stuck out his hand and said,
I’m Ben Hooper. I was born not far from here across the mountains. My mother wasn’t married when I was born so I had a hard time. When I started school my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn’t a very nice name. I used to go off by myself at recess and during lunch time because the taunts of my playmates cut so deeply. What was worse was going down town on Saturday afternoon and feeling every eye burning a hole through me. They were all wondering just who my real father was. When I was about 12 years old a new preacher came to our church. He preached hell fire and brimstone. He scared me and fascinated me all at the same time. I would always slip into church late and leave early so no one would see me. I feared that if anyone saw me they would ask what a boy like me was doing in their church. One day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in the church on me. Just about the time I got to the door I felt a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see the preacher looking down on me. He said, ‘Well young man, I see a resemblance in you. You look a lot like... Why you’re the son of.. the son of...’ I cringed and figured here it comes. And then he said, “Why you’re a son of God!” And slapping me on my bottom he added, “Now go out and collect your inheritance.”
At that point the white haired gentleman looked across the table at Fred Craddock and said, “That was the most important single sentence ever said to me.” And with that Ben Hooper bid his good-byes and moved on to another table. Suddenly, said Fred Craddock he remembered how on two occasions the people of Tennessee had elected an illegitimately born man to be their governor the man named Ben Hooper. The message of angels is that God is with us. The promise of the ages is that God is with us. God is with us. God is for us. And God will work His wonders in our lives, if we will let Him. Though our mortal plans may all be in vain, a life aligned to God’s divine plan will never go astray.