The Look of Love

Last weekend I preached about Mary and Elizabeth and their joy at God choosing them to birth sons who would save their people and change the world. This wasn’t easy for either of them but they embraced the journey trusting fully in their God.

For this coming Sunday of Love, we often think of the love of God shown in bringing Jesus to earth to be Emmanuel, literally God-with-us. The love of God arrives profoundly in a vulnerable baby fully reliant on human parents and who would one day many years later die for us. John 3:16 is often mentioned and we remember that Jesus was fully God while also being God’s Son.

But I also see profound love in Joseph. Here is a guy who was likely older than Mary, who probably chose her and was so excited to start a life with her. He suddenly finds out that she’s pregnant and not by him, an offense in Jewish law punishable by stoning to death. His future is crumbling around him, not to mention the huge shame cast over him by the small fishbowl village of Nazareth.

Who wouldn’t blame him for being mad, for wanting revenge, for hating her? And her flimsy excuse - that God did it? Really? Despite this, he decides to not press charges, to save her from death, and to just call it all off to protect her. But then a dream confirms her story. The angelic messenger tells him in his sleep to trust her, and he goes to her and says that he will still be her husband, he believes her and he will stand by her and father her child that isn’t his. They get married and he is with her throughout the rest of the pregnancy and helps to raise the Son of God. No pressure.

What an incredible love story. Women should be swooning left and right as they read it. The guy who showed up, who covered and protected her, who wasn’t jealous (or at least got over it quickly), who stepped up as a dad and who wasn’t afraid to answer the call of God and stand by her through thick and thin - this is Hallmark-worthy. The fact that she was so much younger and that they were thrown into a three to four day difficult journey to Bethlehem - it just adds to his amazing-ness.

Joseph doesn’t get a lot of airtime. He is barely mentioned in Luke, the story of the angelic visit in a dream being only in Matthew. Few stories include him after the escape to Egypt, which some scholars attribute to him having died. He gives himself to God’s role for him in life - loving Mary and protecting her and Jesus, raising Him and probably training him in the carpentry trade. There are some lovely scenes in The Nativity Story movie of Mary and Joseph talking on the way to Bethlehem, wondering about what raising the Messiah will be like and their fears about it.

Joseph is an incredible role model for both men and women of following through with commitments even when it costs a lot, of honouring and protecting what God places in the lives of others to bring into the world, of showing unconditional love, of trusting in God. Can you imagine how different families and relationships would be, how different communities and churches would be, and the world itself, if we all lived out the love shown by Joseph? While he can seem a minor character, can you imagine how different the Christmas story would be without him?

As the song says “What the world needs now is love sweet love”. With all of the suspicions people have for each other with the pandemic, with political turmoil and polarizing views on race, the environment, and other basic values, we are in need of a reminder of our common humanity and that we all need love that is deep and safe. We need to model a willingness to listen, to accept someone else’s story and truth even if it doesn’t ring true for us, to do whatever we can to protect who God has called others to be.

When we can have enough trouble loving our families and even ourselves, how are we supposed to show the love of Joseph? Well, it’s definitely a choice made over and over again. We decide that love is the way, that love wins and is stronger than hate, and that love did in fact change the world and continues to change the world. We choose to engage and trust in that kind of love, no matter what it costs us personally and otherwise. And we nurture others and treasure them and provide hospitality and grace.

Love should be the marker of us as Jesus followers. Love should be noticeable if not palpable in us because God is love and Christ lived that love and we are Christ’s body. If we’re not looking to share love then we’re failing at our calling. The love God demonstrated by coming to be with us, to show us how to love, was at great cost and it saved us. May we have the courage to share love to save others.