“Answer carefully: Your response just might make you part of a miracle”
What Kind of Righteousness?
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
~ the Gospel According to Matthew, Chapter 1, verses 18-25, from The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989, Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. (Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, Fourth Sunday in Advent: 18 December 2016)
Was Joseph righteous because he planned to dismiss Mary, or because he was unwilling to expose her to public disgrace? Was it his rejection of (apparent) wrongdoing on Mary’s part, or his grace in judgment that made him righteous?
Are you righteous because you refuse to smoke weed with the jocks, or because you refuse to bad-mouth a group that you really disapprove of? Are we righteous because we lobby for pro-life causes, or because we seek to help, at the same time, those who suffer abortion?
For any sin you choose, there is judgment and there is mercy. We are often quite adept at applying ourselves to one and not the other. Joseph, in his shining cameo moment of Matthew’s gospel, does both.
John the Baptist, beginner of Jesus’ good news, does both: He spits venomous warnings at potential hypocrites (Matthew 3:7-10), even as he offers them the water of repentance. Jesus himself does both: his teaching cuts to the quick of his disciples’ pride, even as he offers them the certainty of God’s love and power.
I hesitate to say that Joseph’s piety led the Spirit to choose him as the adoptive father of Mary’s baby. I don’t know that we can give Joseph that much credit. But we should take careful note how this moment, teetering with judgment and mercy, gives birth to the world’s savior. Perhaps we should take this as a template for our lives: Out of situations worthy of judgment, in which we apply mercy and grace, God will bring salvation.
Who are those around you worthy of judgment, perhaps even condemnation, to whom you might give a measure of grace? Even if you cannot follow them in their decisions, whom can you follow in relationship, so as to show them love and Christ? Answer carefully: Your response just might make you part of a miracle.
Jesus, Lover of our Souls, make us righteous enough to hold fast to what is right. But make us even more righteous than that—mold us in your image, so that we can love and serve those with whom we disagree. Use our time, talents, and treasure to change the evil of this world to good. Give us generous eyes, to see how you might transform the wayward to the wonderful, even by using us. We pray it in the power, and for the glory, of God our Father.
~ emrys tyler