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 through the Holy Spirit. 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. But after he had considered 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 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.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” - which means, “God with us.” When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. (Matthew 1:18-24)

 

 

     I know that I don't have to tell any of you who Jeffrey Tambor is. Right? I mean, you all know who Jeffrey Tambor is, don't you? I mean, he's Jeffrey Tambor! The Jeffrey Tambor! He's an actor! He's appeared in over 167 TV shows and movies. But you know why you don't know him? Because he's never the star. He's one of the actors in the background, whose roles are often important in pushing the show or movie forward and in making the story work, but he's not generally the guy you notice, because he's outshone by whatever big names are the real stars of the show. But he's made a pretty good career for himself by just being a part of the show without having to be the star of the show. If I can think of an actor in Hollywood who reminds me of Joseph – it would be Jeffrey Tambor.

 

     Spare a thought for poor Joseph at this time of year. He really does fade into the background, doesn't he. He's overshadowed by the stars of the show – Mary and, of course, Jesus. And if they're the stars of the show, then even the supporting players get more attention and are more noticed than Joseph: the angels, the magi, the shepherds. We sing songs about Mary and Jesus and the shepherds and the angels and the magi, but there is no song for Jospeh. Joseph gets forgotten – and not just at Christmas. He barely rates a mention in the Gospels, except for some cursory references to Jesus as “Joseph's son” or in one instance to Jesus as “the carpenter's son.” No one thinks about Joseph. He's just a necessary part of the nativity scene. Even in the earliest days of the Christian faith, Joseph was overlooked. He was inconvenient. Jesus was the Son of God, after all – what are we supposed to do with this man? And so, Jospeh somewhat faded away into oblivion – except for one thing. He showed us how to play our parts in the unfolding drama of God's redemptive plan for the world.

 

     You see, Joseph himself was confused. I have no doubt that Joseph was a man of big dreams. He was about to be married, after all – which is a time of big dreams and giant expectations. Marriage, family, respect in the community. Everything was working out pretty much the way Joseph had expected. He was on the way. Nothing could stop him now. Except perhaps an unexpected pregnancy that he was not responsible for! I'm quite certain that nowhere in the recesses of his mind did Joseph ever dream about becoming the father of someone else's baby. In a way Joseph's silence and relative anonymity are a bit of a surprise. I mean, all things considered, when he found out that Mary was pregnant, you kind of assume he would have had at least a few words to say about that. And maybe he did. I suppose it's altogether possible that Matthew just couldn't find the right Greek words to translate whatever it was that Joseph said in Aramaic! That's possible, but if the Gospel is to be believed, Joseph actually took this news relatively well. Here are a few things to consider about this man who so easily fades into the background.

 

     “Joseph ... was a righteous man.” The words are pretty simple. Joseph was right with God. He had lived a life of faith and he had tried to please his God. The reality is that leading such a life meant that Joseph was probably fairly anonymous even before these events. The trust is that living righteously doesn't really make you noteworthy. Generally speaking people are much more interested in the unrighteous and the scandal-ridden and the controversial. But Joseph was “righteous.” That actually made him the ideal choice for the role he was about to play. Being righteous before God implies being humble. Joseph had no problem with pride. If he had such a problem, he likely wouldn't have been part of this plan. You see, we usually focus on the righteousness of Mary. What made her worthy to be the mother of Jesus? It's a valid question about Joseph as well. What made him worthy to be so higly favoured of God that he would be chosen to play the part of worldly father to this holy child about to be born? It was quite simply that he was “righteous” - not in the negative sense of the world (not proud and self-righteous) but in the best sense of the word (humble and obedient to God.)

 

     Joseph “ did not want to expose [Mary] to public disgrace” and so “he had in mind to divorce her quietly ...” This demonstrates Joseph's essential compassion. Given the circumstances, Joseph could have been very angry with Mary and he could have made sure that everyone knew about her pregnancy by someone other than him. But Joseph was a man of integrity who wanted to do the right thing in the right way. Divorce was a pretty serious thing in those days, and divorce because of adultery (which would have been the reason) was especially serious. If he had called attention to the circumstances, the punishment for Mary could have been stoning to death. At the very least, she would have been shamed and humiliated and cut off from her people. Some wronged husbands might have chosen to take that route. The society expected it and the law condoned it. No one would have blamed Joseph if he had taken that step. But in his righteousness there was compassion – because while a self-righteous person might become proud and full of judgment, a truly righteous person is humble and full of compassion. Psalm 116 says that “the Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.” That same quality of a righteous God is possessed by a righteous follower of God. Joseph's essential compassion made him the perfect choice for the part assigned to him, because humility combined with compassion made him willing to listen to the message of the angel: “do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” And so ...

 

     Joseph “did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” In the end, out of his righteousness, out of his compassion and out of his humility, Joseph did what God required of him. What a lesson there is for us. When our lives seem to take the wrong turn, we cry out (as Joseph must have cried out) “God, how can this be?” But like Joseph, we hear that still, small voice from God that says, “Trust Me. I have a plan and you have a part.” You see, God’s ways are not always our ways. God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and we may never understand everything that God is doing, but God says, “Trust Me, and all things will work together for good.” And for Joseph, and Mary, and Jesus – they did. Not without hardship, not without trial, not without betrayal, not without suffering, not without tears – but all things finally did work together, and through these three, the world was blessed.

 

     Joseph's not the star of the show. He's a bit like Jeffrey Tambor – always in the background, never quite front and centre, but there – and unless he played his part perfectly nothing would have worked. It takes a special quality to be a Joseph. I once heard of a Sunday Scool Christmas Pageant. There were two boys who wanted to be Joseph. Only one could get the part, and the boy who didn't get the part was jealous. He got cast as the innkeeper instead, and he plotted his revenge against his rival. On the day of the pageant, everything was going according to plan. Joseph and Mary showed up at the door of the inn, and – well, you know the story. The inn-keeper answered, and Joseph asked for a room. “Now,” thought the boy playing the inn-keeper, “is my chance for revenge.” Delighted at the prospect of seeing his rival stumble, rather than turning the couple away, the boy opened the door wide, and said “Come in, I'll give you the best room I have.” But the boy playing Joseph was quick on his feet. After a moment's hesitation, he looked past the inn-keeper into the inn, then said “You expect us to stay in a dump like this. Your barn would be better!” And the congregation laughed and applauded. Joseph found a way out of a difficult situation again and made sure everything happened the way it had to happen. 

 

     Joseph is an example for us all. We all have a purpose; we all have a part to play in God's unfolding plan. It may not be the starring role. No one may notice our efforts. We may not get pats on the back. No one may remember us. But each and every moment, you're a part of God's plan and you have a purpose in God's Kingdom. To God, you're vitally important. More than that – you're loved.