He Saves his People By Beth DeCristofaro

He Saves his People By Beth DeCristofaro

 

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David (Jeremiah 23:5)

 

.. angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” … When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.  (Matthew 1:20-21, 24)

 

 

Piety

You save your people from their sins.  Save me, Lord.  Motivate my heart to be always on you, amidst even the scandals of my life, in the everyday which is made sacred with your presence.

 

Study

Scandal!  Whose family has not been stricken, perhaps even crushed by scandal?  Our church has been rocked and shamed by it.  For individuals, one of the greatest scandals we face is that our unique and special person will die, be erased, one day.  Is the greatest scandal also the greatest gift of all:  that God descended from glory to become one of us?

 

It was scandalous that Joseph brought Mary into his home – think of the whispers in Nazareth.  It was scandalous that a tiny, vulnerable baby born in odd circumstances, born to be held in loving arms, was born to be gripped in the scandalous arms of a cross.  Jesus was mocked and mistreated even while dying.  Yet the scandal turned sacred as he accepted the sacrifice only to stretch out his arms again in benediction to all of life, liberating us and joining us to God in his resurrection.

 

Our lives can be upturned in so many ways.  At times we might expect God to act in specific ways, repair or return to us what we have lost or hurt.  But Scripture tells us again and again that God works in unexpected, mysterious ways.  And that God always works for us by raising up a righteous shoot.  What might be born through us into a world hurting through scandal if we, like Joseph, do as God commands us?  It takes listening, trust and hope to see past the scandal and take the leap into rebirth.  It takes turning over control and knowing-it-all to the God who saves.

 

Action

As we approach the last week in Advent, we can pause and reflect on how our Advent journey is going.  Has it stalled, or have we become distracted? May this be the worst scandal we now face. Turn back and see where God has been in our days and invite God’s presence more firmly into our perceptions.  Are we at peace and experiencing the joy of the upcoming birth?  Rejoice! in the God who continually comes to us – scandalous, generous, life-giving.

 

 

 

Illustration:  Joseph’s Dream in the Stable, Rembrandt, 1645,   https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph%27s_Dream_in_the_Stable.jpg