Here we have another part of the image of the coming Kingdom from Isaiah. We have already heard about the coming kingdom, a kingdom of peace and justice, a kingdom where all of creation is living in harmony together; and today we hear that this kingdom will come in the form of a child, born of a young woman. This passage from Isaiah begins with Ahaz refusing to ask for a sign from God. Ahaz was King, and God had requested that Ahaz ask for a sign, but he refused, saying he will not put the Lord to the test. In some ways this sounds admirable, there are plenty of places where we are told not to put God to the test. I wonder why Ahaz refused to ask for a sign?
Maybe to ask for a sign would be to acknowledge God is the King of all creation, that even as King, Ahaz was answerable to someone.
And then we hear the word of the Lord through Isaiah, a young woman that will bear a son, even if Ahaz is not willing to request a sign, God will provide a sign. That sign is Immanuel, the very presence of God come to share our human experience. “A helpless bundle of flesh that represents the steadfastness of the infinite God. A promise that seems at once inconsequential and overwhelming “[1].
A young woman will bear a son, and he will be named Immanuel. And this is what happens, when we come to the story in Matthew’s Gospel.
The gospel of Matthew is concerned to show that Jesus is indeed a Jew, that Jesus was not trying to start a new religion but was teaching and living according to Jewish law. The gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy, a listing of ancestors mainly male but a few female, a variety of people in a particular pattern and order. This genealogy is not complete, if you follow through the Old Testament there are some variations. The point of the genealogy in Matthew’s gospel is not to be a detailed and exact list of the ancestors of Jesus, but to show that he was born in the line of David, to show the extent and depth of his Jewishness, a child of Abraham and a child of David. To be Jewish one needed to have a Jewish mother, but the family lineage was still in the father's line. Jesus was Jewish through both his mother Mary, and through Joseph. It is through Joseph’s family line that Jesus is in the royal line of David.
Another idea that is woven through the gospel of Matthew is how to live according to the law, and be righteous in the sight of God. This conflict appears here in chapter 1. Joseph is getting ready to marry Mary, and she is found to be with child. The law says that he can publicly break the engagement, because what she has done is illegal, and immoral, the punishment could be banishment or stoning to death. Joseph does not want to embarrass Mary, but is also concerned that she is carrying a child which is not his. So Joseph decides to break off the engagement privately. Then we have the dream in which an angel tells him to marry Mary, the implication being that he will raise this child as his own.
A couple of things to take note of, in this passage we hear today, the only person who speaks is the angel. We don't hear from Mary or from Joseph. In this passage God is very much the one in control, the central character. Another thing to note is that all this takes place in amongst ordinary everyday events, in fact God in speaking to Joseph through the angel, only asks him to do what he was planning to do all along, and that is to marry his fiancé Mary.
In last week's gospel reading we heard how Mary said yes to the angel, yes she would be part of God's plan. This morning we don't hear Joseph saying yes, but we see it in his actions. Throughout the gospels we don't hear much about Joseph, but here in Matthew, Joseph is obedient to God in marrying Mary, going to Egypt , and then returning to Nazareth
Where does this leave us two thousand years later?
As we have been thinking about the coming kingdom, and our part in that, we have pondered how we might be people of peace in our part of the world; people of hope; people who live in a kingdom that is yet to be fully revealed. Today the picture of the new kingdom that comes to me is one of love and compassion, one of solidarity with the vulnerable and the weak. Joseph did not do what he could do under the law, which was to send Mary away. He did what was compassionate and righteous. He didn't go looking for someone that needed care, he cared for the person who was there close to him. He showed love, love that was costly.
I wonder who are the people in our lives who God calls us to stand with. Who are the people in our lives that God asks us to care for. Who are we called to show compassion to, who are we called to stand in solidarity with, who do we know who is vulnerable and at risk.
It can be easy to feel like the problems of the world are too big for us, we can feel like we have no say about violence in the Middle East , about homelessness, about child abuse or elder abuse, pollution and climate change.
But this morning I would invite you to think more locally, to be midwives of the new kingdom in our lives. As Christ comes to birth in our lives once again this Christmas, as we recognise the peace and Justice of God’s kingdom within us and in our midst, we can live as people of the new kingdom. We can live kingdom values of peace, we can live kingdom values of righteousness, compassion, and solidarity for the vulnerable.
What is God bring to birth in you and through you?
