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18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 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. 21 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.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 NIV)
You and I have a Dream Director, something way in the recesses of our brain who nightly chooses and sends out what it is we are to dream that night. I usually complain to Nellie my wife, that my Dream Director has me working each night. Out of seven nights per week, five or more of the dreams I have, I find myself in a church working. Yes, it was what I dedicated almost fifty years of my life and so it would seem normal, but not necessary, to continue to work in the Lord's House. I sometimes preach, sometimes drive the church van, or assign people to rooms or classes, and so many other things I can't remember them all. And most mornings I wake up tired from the work that I had to do during the dream. And sometimes the Dream Director hands the night's dream to God, where God can share with us something we need to hear. I truly believe this. Do you? Of course, we are called to discern the dream with the help of the Holy Spirit so that we don't wind up in jail or in the newspaper or nightly news for having done something we should have discerned. Such is what happens to Joseph. Joseph was a good man, betrothed to Mary (a legally binding status in the Jewish faith); she had taken his last name and from that point on, she was the only one who could decide to divorce for this was a year-long look-see in which the woman could decide, "You know what? I don't think I want this man for my husband," and she could end the marriage. The man, on the other hand, could only end the betrothal by an act of unfaithfulness, which in Joseph's case, he could have made. The danger was that should he do that, Mary could have been brought up on a death penalty charge, so the story says that "He had in mind to divorce her quietly." Joseph loved Mary and did not want her to die, but he also did not want to father someone else's child. Is this any way to start a Christmas story? —not in a moment of clarity but in crushing confusion, not with angelic announcements but with shattered dreams, not with celebration but with the decision of what to do when everything falls apart.
Joseph's response reveals his character: "Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." Joseph was "faithful to the law"—righteous, observant, serious about God's commands. The law said Mary should be punished, perhaps even executed. But Joseph "did not want to expose her to public disgrace." Here's a man caught between justice and mercy, between religious obligation and compassionate love, between what the law required and what his heart desired. He chose the path of quiet mercy—divorcing her privately to protect her from public shame while still maintaining his own integrity. This wasn't weakness but strength, not compromise but costly grace. Then God intervened: "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.'" Notice the angel addresses Joseph's fear first: "do not be afraid." Joseph was terrified—of scandal, of being deceived, of doing the wrong thing, of the unknown. The angel explains the impossible: Mary's pregnancy is from the Holy Spirit. During Advent, we celebrate that God's greatest work often looks scandalous, unexplainable, and impossible from a human perspective.
The angel continues with the child's mission: "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." The name "Jesus" (Yeshua in Hebrew) means "The Lord saves." This baby's purpose isn't political liberation from Rome or economic prosperity or national restoration—it's salvation from sin, the deeper bondage that enslaves every human heart. Matthew then adds prophetic context: "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means 'God with us')." This quote from Isaiah 7:14 reveals the stunning reality: this isn't just a miraculous birth or even a specially anointed prophet. This is God Himself entering human history, taking on flesh, becoming one of us. Immanuel—God with us. Not God far away observing us, not God occasionally visiting us, but God permanently with us, sharing our humanity, experiencing our limitations, knowing our temptations, bearing our sorrows. The virgin birth isn't just about biological miracle; it's about theological necessity. For Jesus to save us from sin, He had to be fully human (to represent us) and fully divine (to accomplish what no mere human could). Advent celebrates the incarnation—the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us.
Joseph's response is instructive: "When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus." Joseph woke up and obeyed. No more questions, no demands for additional proof, no negotiating with God. He took Mary as his wife, accepting the scandal, the whispers, the questions, the cost. He protected Mary through her pregnancy. He gave the baby the name the angel commanded. Joseph becomes a model of obedient faith—doing what God says even when it's costly, confusing, and countercultural. His obedience meant raising a child who wasn't biologically his, accepting a calling that would forever mark him as the husband of that woman who got pregnant before marriage, and protecting the Messiah through His vulnerable infant years. During Advent, we're invited into Joseph's kind of faith—trusting God even when we don't understand, obeying even when it's costly, and embracing the scandal that God works in unexpected, unconventional, miraculous ways. The call of Advent isn't just to celebrate that God came but to make room for Him to come into our lives now—with all the disruption, reorientation, and transformation that His presence requires.
PRAYER: Immanuel, God with us, thank You for entering our broken world not with fanfare and power but through the scandal of a virgin birth, the faith of a righteous man willing to obey despite confusion, and the miracle of the Word becoming flesh—during this Advent season, help us, like Joseph, to trust and obey even when Your ways don't match our expectations, making room for You to be born anew in our hearts, in Your holy name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This Advent, practice Joseph's obedient faith by saying yes to something God is asking of you that seems costly, confusing, or countercultural, trusting that His presence with you (Immanuel) is worth whatever disruption or reorientation He requires.
I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to God and you matter to me. Make God real for others by the way God is real in you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
