May the Lord be with you! (And also with you!) May the peace, hope, and joy of Christ be with you! (And also with you!)

Today we continue to reflect upon the theme: “Discover the Heart of Christmas.” In recent weeks I have suggested that to have a “heart of Christmas” is to have a heart of peace and a heart of hope and a heart of joy. The fourth “heart of Christmas” quality I would like for us to consider is “love.” Today we turn our attention away from John the Baptist to another character in the Christmas story—Joseph. AH, JOSEPH—HERE IS ANOTHER PERSON IN THE CHRISTMAS STORY WHO DOESN’T SEEM TO GET THE ATTENTION HE DESERVES.

I really like this story about one little boy who tried to do something about that. At one church, the children were getting ready to present their annual Christmas pageant. Sometimes Christmas brings out the best in people—sometimes it brings out the worst. One young man had his heart set on playing Joseph. But when the parts were assigned, his biggest rival was given the role. To make matters worse, he was assigned to be the innkeeper. He became really bitter about this. During all the rehearsals he kept plotting in his mind what he might do the night of performance to get even with his rival. He came up with a brilliant plan! On the night of the performance, Mary and Joseph came walking across the stage. They knocked on the door of the inn, and the innkeeper opened the door and asked them gruffly what they wanted. Joseph said, “We’d like to have a room for the night.” The plot thickened—and the innkeeper’s revenge was at hand. Suddenly, the innkeeper threw open the door! He said, “Great! Come on in! I’ll give you the best room in the house!”

By changing the lines, the innkeeper hoped to humiliate Joseph in front of everybody. Well, there was a pregnant pause—that’s appropriate, I guess? Poor little Joseph didn’t know what to do. But it seemed that an angel of the Lord helped him to think quickly on his feet. Joseph looked over the innkeeper’s shoulders, first to the left and then to the right. He proclaimed: “No wife of mine is going to stay in a dump like this; come on, Mary, let’s go to the barn.” And the rest is history!

Some of our most memorable Christmas pageants are the ones where something goes a little bit wrong or surprises us—like what happened here last Sunday. The Beargrass children did a brilliant job of presenting their pageant. The chancel was packed with angels and shepherds and sheep, oh my! When it came time for Mary and Joseph to take their places, something happened. I have seen it happen to ministers in long robes. I have seen it happen to brides in long dresses. And it happened to our Joseph, who was wearing a long costume. If you don’t get your robe or dress or costume pulled up over your feet as you begin to walk up these stairs, you will—to borrow a line from “O Holy Night”—fall on your knees. And our little Joseph did. There was a bit of nervous laughter popping up around the sanctuary. But Little Joe wasn’t fazed—he just kept crawling until he got up to the crèche. And I thought to myself, “That’s perfect!” If this Story doesn’t bring us to our knees, then we have lost its meaning. If this Story doesn’t inspire us to come crawling to the crèche in meek humility, then we have lost its mystery and awe. If this Story doesn’t knock us off of our feet, then we are missing God’s incredible Message of Love in the Christ Child.

LOVE IS “ALL OVER” THIS SACRED STORY. God so loved the world. Mary so loved God. And in today’s scripture lesson, we are reminded that Joseph so loved God and Mary. Love is the reason we are here today. Unlike the other Gospel writers, Matthew gives Joseph a leading role in this Story. He isn’t just some guy who stands there during the Christmas pageant. He isn’t just some dude leading a donkey across the desert. He isn’t just some Rodney Dangerfield kind of character, who gets no respect. In Matthew’s text, it is Joseph who wrestles with the unexpected and upsetting intrusion of the Holy Spirit. In Matthew, the magnificent miracle momentarily rests on Joseph’s shoulders. A hush falls over the crowd as we await his freely chosen decision to either accept or reject the stunning news of the coming Messiah. I have a feeling that before he finished his final draft, Matthew left out the part about ol’ Joe falling to his knees after the angelic announcement. In our text, Joseph’s reaction seems to be one of amazing openness, confidence and acceptance. The willingness of Joseph to welcome the Divine—and to extend that hospitality to Mary—is an act of incredible faith and compassion. The gifts of love Joseph freely offers Mary are extensive. He gives her his name, which protects her welfare. He remains with her and cares for her during the pregnancy. When the baby is born, Joseph once again follows the Divine directions. He names the child “Jesus.” Joseph’s love of God and acceptance of the angelic announcement enables the Christmas event to come to fulfillment.

In his book, From Anticipation to Transfiguration, Joseph Pennel says: “There is a lot of talk today about what makes Christmas. “But the answer to ‘What makes a real Christmas?’ must be found in human history. “And, in a very real sense, it was the theology of Joseph which made possible the first Christmas.” “If Joseph had not cooperated with God’s action in human history, the birth of Jesus would have been quite different.” “Joseph, not having all of the evidence and knowledge of the future, decided to do more than law and custom required.” “He let justice and compassion guide his decision about his pregnant betrothed.” “He was pulled, not by the strength of custom, but by the law of love.” “The witness of Joseph calls us to cooperate with God’s work in today’s world.” Joseph had a “heart of love”—and Love is all over this Story.

AND THIS LOVE STORY HAS BEEN WRITTEN FOR YOU. Friends, you and I have experienced times in our lives when we have found ourselves on our knees. Sometimes we fall to our knees in awe and worship and humility in the presence of a God, whose Love will not let us go. And sometimes we fall to our knees because life knocks us out. We find ourselves bruised and broken, lost and lonely, helpless and hopeless. And yet, even there, Love will find us. Whether you are on your knees in worship or in woe, God will meet you there.

We received a Love Letter this past week. Many of the Christmas form letters we receive are “Ain’t Life Grand” letters or “Let me Tell You How Great We’re Doing” Letters. But not this one. The letter was written by Trish Johnson Arthur, the daughter of one of church members, John Johnson. Trish is a former intern of Beargrass—one who brought great light and energy and enthusiasm to our church family. As many of you know, Trish lost her mother, Jan, to cancer this past year, and recently lost one of her new baby twins, Duncan.

She writes: “Greetings, Loved Ones, “As you can imagine, the Arthur family is eagerly anticipating a more peaceful 2008. But, before we ride off into the dawn of a new day, we must pay 2007 due respect—for it was not a year without worth. It was for us a year of intense learning. I wish to share two of many lessons. Although the first lesson should have come in a Thanksgiving card (I couldn’t get my act together that fast!), it’s pretty darn fitting for the Christmas season of love as well. And it is this: we have learned to receive gracious gifts from friends and strangers’ hearts, hands, and pocketbooks—without any expectation of giving in return. We have learned to view these gifts to us as God’s loving intervention in our lives—God’s hands and feet. In the beginning (AKA as bed rest), I must confess that I felt so overwhelmed by this disruption of the natural rhythm of reciprocity. And then—I just—let go.

How beautiful…to be cared for with such selfless purity? It’s rare. And we are left feeling such gratitude that nothing seems to satisfy it. Not even this Christmas letter. But then, therein lies the beauty of the whole thing. There is no ‘thank you’ big enough. God knows this and so do all of you. So we’ll just roll around in all that love we have been gifted, marveling at the scope of God and humanity’s generosity.

The second lesson is totally Christmas-appropriate. Jesus’ birth, for me, is a moment in history that translates to ‘hope.’ Jesus’ birth offers us a choice to halt all of our confusion, worry, and anxiety about God and our lives, replacing all that junk with hope, assurance, confidence, peace, and my personal favorite translation—“OK-ness.” We have learned this past year that our faith means for us absolute certainty that everything IS OK and everything will be OK—period! Duncan definitely taught us this one. And although we are permitted to understandably slip from this confidence from time to time, it does no good to be in that place. And it probably does God no good either. God’s goodness has a tough time abounding when fear is lurking around. Our prayer and personal request this holiday season (and always) is that you melt into the sweet comfort of God’s OK-ness. God would want you to. And so would Duncan. And so would Mom.

Love and tons of joy—the Arthurs.”

The Lord IS with you. (And also with you.)
May the Love of Christ be with you. (And also with you.) Amen.