Thursday, March 12, 2015

Matthew 1:18-21

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’

Believe the dream

Thanks, Joseph. Thanks for believing the dream. Your dream is a gift to me. It lives in me, no … in us.

You dreamed that God truly is the Love who conquers the distance between our souls and the Soul of God—that we may know the fullness of God’s loving presence.

But your dreaming is even more audacious, for you dream that your quiet little life will serve a role in making God’s dream come true.

You believe it, and do what needs to be done to protect Mary and the child who is the presence of God’s heart on this earth. You did what God’s dream called you to do and because you did … we know the heart of God.

Joseph never speaks in the Bible, not one word. He appears at this important point in the story of Jesus birth then disappears from the scene. He is not around when Jesus is dies on the cross. He certainly never knew of the resurrection. By then he had finished his job likely had died long before.

He is like so many of God’s people who live quiet lives serving their church, sharing the love that is in them through their jobs and families, faithfully worshiping, giving to causes that serve the needy.

Their efforts, often in the background, keep Christ’s church alive and ticking so that it can love and bless God’s world in ways they may not ever see.

But they do it anyway because they believe God is working … even through them … to make God’s holy dream come true.

Pr. David L. Miller