Behold! part 2

When we last saw Joseph he was confronted by an angel saying, "Behold."

Behold!  I have good news.  Behold!  Take the pregnant Mary to be your wife.  Behold! Do not be afraid.

Do not be afraid to have your value system turned upside down, to put aside the rules by which you had governed your life, to be told up is down and down is up.

Joseph went along with the request.  Perhaps it was the news that the child of Mary's was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was to have a special name and all that convinced Joseph to go ahead with the wedding.

But I would guess that the decision to act counter to all the societal norms by which he had been formed was the greater challenge for Joseph. In a culture where men prayed prayers of thanksgiving that they were not born a woman, Joseph was being asked to take a back seat, give up his male perogatives and take into his house, include in his lineage, a child who was not his.

I think that Joseph had to overcome a bit of ingrained pride.  He did it; he acted as the angel requested.  There is no indication that the decision haunted him in the night. 

I'm not so sure it would have been the same for me.  We often say 'Pride goes before the fall'.  In Joseph's case, however,  pride must go before the fulfillment.  Would I have been as willing?

Behold! part 1

This is the Behold! of the angel who appears to Joseph.  This is that 'behold.'

This 'behold' is about to ask Joseph to re-define his entire world; to turn everything upside down and inside out.  This is not some casual change (a new smartphone)  or even a mind-bending change (consider what it would be like if today, out of the blue, the government announced that we would all now drive on the left instead of the right!).  This is bigger than that.

This is about meaning and purpose and things eternal.  This angel is asking Joseph to shift everything that he has been taught, and I would imagine, held dear at some level, and set it aside for a new path and a new way of acting.

"Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife."  Joseph thought he was going out on a limb by considering quietly divorcing Mary so to save her from public ridicule.  The rules he had ordered his life by did not really support even this merciful solution. 

Now the angel was telling him to set all this aside and trust in God by taking Mary as his wife, even when the child she was carrying was not his own.  He was to take this child into his family and include him in his family's lineage.

Angels bring messages, but not always messages we want to receive.  Watch for Behold! part 2

Which part of 'angel' don't you understand?

It's a pretty cheeky response to a wonderfilled story of Gabriel's visit to Zechariah. (Luke 1.5-23)

Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth have been unable to have children.  This would have been a terrible grieving for them and society could have  decided [and most likely did] that Elizabeth's barrenness was due to her 'unrighteousness' before God.

Gabriel appears to Zechariah in the inner portion of the temple to tell him that God has gifted them with a child: a boy - a very special boy.  His name would be John "God is gracious" and would call his people to repentance. 

Zechariah's response was, "What sign will you give me that this will happen?"

 

What?  An angel wasn't enough? 

He couldn't wait to see if Elizabeth gained some weight?

I can't even begin to figure out why the visitation by an angel was not enough for Zechariah.  Perhaps he was babbling, but certainly his request for a 'sign' was not received well; he was struck mute until the day John was born. 

I just wonder if maybe we have been visited by angels and couldn't see them for what they were:  messengers from God, bringing good news, bridging the gap between our reality and divine reality.  I wouldn't be surprised if I have been guilty of wanting a sign, being unwilling to wait, or simply ignoring the messenger. 

Even though I would expect an angel, certainly one as important as Gabriel, to show up with bright lights and possibly wings, perhaps God doesn't work according to my expectations.  [Perhaps??]

Let us be on the look out for angels inviting us to be a part of God's great plan for this world, and just possibly, remember not to ask for a sign!