The
Journey: week 2 Bethlehem
Rumc
12/9/12
In most of our minds, Mary
and Joseph lived in Nazareth, traveled to Bethlehem for the Census, and
returned to Bethlehem when Jesus was born.
That is because we take Luke’s story, which revolves around Mary and
Nazareth and we combine it with Matthew’s story, which focuses on Joseph and
Bethlehem. We roll them up on a nice
neat ball, smooth out all the rough edges and put a nice neat bow on it. That combined story is handy, but it is not
quite biblical.
Before we journey 80 miles to Bethlehem
for this week’s message, I suspect the first question you’ll ask is, “How did
Mary and Joseph meet if they didn’t live in the same town?” Great question! The idea that they were childhood sweethearts
may be romantic, but that may not be true.
It seems clear that Bethlehem was Joseph’s hometown. Nazareth was Mary’s hometown. Perhaps their marriage was arranged by their
families. Perhaps Joseph met Mary when
he worked in Sepphoris and stayed in Nazareth. When we have to say we really
don’t know something as important as how Mary and Joseph met, we are reminded
that although they are major actors, the story is really not about them.
Whatever the case may be according to Matthew
Bethlehem appears to be Joseph’s hometown.
Nazareth is not mentioned until Jesus is at least 2 years old. So let’s start to get familiar with
Bethlehem.
I said Bethlehem is 80
miles south of Nazareth. It is nestled
in the hills of the Judean countryside.
In those days, Nazareth was a town of about 500 people. 
Today is a bustling city of
25,000. 
Unfortunately, this is
what one sees as they approach Bethlehem today.
It is a 21-foot tall concrete wall topped by electrified fencing,
two-meter-deep trenches, roads for patrol vehicles, electronic ground/fence
sensors, thermal imaging and video cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),
sniper towers, and razor wire.
The ugly reality is
that the land of Mary and Joseph is a divided land in the midst of an age-old
war. On this map, the white area is
Israel. The Gold area is the West Bank
(Palestinian control) and Jerusalem is divided East and West. The red flashing line is the “wall of
separation” that Israel is building as an attempt to secure its border. That is what one sees as they come to
Bethlehem. Let me tell you no matter
which side you are on, there is enough madness and blame to go around on both
sides of this dispute.
But back to ancient
Bethlehem
It was a busy town that may have had
many grain mills and bakeries since Bethlehem means city of bread. Bethlehem was Naomi’s home and Ruth gleaned
in the fields outside town. Her great
grandson David’s was born there and the field where he fought Goliath was about
12 miles away. David was anointed king
in Bethlehem and used Bethlehem as a capital city for a while. Historically Bethlehem is one of the most
important cities in Judah. In addition,
Bethlehem was Joseph’s home.
The traditional site of
Joseph’s home is marked in a cave in the Church of the Nativity Complex under
the church of St. Catherine. It was here
that he learned his trade, which we usually think of as a carpenter, 
but he could also have been a stonemason. The word means one who builds with their
hands. 
Bethlehem is also the
backdrop for today’s story.
After the angel told Mary that she was
to bear the Messiah, she went to a Cousin Elizabeth’s house on the south edge
of Jerusalem where she received affirmation and support. (We’ll talk about that next week) While she was there, Joseph went to visit her
and found out that she was pregnant. She
told him the whole story about the angel and the Holy Spirit and everything,
but who could believe such a wild story?
He wanted to but it was so hard!
His life seemed to be crumbling around
him. His beloved had apparently been unfaithful,
and on top of that, listening to her story she may be hallucinating or even
mentally ill. How was Joseph feeling
that day as he left Elizabeth’s house? I
suspect he was feeling just like we would feel upon finding out that the love
of our life was pregnant by someone else, or had impregnated someone. How about devastated, crushed, afraid,
heartbroken and embarrassed. Maybe we
should even add angry and disgusted. How
could she do this? How could Mary do
this to him? And who was the miserable
animal who had done this to Mary?
Joseph left that day
with his life upside down, his guts turned inside out, and his heart in his
throat. It was only a 6-mile walk back
to Bethlehem, (about 90 minutes) but it must have seemed like 40 years in the
wilderness.
Haven’t we all been there? Haven’t we all experienced that 6-mile walk?
Maybe your 6-mile walk was when you
experienced the unfaithfulness of a spouse or total betrayal of someone you
loved and trusted.
Did you walk the 6-mile road during a
medical crisis when you thought you or someone you love might have a serious
medical problem? You all know about one
of my 6 mile roads with Amber’s heart surgery.
Is your 6-mile road a road of grief? Facing life without a spouse, parent, child,
or other close relationship is a long hard journey.
How about that job you lost, or the job
you really wanted. Was that a 6-mile
road?
Have you walked the 6-mile road of
bankruptcy or foreclosure?
Do you know all the twists and turns on
the 6-mile road of bitter failure and lost dreams?
I suspect we have all been there. Most of us have not been to the holy land
but we know very well that 6-mile road that Joseph walked that day. But here’s what I want you to see today. While Joseph walked that long road back to
Bethlehem… At Joseph’s deepest darkest
moment… God was still at work in Mary’s
womb… and (as we’ll see) God was still working in Joseph. And at our deepest darkest moments… God is still with us and God is still at
work.
We are not the first, nor was Joseph the
first to experience the jumble of emotions that we feel when we walk that 6-mile
road.
735 years earlier, when Jerusalem was
the capital of the nation of Judah (the southern kingdom), the kingdom of
Israel and the Kingdom of Aram (which is modern day Syria) were waging
war. Since Jerusalem was on the northern
border of Judah, the battle was just outside their city walls. The people of Jerusalem were sure that they
were doomed. These two big armies fighting in Jerusalem’s front yard were a
real a serious danger. The people and
the king were almost in a panic. The prophet Isaiah gave a word of hope to King
Ahaz.
Isaiah said God will give you a sign and
before long the Kingdoms of Aram and Israel will be defeated and plundered by a
common enemy. God gave the sign just as
Isaiah said, and within a few years, Asyria had captured and plundered both
Aram and Israel.
Do you want to know what the sign was?…
the sign was that Isaiah’s wife would have a child and before that child was
able to know right from wrong the two nations would both fall to Asyria.
Isaiah put it this way:
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you[c] a
sign: The virgin[d] will
conceive and give birth to a son, and[e] will call
him Immanuel.(which means God with us)[f] 15 He will be eating curds and honey when
he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
Bottom line… Isaiah’s message was that God was still
working even in the midst of this terrible situation.
720 years after that prophecy was
fulfilled Matthew is writing about the birth of another child that would be a
sign, another child who will be called
Emmanuel, another child that will prove that even in the midst of our deepest
darkest moments God is still with us and God is still working. Of course the Child Matthew is writing about
is Jesus. But let’s not get too far
ahead of ourselves.
I said God is still working. We see God’s hand was working in Joseph even while
he walked back to Bethlehem. It was a
long enough walk that he began to think again.
His head cleared and he began to think clearly again. He was no less devastated, no less crushed,
no less afraid, no less heartbroken, and no less embarrassed. But God began to change his heart. He began to think, “I do not want to see Mary
killed for this.” (That was the
punishment for adultery, and this would be considered adultery.)
Maybe I will just end the engagement
quietly. He would let people think whatever they are going to think about him. He would still have to pay the bride price
that was due at the wedding. That was
his legal obligation. But then it would
be over.
Having that settled in his mind he
arrives home and falls exhausted into a deep sleep.
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.”
Matthew
continues:
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” [g] (which means “God with us”).
Now you see why I was talking about
Isaiah. Because Matthew quotes him right
here the First chapter verse 23. By
quoting this passage Matthew is remind all who would read this story that God is with us and God will save his people. Isn’t that what the incarnation is all about? God with us?
God was with Israel and it was saved.
God was with Joseph and he got up from
that dream and took Mary as his wife, becoming the guardian of the Christ.
In this story, God speaks two words to
us today. The first word is Immanuel,
which means God is with us.
The
second word is Jesus, which
means God saves. 
No matter how bad
things look, “Immanuel” God is with us and “Jesus” is our savior.
No matter how dark your 6-mile road
gets. The God who is the creator of
light is working in you - God is with you and Jesus saves.
No matter how impossible your situation
may seem. The God for whom nothing is
impossible is working in you - God is with you and Jesus saves.
No matter how much you have been hurt,
or how much your heart aches. The God
who healed bodies and cast demons out of the possessed is working in you- God
is with you and Jesus saves.
No matter what kinds of obstacles are
thrown up in front of you. The God who
calmed the storm is working in you- God is with you and Jesus saves.
No matter how weak and weary you
are. The God who gave Jesus the courage to
pray “thy will be done” as he faced the cross is working in you- God is with
you and Jesus saves.
No matter how hopeless your life might
seem. The God who raised Jesus from the dead
into glorious life is working in you - God is with you and Jesus saves.
My friends, never forget those two
words. Immanuel and Jesus.
God is with you and Jesus saves.
AMEN
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