Nougat 10

How does God talk to you? And how easily do we obey God, when we’re called upon to defend the rights of/protect someone whose very existence is threatened? May these be at the forefront of our minds as we consider today’s Holy Nougat

“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.”

Matthew 1:20 NRSV

Lots of things happen when we’re asleep. Our body rests, cellular repair occurs … and God may even get the chance to speak with us uninterrupted. Please note ‘uninterrupted’, for God may speak with us wherever and whenever God Chooses. And in Joseph’s case, that life-changing event was in his dreams.

But what a message!

Despite evidence that points to guilt, Joseph is asked to father Mary’s unborn child – in name only. I don’t know how we see it; but that’s a toughie. For Joseph already KNEW that the child Mary carried was not his. His society was very intolerant of pre-marital infidelity – the punishment usually was death by stoning. And, a pregnant woman was already guilty for failing to prove her innocence long before her pregnancy was visible to the public!

What a quandary! To subject one’s self to ridicule and/or possible stoning, OR to let the woman face the consequences of her apparent misdeeds. And a conversation, just one conversation with God changed the course of Joseph’s life forever.

I think Joseph recognized that it was a kairos (ie à now or never historic) moment. But he must also have weighed the consequences, for although Joseph was a just man; he was just a man. He had to live with the fact that Mary’s firstborn, the one who would perpetuate his lineage, was NOT his child. That’s a hard pill to swallow. Although just a man, out of compassion, Joseph had determined to send Mary to the country rather than subject her to the death sentence.

For if he did not lend his name to her and the foetus (it was an issue reproductive rights); she was as good as dead. There was NO Charter on the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (that would come several centuries later); this was his decision to make. Even AFTER hearing directly from God. And that’s the reality we each must face –

Regardless of the circumstances; or our location when we hear God’s voice; we have to decide whether we will obey. And that decision can and will affect the course of History. Perhaps not as dramatic as Joseph’s; nevertheless it impacts others’ lives.

I pray that when God calls, like Joseph (and Mary), our answer will be yes Lord yes.

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May all we seek be found in Christ