Nougat 16

Have we ever heard from God amidst derailed moments in our lives? Consider today’s Holy Nougat

“As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Joseph Son of David? But the genealogical records shared in verses 2-17 indicate that they’re at least 14 generations apart. It thus invites us to reflect on what is said a bit more intentionally. Let’s start with what we ‘know’ in the chapter.

The Gospel begins somewhat curiously with the ‘begats’ (verses 2-17) … and so and so begat so and so. And so and so begat so and so. The writer then noted that there are three sets of fourteen generations between Abraham and Jesus. And that statement takes us full circle to verse 1, which introduced Jesus as son of Abraham and of David.

These two are significant for the Matthean writer because his version of the Gospel invites us to understand Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises and of prophecy. (Remember the covenant God made with Abram-Abraham in Genesis 15; and then there’s God’s promise to David about his kingdom in 2 Samuel 7:16). But there’s a sense in which that seems to have no bearing on the nougat we read.

Except that Matthean writer understood story telling. For having covered the begats and the numerological pieces, he added a few twists to the plot. Mention of Illegitimate child, Secret Divorce, Stoning, Ghostly Vision before a Reconciliation – this could have been on syndicated tv in their day!

When we get to nougat, we are in the midst of the fast-paced action. Mary informed Joseph of her pregnancy, not just by another person, but wants him to believe her story about God’s Spirit, and in turn, assume parental responsibility for this illegitimate child (for Joseph does not have the benefit of the begats in the way we do. He knows it, but wouldn’t have thought it had any bearing on the child he was being forced to father). He balked at the idea, but could not bear to see her stoned; and arranged for Mary to go to the country for a while (hence the narrative we read with Elizabeth and Mary in Luke 2).

With a clear conscience but a heavy heart Joseph would have been trying to pick up the pieces of his life.

Then he had The Vision

I believe that just saying Joseph would not have gotten his attention so rapidly. By adding ‘son of David’, the immediate sense of something important would have hit Joseph, even in sleep mode. Whether he’d been fully aware of God’s promises to David, Joseph would realize that that was no ordinary dream. But I also believe that he knew of the promise.

And in those two extra words, sleepy or not, Joseph would hear himself in God’s plan. He would then be mentally ready to hear what the angel had to say, which confirmed what he perceived as the crazy story from Mary.

What dreams do we have that seem to be completely derailed? Are we listening? Could God be calling to us?

Selah

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May all we seek be found in Christ