On Dec. 22, Pastor Katy preaches on Matthew 1:18-25.
18 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. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 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. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
In today’s world, we don’t seem to need much of anything. Our daily talk of a savior tends to revolve more around whoever is making the coffee run than it does around the one who is saving our souls. We search for salvation in our stuff, in our hobbies, in our jobs, and sometimes in our families, but all of those fall short of what we actually do need. Joseph was a simple man and planned to marry a simple woman and live out his days in uncomplicated bliss. When he learned of Mary’s apparent infidelity, he still wanted to protect her and chose to divorce her quietly, in a simple way. You can imagine the grief he felt at losing the life he had hoped for, but then he fell asleep and had a dream. Not only had Mary been faithful to him, but this child she carried would be his savior, and ours! Not many of us look at an innocent newborn or an overactive toddler and think, “Ah, there’s God! There’s my savior!” As we move from the season of Advent into the birth of the Christ Child, we are reminded that even when we least think we are in need of a savior, Emmanuel comes and reminds us otherwise.