THE LORD'S SIGN
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Epistle Lesson; Romans 1:1-7
Gospel Lesson; Matthew 1:18-25
Sermon Text; Isaiah 7:10-14
We don’t know if this happened or not, but just imagine that on the evening before Joseph and Mary were united in Holy Marriage, in Holy Wedlock, imagine that Mary sat down and wrote a letter to Joseph, expressing her feelings to the man who was about to become her husband. What do you think that letter would have said? I wonder if it would have gone something like this:
My dearest, most precious,
My betrothed,
My dear husband, Joseph,
How I love you! How precious you are to me! How joyful, happy and thankful I am that you, tomorrow morning, will become my husband! We will be united together as husband and wife, living together as husband and wife in God’s holy estate of marriage, until death parts us. How thankful I am that you are willing to take me, to be your wife!
You know all of my failings, my shortcomings and my mistakes. And, you know my faith in God.
I know your failings, your shortcomings and your mistakes. And, I also know your faith in God.
Let us go forward together, from today forth, praying day and night that God Almighty be in our marriage. May we pray that God will help us to be forgiving of one another, and help us to be kind and considerate to one another. May we pray that God will help us to have a marriage that is based on the love of God. May we pray day and night that we hold hands together as a dear husband and beloved wife, walking together until that day when God safely takes us to our Home in Heaven. May we together praise God for what He has done for us.
Oh my beloved Joseph, I have looked forward to being your wife, since I was a little girl, when our parents arranged our marriage.
But, what a turn things took last week. How my view of you and my estimation of you as my husband grew even greater, during the events of this past week. Last week, I told you that I was with child, for three months already now. I know that shocked you. You thought that I had been unfaithful to you. How that must have shattered your heart. Because, my dear Joseph, I know that you love me and you care about me.
You have so looked forward to being my husband. And, you have so looked forward to having a family with me, living together with me throughout our lives. How hurt, sad and sorrowful you were. And, oh how your dreams were shattered.
How you must have thought to yourself, "Here is the woman I love. Here is the woman that I have dedicated my life to. Here is the woman that I have looked forward to living with. But now I find she has been unfaithful."
Joseph I commend you. You did what you thought was right in God’s eyes. In God’s eyes, you know what marriage means. You know that God has given us privileges that are meant only for marriage. And, when you thought that I had been unfaithful to you, even though it hurt you, and even though you thought you would have to give up all of your dreams, you wanted to follow God’s way. You thought that you should not marry someone who had been unfaithful and didn’t follow God’s Will for marriage, before marriage.
And, how my dreams were shattered, as you planned to divorce me, quietly. Oh how I had looked forward to having a home with you. Now I thought I was going to have to raise this child all by myself. I thought that I would have to go through public shame and disgrace all by myself.
But Joseph, dearest Joseph, those whom God brings low, He rises up. Those to whom God brings sorrow, He brings joy. Those to whom God brings grief, He makes glad again.
Joseph, how happy I am! How happy I was last week on that day, that morning, when you came telling me of the dream that God had given you and how the Lord had spoken to you! He told you that I had not been unfaithful. He told you that this child that is born of me, is The Child, the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit. And, Joseph, how glad and joyful I was, when you took my hand and looked into my eyes and you asked me to be your wife, knowing full well all the trouble and sorrow and difficulties that this will bring into our lives.
But, together as husband and wife, we both know that six months from now we will have a child. And, all of our friends and family will wag their tongues and they will think that we were unfaithful. They will think that we have done wrong.
But, my dearest Joseph, I am so thankful to you that you are willing to take me as your wife, to be my protector, to undergo shame and disgrace with me, so that we can carry out God’s Will. Oh my dearest Joseph, how I look forward to being your wife for the rest of my life!
Your beloved, your betrothed,
Mary
We don’t know if Mary wrote a letter like that, but certainly those must have been some of her thoughts, concerning that man, that good conscious, mature, considerate, faithful man who was about to become her husband.
What a wonderful Sunday, for us to look at God’s wonderful institution of marriage. As we look at how Mary and Joseph treated marriage, we know Mary and Joseph understood that marriage is a holy estate that is given by God. Whether we live in marriage or outside of marriage, we know that marriage is to be protected by all. It is to be protected by those who are married and those who are not.
When Joseph thought that Mary had been unfaithful before they had become married, Joseph knew what God’s Will is for people before marriage and once they are married. Joseph had it in his heart that he would follow God’s Will for marriage, whether he was married or not. And he thought that it was not right for him to marry someone who had been unfaithful, not following God’s plan for marriage.
How often today marriage is treated differently by those outside of marriage. The great privileges reserved for only husbands and wives are often used outside of marriage. And, that wonderful institution that God has created is not protected, nor held up as a sacred estate that God has given us.
How considerate Joseph was of his wife, her feelings, her thoughts. How often in our marriages are we considerate?
How often, today in marriage do we treat one another inconsiderately? We consider our own feelings, our own wants, and our own needs, instead of looking out for the needs, interests and desires of our spouse. How protective Joseph was in marriage. Yet today in marriage, are we protective the way we should be? Do we protect our spouse, our children? How often isn’t it just the opposite? Instead of protecting our children, we speak badly to them. We accuse them, and trouble them, saying things that are hurtful, harmful and unprotective. We may even do things that hurt or harm them. Instead of protecting our spouse, we try to protect ourselves, becoming defensive. We try to win the argument, instead of trying to understand one another.
How often in marriage do we do those things? What a wonderful time for us to take pause and look at God’s Will for marriage, as we look at Mary and Joseph.
Now we certainly understand that Mary and Joseph were not perfect people. They were sinners, just like you and me. They had their faults in marriage, just like you and me. But there are five things that we should take home today, as we consider how Mary and Joseph dealt with the Holy Institution of Marriage.
As we look at today’s text, we see that Mary and Joseph understood that marriage is to be protected by all. Whether we are married or not, it is be honored and respected and kept pure by all.
When Joseph thought Mary had been unfaithful to him, he understood that it had happened before their marriage. He had it in his heart as a good and righteous man, someone who loved God, to follow God’s Will for marriage. Joseph had it in his heart to do the right thing. He knew he should not marry someone who had, what he thought, was a bad view of marriage, breaking God’s Will for marriage, before they got married. How important it is for us, whether we are married or not to understand that marriage is a sacred institution from God. God has given privileges and rights to husbands and wives that He gives to no one else in this whole world. Those privileges are intended to give us blessing, protection, deep love and commitment to one another. How we should be committed to that Holy Institution, protecting it, and holding it up as a great gift from God.
Mary and Joseph knew the thing that bonded them together. They had the thing that united them together. They had the thing that drew them ultimately together in marriage. That thing was the Christ-child! It was the Christ-child who drew them together and that is why they were married. It was the Christ-child whom they held in great awe and wonder, as they looked at that child that was theirs, the child God had given them, to watch over. They looked at Him and saw God Himself!
And, He is ours!
He is with us!
He is God’s gift to us!
They called His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sin. They in faith, looked at that child that had been given to them. They knew and they longed for the day when their child, the child that was Mary’s son, Joseph’s stepson, God’s son, would save them from their sin. That Christ-child should be what unites and bonds marriages together. He is just as much the Child in my marriage, as in Joseph and Mary’s.
Isaiah says, "For unto you a child is born, unto us a Son is given."
He is our child!
He is our Christ-child!
He is our son!
He came for us,
each one of us,
in our marriages and in our homes!
We should hold him in great awe and wonder just like Mary and Joseph. There we hold in awe The One who came to be our brother. He is The One who came to give His very life, so that our sins could be forgiven. There we hold in great awe that awesome concept that Jesus, the Christ-child, loved my wife so much that He stepped down from Heaven and came to this earth for her! He loved her so much that He was willing to be spit upon, mocked and ridiculed. He loved her so much that He was willing to have nails driven through His hands, for her! He loved her so much that God was willing to die for my wife!!! And, she has the same Savior that I have! Her sins are forgiven, just like mine are! We are going to Heaven, because of what Jesus did! She is going there and I am going there, because of what Jesus did for us! We have the same Jesus, and the same Holy Spirit. We have the same faith. We have the same God. We have the same hope of Heaven. How that ought to unite and bond together, in a bond that is stronger than death itself!
Mary and Joseph in their marriage had the child that was born of the virgin, who was called Immanuel, which means God with us. Mary and Joseph knew, as they sat down at the table and saw little Jesus, God is with us! He is here! He is in our house!
When they went to play, they knew, God is with us! He is here! He is with us!
Wherever they went, whatever they did, they knew, God is with us. Knowing that God was with them, don’t you think they treated one another, or tried to treat one another as if God were there, as if God was in their house, as if God was watching over them, as if they were to be serving and pleasing God?
In our marriages, God is with us. God says, that when we go to the highest height or the deepest deep,
there He is, with us.
We know that God is with us in His Holy Word and Sacrament. Just as surely as Mary and Joseph saw God with them, as He walked, talked and played, so surely when we use God’s Word, there we see and hear God with us. We hear His words and we see His mighty deeds. God is with us! We aught to treat one another in our marriages as if God is truly here, with us. We want to live with one another as if God were in our presence, serving God. That will unite husband and wife together in a blessed, blessed marriage.
Mary and Joseph were willing as husband and wife to follow God’s Will for them, no matter what it brought, even if it brought suffering. Mary, first of all was willing. When the angel announced to her that she would have a child. She asked, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" She certainly knew all the scandal that this would bring into her life, and all the trouble this could bring into her life. Her simple answer was, "May it be to me, as you have said. I am willing to follow God’s Will, to be God’s handmaiden, to be God’s servant, regardless of the suffering it may bring into my life, the shame, the trouble."
And, Joseph was the same. When he found out that the child had been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and God commanded him to take Mary as his wife, he was willing to follow God’s Will, even if that meant personal shame, even if meant that the whole town of Nazareth would wag their tongues and talk behind their backs, thinking that they had an illegitimate child. Joseph was willing to suffer and bear the crosses, with God’s Will in mind. Together that husband and that wife carried those crosses together. They protected each other against the slurs and slander of the world.
How blessed we are in our marriages, when we follow God’s Will, knowing what God’s Will for us is, despite the slander and slurs of this world. How often in this world, individuals have such a different view of marriage. At work they may say to a Christian husband or wife, "Why are you still with that man/woman? He/she is no good for you. He/she doesn’t know how to have fun. He/she is too tight with your money. He/she gets mad at you too often." They may even encourage you to leave your spouse.
How God pleasing it is, how blessed it is, when we go home and look at our husband or wife and know that it is God’s Will that we are together until death parts us. And, although this may bring hardship into our lives, people may laugh at us and wonder why we are still together, though it may be hard for us to go through some of the troubles we go through together, yet we go through them together. We will go through them together knowing it is God’s Will, knowing that God lifts up those who He brings down, knowing God brings joy to those to whom He has brought grief. How blessed is a marriage like that.
Mary and Joseph certainly must have been committed to having God’s Word being the central thing in their marriage and in their family. Don’t you think that as they looked at that child, as He grew up knowing who He was, they certainly must have said, "We must have God’s Word in our home. We need to know what God’s Word says for us and what God’s Will for us is. We need to teach that to our son, because He is God’s Son."
How God’s Word must have permeated their marriage and family. How God’s Word should permeate our family. How we should look at our children and know that they need to know God’s Word. We need to bring them to Holy Baptism, brought into the Family of God, through that miracle of baptism. We must train them and instruct them as much as we can in God’s Word so that they know their Savior and believe in their Savior and trust that their sins are forgiven. Husband and wife need to gather around the Word of God. Their marriage is based on a marriage where Jesus forgives them both, strengthens them both, guides them both through His Word.
Oh blest the house,
What e’re befall
Where Jesus Christ is
All in all
Yea, if He were not glowing there
How dark, and poor and void it were.
Oh blest the house
Where faith ye find,
And all within it set their mind
To trust their God
And serve Him still
And do in all His Holy Will.
Oh blest the parents who
Give heed unto their children’s foremost need
And weary not of care or cost
Let none to them and Heaven be lost.
Oh blest the house
It prospers well
In peace and joy its parents dwell
And by their children’s lot is shown
How richly God doth bless own.
Then here will I and mine today
A solemn covenant make and say
Though all the world forsake Thy Word
I and my house will serve the Lord.
Amen.
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