everything that's on my mind
(as if there's not already enough people doing this)Saturday, December 24, 2005
And Joseph said, "Why me?"
Joseph, son of Jacob, soon-to-be husband of Mary, first appears in the first chapter of Matthew, when, after finding out that Mary was pregnant, is considering what to do next.
I guess it's natural that, being male, I wonder more about Joseph than Mary. I think of my own reaction. Or at least I try. The incarnation is impossible for me to fully understand, so trying to fathom being chosen to be the father of God while he's living on earth as one of us is also mind-blowing. Two modern Christmas songs give a voice to Joseph, expressing what could have been some of his thoughts during this time.
Michael Card's "Joseph's Song" has Joseph wondering "how can it be" that I'm holding the Son of God in my arms. "How can I, just a man, be excected to raise a King, the very Son of God?? Even so, while he's not my biological child, I pray that I will love him like my own." Michael Card is one of my favorite songwriter's, and this is one of my favorites of his. Joseph was, I suspect, no different than any other man. If he were to ask questions, I suspect they would be something like these, the very ones we would think to ask, too.
The group 4 Him also recorded a song which ponders Joseph's response to the incarnation itself. In "A Strange Way To Save The World", the writers have Joseph (as the title would suggest) questioning why God chose to come in such an unusual way. "If he had come in a way more appropriate for the King of Kings, the Lord of the universe, then there would've been no need for an inn or a manger. Shepherds wouldn't have been notified first. And there wouldn't even have been a need for common folks like Mary and myself. But who am I to question God's methods?" Again, more things that I probably would've wondered about as well.
It probably didn't make sense to Joseph. It doesn't make sense to me - God leaving heaven to come to earth, and especially in the manner he chose to do so. It doesn't make sense for a man to be father to the one who's Father is God. But it happened, and as strange as it was, we are saved because He came. God was with us.
These songs are among my very favorite songs related to the birth of Christ.
The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.We are given no words from Joseph's mouth in scripture. We are only given a little information about him at all, and nothing after a few events related to Jesus' birth, his first year or two, and then once when he was twelve. I've sometimes wondered what he really thought about all of this. Most of the time we see him in Matthew and Luke, he's being spoken to by an angel. "It's okay - marry her." "Go to Egypt." "Okay, you can come back now." But nothing is recorded to tell us what Joseph said in response, or what he might have been thinking in response. All we know is that he obeyed.
While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus - "God saves' - because he will save his people from their sins." This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term:
Watch for this - a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Emmanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us").
Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25 (The Message)
I guess it's natural that, being male, I wonder more about Joseph than Mary. I think of my own reaction. Or at least I try. The incarnation is impossible for me to fully understand, so trying to fathom being chosen to be the father of God while he's living on earth as one of us is also mind-blowing. Two modern Christmas songs give a voice to Joseph, expressing what could have been some of his thoughts during this time.
Michael Card's "Joseph's Song" has Joseph wondering "how can it be" that I'm holding the Son of God in my arms. "How can I, just a man, be excected to raise a King, the very Son of God?? Even so, while he's not my biological child, I pray that I will love him like my own." Michael Card is one of my favorite songwriter's, and this is one of my favorites of his. Joseph was, I suspect, no different than any other man. If he were to ask questions, I suspect they would be something like these, the very ones we would think to ask, too.
The group 4 Him also recorded a song which ponders Joseph's response to the incarnation itself. In "A Strange Way To Save The World", the writers have Joseph (as the title would suggest) questioning why God chose to come in such an unusual way. "If he had come in a way more appropriate for the King of Kings, the Lord of the universe, then there would've been no need for an inn or a manger. Shepherds wouldn't have been notified first. And there wouldn't even have been a need for common folks like Mary and myself. But who am I to question God's methods?" Again, more things that I probably would've wondered about as well.
It probably didn't make sense to Joseph. It doesn't make sense to me - God leaving heaven to come to earth, and especially in the manner he chose to do so. It doesn't make sense for a man to be father to the one who's Father is God. But it happened, and as strange as it was, we are saved because He came. God was with us.
These songs are among my very favorite songs related to the birth of Christ.
Joseph's Song words & music by Michael Card How could it be this baby in my arms Sleeping now, so peacefully The Son of God, the angel said How could it be Lord I know He's not my own Not of my flesh, not of my bone Still Father let this baby be The son of my love Father show me where I fit into this plan of yours How can a man be father to the Son of God Lord for all my life I've been a simple carpenter How can I raise a king, How can I raise a king He looks so small, His face and hands so fair And when He cries the sun just seems to disappear But when He laughs it shines again How could it be | A Strange Way To Save The World words & music by Dave Clark, Mark Harris & Don Koch I'm sure he must have been surprised At where this road had taken him 'Cause never in a million lives Would he have dreamed of Bethlehem. And standing at the manger He saw with his own eyes The message from the angel come to life. And Joseph said... Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade? Why Him with all the rulers in the world? Why here inside this stable filled with hay? Why her, she's just an ordinary girl? Now, I'm not one to second guess What angel's have to say. But this is such a strange way to save the world. To think of how it could have been If Jesus had come as He deserved. There would have been no Bethlehem No lowly shepherds at His birth. But Joseph knew the reason the love Had to reach so far And as he held the Savior in his arms He must have thought... Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade? Why Him with all the rulers in the world? Why here inside this stable filled with hay? Why her, she's just an ordinary girl? Now, I'm not one to second guess What angel's have to say. But this is such a strange way to save the world. Now, I'm not one to second guess What angel's have to say. But this is such a strange way to save the world. This is such a strange way, Such a strange way, Such a strange way To save the world. |
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