"Breathe" Matthew 1:18-25

Grace, Mercy, and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Amen

Joseph, son of David, do not fear

In the Name of Jesus

This year we introduced a new Christmas Tree ornament into the mix at the Chase household. And in fact I have brought it along with me. It is a Mickey Mouse Countdown to Christmas ornament. You set the day, the time, and it tells you exactly how long it is until Christmas. Or in my opinion, how long you have until all your Christmas preparation needs to be complete, leaving you with the feeling that it is a countdown to the end of the world.

Now I love Christmas, I am even fond of Mickey Mouse. But throw them together like this and the stress levels sky rocket. Some times the stress of preparing for THE baby wrapped in swaddling cloth and laying in the manger, hoping for the Christ to come again, and inquiring concerning the Babe of Bethlehem, long with all the other tasks that need to be completed gets to be a too much.

Which is why this weeks word is breathe. Before the stress of the season takes you over, you need to breathe. Every time my sweet Norah reminds me just how many days and hours it is until Christmas and I am reminded of just how much needs to be accomplished before the 25^th. I remind my self that I just need to breathe.

Now we are not the only ones who experience a high level of stress around the birth of Christ. In fact there are lots of opportunities in the 9 months leading up to the birth of Jesus that lends itself to stressful breathing. First the angel Gabriel visits Mary. He delivers a message to her which was hard to believe and which would send the stress levels through the roof. Even though she was not married and was a virgin, she would soon give birth. But before the angel even delivers the message, he says Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Which could be translated, take a deep breath Mary.

In today's text from the first chapter of Matthew, Joseph received some news, the same news which Mary received, and panicked. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. Imagine the stress Joesph must have felt during this process. His fiancee, whom he had not known in that way, was found to be with child. Sure she had a story, but it was impossible. There is no way this child could have been conceived by the Holy Spirit, conceived in her hearing of God's promise.

So he breathed. He took a deep breath and being a fair man wanted to do things the right way and without harming Mary. So he resolved to divorce her quietly. Do you know what the punishment was for one who was unfaithful to her husband, or in this case, husband to be? Death. Deuteronomy 22 says If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

I think we could understand Joseph's hesitation in believing Mary's words. Would we be able to believe such a ridiculous claim? It is like a child who looks at the broken lamp and when asked how it happened, even though the object that broke it was their ball and they were the only one in the room, thinks and proceeds to tell you a tale about how a bird flew in (through closed windows) and hit the lamp and flew out of the room once again (through the same closed windows). The only difference was that Mary's was completely true.

But before he could carry out this plan, as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Take a deep breath and continue the course.

Could you believe that? We have a bunch of doubting/pre-dream Josephs in the world today. Yes this story is hard to understand, it is hard to believe. How can the power of the most high overshadow one and the Holy Spirit conceive a child within her? How can one hold such a celebration for such a silly event? And those who doubt, those who don't believe, work themselves up into a tizzy and forget that we all just need to breathe.

Even the simple, yet so complex, presence of sin in our lives. It was sin that kept Joseph from believing that which was God's truth. Not only was Joseph dealing with his own sinful doubt during this time, but he was undoubtedly carrying the weight of Mary's perceived sin as well. When we reflect on our sin, we are left gasping for air. Maybe we are like Joseph and are carrying the weight of the sins of another. Maybe we are dealing with the weight of a large decision. And that weight takes our breath away. We are left hyperventilating when we realize that for our sins, and even for our guilt, we deserve only death.

The comfort for Joseph was found in the appearance of the angel in his sleep. In the words the angel shared, Joesph heard exactly what he needed to hear. For the words which the angel said, all the way down to the name of the child, allowed Joseph to breathe. These are the words that comfort us this day and help us get our breathing back to normal.

This child, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and would be born of the Virgin Mary, was a special child whose mission lay in his very name. What does the angel say? She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us).

We took some time this past Wednesday during the Midweek service to discuss the name of our Savior. It is not just the actions that had to take place to fulfill scripture, but the naming of the child as well. The Chirst, the anointed one, Jesus, the Lord Saves, Immanuel, God with us. Even in the names we find the gospel, the reason, his mission, for the coming of the Son of God into his creation.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. It is so amazing that our Lord had to be born in human flesh to fulfill previously made prophecies. That he was born to complete what so many had long told about. His birth put to rest the centuries of nervous breathing, centuries of hoping that this specific promise would come true.

We could talk for days about the prophecies he fulfilled at his birth and those which he would fulfill throughout his life, down to the spear in his side. He completed the Old Testament, he completed, fulfilled the Old Testament law. He himself was the fulfillment of the Old Testament covenant.

In turn he has given us so much to hope for. The fulfiller of the Old Testament is the giver of the New Testament, the new covenant. No longer do we look to and keep the covenant of circumcision but now have the covenant through baptism and the Lord's Supper. The promise that we are tied to the salvific act on the cross through these outward actions, the washing and the eating and drinking.

The Christ was born to make new prophecies, he was born to give us so much to hope for. There is so much that the Christ child has given to us. He has given us his Word and promise. He has given us life. He has given us all that we need to support this body and life.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we will recall these promises, as we do each Lord's Day. We will remember the entrance of our Lord in his creation for our salvation. We will remember that he came solely to give of himself, to give of himself so that we would be with him forever.

What a blessing it is to have such a promise given to us. What a blessing to prepare, hope, and inquire of such a God who would send his son to his death to redeem sinners such as us. This Christmas, which is exactly__________away, take time to relax, take time to breathe and enjoy the birth for Christ for what it is. For this is the child who gave up his breath for you.

Amen  

Soli Deo Gloria