Do the Right Thing

Fourth Sunday of Advent – Year A

December 22, 2013

Matthew 1:18-25

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. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 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. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

"Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and they shall name him Emmanuel,"

which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

When I was growing up, and even now, one of the things I was told to do and tried to do is the right thing.  I think all of us are in the same boat, when we are given a choice, when we have a decision to make, we want to make the right choice, and we want to do the right thing.  When we are hungry, we all know that we should make good decisions about what we are going to eat – something healthy over something that’s not as healthy.  We know that the right thing to do is to try and exercise a little every day, rather than sitting on the couch, or at the table reading the latest posts on our Facebook feed.  We know there are many things we should do, they aren’t necessary to do, but they are the right things to do.

We know that when we find something that isn’t ours, the right thing to do is to try to locate the real owner.  We know that if we see someone stumble and fall, the right thing to do is to help them up, to make sure they are okay.  We know that the right thing to do is help someone in need.  As parents we want to do the right things, to ensure that our children grow up to be good, decent people.  As children we want to do the right thing for our parents, especially as they get older, we want to make sure the right decisions are made.  Each and every day, in situation after situation there are decisions that need to be made; we know the right thing to do is, well, to do the right thing. 

When we are driving down the highway, we know the right thing to do is to stay under the speed limit – it’s the law.  Yet, how often do we not do the right thing?  We know the right thing to do according to most doctors is to eat more vegetables than meat; yet, how often does that really happen?  The right thing to do is brush and floss our teeth after every meal, but really?  The right thing to do is to follow the rules; yet, how often do we try to find ways around the rules?

Doing the right thing can be hard.  Doing the wrong thing – that’s pretty easy.  It’s easy to grab the candy bar at the checkout lane.  It’s easy to just sit and not go for a walk.  It’s easy to not say or do anything when you see someone in need.  It’s easy to look the other way.  It’s easy to sleep in on Sunday morning, skip church.  It’s easy to allow the Christmas season around us cause our focus to shift from God to goods, from peace to possessions.  It’s easy to get turned around and confused, it’s easy to lose sight of the right thing.

Joseph wanted to do the right thing.  He and Mary had been engaged.  Now, in ancient times an engagement was a lot like an engagement today, but there was a major difference.  Then, an engagement was essentially a contract.  Arrangements had been made between the families, there was often an agreement amounting to a contract of the wedding to come.  There were stipulations about how the bride and the groom were both supposed to behave and act in the time before the wedding.  These were contracts that often dealt with issues far beyond just the bride and the groom.  In our day, breaking off an engagement is not an easy thing to do; but in ancient times, breaking an engagement was almost impossible. It was like having to go through a divorce.  And Mary is suddenly pregnant.

Joseph wants to do the right thing, he was after all a righteous man.  Matthew tells us he was a righteous man, and righteous people do the right things.  So, what does a righteous man think when his betrothed shows up pregnant?  Well, we all know where babies come from, and if Joseph hadn’t broken the rules of the engagement, then Mary must have – she had committed adultery.  This would have brought shame on both Joseph and Mary’s families, and it could have easily led to Mary being stoned to death – that was after all the punishment for adultery according to the Old Testament.

So, Joseph being the righteous man he was, seeks to divorce her, to break the engagement, quietly.  He wants to save her the shame and public disgrace, not to mention being killed.  He could have legally exposed her, declared her an adulteress, and she would have been executed.  Yet, he likely still cared for her, he knew the penalties and wanted to protect her.  He was a righteous man.  He wanted to do what was right.  He knew what the law said, what his families and the church expected, but he sought a different path.  He sought to protect her as he left rather than seek punishment.

It wasn’t an easy decision; even divorcing her quietly would bring questions.  And an unmarried woman, giving birth to a child was destined to a life of hardship.  She would become amongst the lowest of the low, and her child would be shunned, but at least she would be alive.  The law was clear.  What else could a righteous man do?

Joseph’s internal battle, his battle as he sought to do what was right was finally answered by the words of the angel, who told him not to fear.  This angel’s message of not fearing though is different than the message of not fearing that Mary received.  Joseph is told not to fear taking Mary as his wife.  His turmoil about what to do, what is the right thing to do, is calmed by the angel.  He is not to fear what may happen, the judgment that could come, the shunning that might result, the questioning from friends and family.  No, his fears are not to keep him from marrying his betrothed.

Joseph did what was right.  He may not have done what was right according to the customs and practices in the first century.  He may not have done what was right according to his family.  He may not have done what was right according to the laws of Judaism.  Yet, he was a righteous man, and he did what was right to fulfil God’s plan, to fulfil God’s desires.

As people of faith we look to our faith to guide us when we seek to determine what is right.  Sometimes, it can be pretty easy to know what is right or wrong, what is God’s desire for us as followers.  The scriptures are clear on issues like idolatry, murder, stealing.  Yet, there are times when the words we turn to in the Bible may not be quite as clear, when we are not able to find a definite answer in black and white.  In those moments, in those times of decision we can look to the model of Joseph for guidance.

How?  Joseph did what was necessary for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem.  Joseph put aside the rules and expectations of his culture and his faith, and did what God asked him in order that Jesus might be.  That is the standard for us as well in moments where clarity may not be found in our Bible, in our church, in our society: what is the action that will make Jesus present, the choice that will allow others to see or experience the holy presence of our Lord and Savior.

The phrase ‘what would Jesus do’ is one that we often hear; yet, let’s be honest lots of the time we don’t really know what Jesus would do, we just do what we think is right and then say that’s what Jesus would do.  Rather than doing that, what if instead we were to ask, “How can I bring Jesus to this situation?”  What is the action, what is the decision, what are the words that will make another person see and know that Jesus is somehow present in that moment?

In just a few days we will celebrate the birth of Jesus.  We will gather around a tree, we will share gifts with one another, we will remember how it was Jesus came to born amongst us, and within us.  As we think about Christmas, as we think about the year that is coming to an end, as we think about the new year that is soon beginning let us think about how it was, when it was, and where it was that Christ was born in our midst.  Let us seek that in the coming year, it is not only on Christmas that we see Jesus being discovered to be amongst us.  Amen.