Matthew 1.18-25

This coming Sunday I will be preaching from Matthew 1.18-25. Something that has stuck out to me as I have been studying this passage is verse 19: "Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly." In this passage we can see that Joseph had got wind that Mary was pregnant and was wanting to not hurt her ---- but to "put her away" quietly. He would have been totally justified in not taking Mary as his wife. Here, Joseph loving Mary by dismissing her ----- rather than being harsh with her. We could put a term on Joseph such as chivalrous. He is not wanting to harm his betrothed, but at the same time he feels as if he cannot marry her since she is pregnant with another person's child.

Down South ---- we know about chivalry. I recently read a quote from Stanley Hauerwas on chivalry ----- it goes like this: "But I am never sure I know what women want. I think I need to know what women want because I was raised to think that my job as a male is to give women what they want. I am sure I learned that lesson from my mother. I have always assumed that my task is to make the world all right for any woman who is kind enough to love me. Paternalistic scripts die hard in the souls of Southern males."

For Joseph ---- he is not wanting to harm Mary ---- hence, he dismisses her. But God has different plans and sends an angel to appear to Joseph in a dream. God throws out the status quo ----- and writes Joseph into the gospel story. A story that is centered and focused on the salvation of sinners.

Do you all think you could have acted on this revelation from an angel of the Lord?