Nazareth's Gone Country

Hi friends, just sitting here rereading everything I've collected in the past few weeks about Joseph of Nazareth in preparation for Sunday's sermon. It's pretty clear to me that Joseph lived a life that only a country music lover could appreciate.

Think about it.

He's a tradesman/builder. If he were alive today, he'd be driving a pickup with a toolbox in the bed. He'd probably be wearing jeans and work boots with a T shirt advertising something that he got for free. Oh and the T shirt and jeans would be holy - well, hole-ly. He'd have one of those cellphones that let's you beep the other job sites, and wouldn't have shaved today.

Yeah, he'd probably have a friend or two he called Bubba.

He'd have a reputation too. "Measure twice, cut once", would be his stock in trade, along with "a man's word is his bond." Yeah, he might be a poor ordinary working man, but he would do an honest days work for an honest day's pay. Nobody would beat him to the job site, or catch him sneaking off fishing when he should be working. There was plenty of time for that after the job was done.

And crazy as it seems, he'd be a guy looking to settle down with one woman for life. Not that he hadn't had chances for a fling here and there - he was a young, strong guy in a culture that valued all that. Oh and I expect he knew how to laugh at life - even laugh at himself. Most carpenters I've ever known can do that. They understand that a piece of wood, like a life, has to be shaped and shaved into something on purpose - that it's pretty rare to get that perfect piece of wood, and that you have to learn to work around and through the rough spots. Laughter really helps with that.

He found a girl he loved, made the proposal and came away a winner. Got started on a house and was prepping his mind around the whole husband and yeah, father deal. But then his fiancee told him she was pregnant - and Joseph knew it wasn't by him.

I wonder if George Jones ever wrote a song about Joseph?

So what would Joseph do?

Well, here's the thing. Carpenter's and brick layers - really anybody that works to build things, know that there are times when you can just "eyeball" the job and know what to do next, and then there are times when you have to go back to the architect and ask him "what the heck were you thinking?"

The Bible says that Joseph was a "just" or "righteous" man.

Those kind of guys know who to ask when the plans don't square with reality on the ground, or when it just isn't going to work. So when Joseph went to sleep that night after Mary dropped her bombshell. I have no doubt that Joseph had looked at what happened from every angle he could think of. He would have done his best to make it all go away without costing anyone more than it had to. He'd try to do the right thing. But what was the right thing?

He went to sleep tossing and turning, and then God showed up.

And God showed Joseph a new set of plans.

20 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. 21 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." Matt 1:20-21 (MSG)

Armed with that change in plans from the Master Builder...

24 Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. 25 But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus. Matt 1:24-25 (MSG)
The working man done good. Nazareth's gone country, folks.

Grace and peace,

David
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