St. Paul's On-The-Hill Episcopal Church

The Rev. Stephen C. Holton, Rector

Christmas 2; January 3, 2010

Matthew 2:13-23

GOD IN AN UNSAFE WORLD

The world is not a safe place. It never was a safe place. In Jesus' time it was not a safe place. In our times it is not a safe place. There are “wars and rumors of wars” as the Bible says. There is disease and death. There are individuals who are too powerful and too selfish – like Herod or dictators throughout history – to allow the rest of us to be completely safe.

Why doesn't God protect Jesus, at least in the traditional way of sending an army to protect him, or an angel with a flaming sword? Why is it that the best God can do is to send an angel to Joseph in a dream and tell him to get out of town?

Why no protective angel, and just a messenger angel – depending on an attentive, faithful man? Once again, God seems to have put a lot of faith in people – first in devout and brave Mary to hear Gabriel and say 'yes'; then in devout and brave Joseph to hear the angel and leave town until a few years later; when he was paying attention again, and again an angel came and told him it was safe to return. When Joseph came back, he had the good sense to be too scared again to stay in Judea, and paid attention again, and heard again the angel telling him to go to Galilee – which he did – and the child was called a Nazorean.

All of this was dependent on Joseph's attentiveness, his rational fear of danger for himself and Mary and the child. And it all happened because God came into an unsafe world like ours; did not change it, as he has not changed ours; but functioned within it as he functions within ours – dependent on us as he was on Joseph and Mary for his growth and preservation.

It is sort of a relief to know that God comes into an unsafe world and has always come into an unsafe world. It means we're not doing anything wrong, if the world is like that. We're stuck with it. God has not forsaken it or us. He's here too. For whatever reason he does not change it. Even for himself he did not change it.

All those children died when Herod slaughtered the Holy Innocents in his search for Jesus. For some reason, God didn't save them. He didn't even save Jesus – directly. He let Joseph do that; or he asked Joseph to, and Joseph – who was paying attention – did.

The state of the world is not our fault. It is not even ours to change – initially. Initially we need to know that God is with us in this unsafe world, and does not abandon us in this unsafe world. Our only job, as it was Joseph's, is to be attentive to him, to listen to him, and to preserve his word.

Joseph does not fight back against the soldiers. He escapes them. The marginal people of Isaiah do not become this fighting force. God leads them home in their weakness.

God allows weakness, almost glorifies weakness. So we can get used to it in ourselves and not change it. Our job is not to be strong, but to be faithful to this word of God in our midst.

So Joseph is faithful to this word of God in his family. He does not fight the Romans or take false comfort, and hope for security. He runs away. He protects Jesus, and his family. They leave for Egypt and live safely for a time, only returning to Israel when its safe – thought they do return. They go up to Galilee and it's safer there. And Jesus grows and becomes stronger, and eventually teaches and heals and loves, and finally dies because there is no room for him in the world just as there was no room for him in the inn.

But he does live and heal and teach first, among all these people, in this unsafe world, where we live.

The Bible is not a fantasy land. It is not an amazingly peaceful and prosperous and healthy place where we could all live if we were only faithful enough or strong enough or successful enough. It is a dangerous place, but God is here; and if we keep an eye on Him, and on living by his word and loving him – instead of preserving our importance as we see it – we have a chance of doing rather well, of living fairly faithfully, if not fairly impressively.

This is what happened to Joseph; as he left behind whatever identity he had before, and became simply Jesus' father, dedicated to his safety. In our dangerous times, try to take your eyes and attention off of whatever afflicts you, and put them on the One who loves you, and see how your life takes a turn; off of bravado and success and strength, and towards self-preservation and then the growth that comes from that and then the abilities that come from that, and then the abilities to help others – that come from that.

This is what happened to Joseph and Jesus and Mary. Because of Joseph fleeing, and staying safe with this God in the world, instead of showing false bravado, Jesus grows strong and becomes a teacher and healer and leader.

The word and teachings of God in us becomes strong, and through us they teach and heal and lead others.

That, in the end, is the purpose of our lives, as it was for Joseph's. Joseph becomes “repurposed” from being a carpenter to being a father, dedicated now to someone else and something else instead of himself. And so that someone else – Jesus – becomes strong and stays safe with his human father, and teaches and leads others.

We become repurposed for the preservation and nourishing of the Word of God that has come into our lives. We may understand it as little as rough and ready Joseph the Carpenter understood the little boy who had come into his life. But through Jesus' teaching, his own learning, their daily interaction and Joseph's reverence – which is why God came to him to begin with – the change happens and Joseph becomes this saint.

We can too, quietly following this Savior who has come into this world for us – into this unsafe world that does not get dramatically more safe because of His presence. It becomes dramatically, or at least slowly, more safe because of ours – when we have listened to him, been taught by him, allowed ourselves to be influenced by him; and go forth from here and do his will in the part of the world and the part of our lives where we can.

Not just Joseph but the shed has been repurposed to house Christ. Once a stable, a tool shed really, it is now a palace for a king, though it looks a little different. We too, once really just tool sheds for human lives, become palaces for a king. So does the world, bit by bit, because of us, who live in it.

Once the three kings arrive, they see a holy family, not just mom, dad and the kid. They bow down and worship. The star has led them there.

Perhaps if we live with the same protective reverence for the King, the best way we can, even if the world is still an unsafe place as it always has been, strangers will also see us, drawn by their own search, and see not us, not the tool shed for a human life limited by the skills and tools God has given us, but will see the God within, the Word within, nourished by our reverence and our attempts to follow Him.