Let us ponder a question, one so obvious we may forget to ask it.
Why do we need Jesus?
If a quick and simple answer springs to mind, maybe we can push deeper. Yes, we need Jesus, but why? What is it about Jesus that we can’t live without? What hole would be left in our lives if Jesus were suddenly absent from them?
This question is important as we enter Matthew’s Gospel because Matthew, through his genealogy and through our introduction to Joseph and Mary, is preparing us to meet Jesus who is nothing short of “God with us (Matthew 1:23).” With him fast approaching, we would do well to ask – why is it such a good thing to meet him?
While Luke gives us his version of the events of the nativity story mostly from Mary’s perspective, Matthew gives us mostly Joseph’s perspective. Before being married, Mary is mysteriously pregnant by means of the Holy Spirit. At first, without being privy to this information, Joseph assumes something less honorable is going on.
“Do not be afraid,” Joseph is told by an angel in a dream. He may not be essential to the process of getting pregnant. But Mary needs a partner, the daily support system only a spouse can offer. The craziest thing in the world has happened to her (and it’s only going to get crazier and scarier in the next chapter), and she cannot go it alone. If there’s one threat to their partnership, it’s Joseph’s fear. What will happen to his “righteous” reputation (1:19)? Is he willing to be viewed differently for the rest of his life for a wife that, at first glance, has not been faithful to him? He’s willing to quietly call off the wedding and draw no extra attention to Mary’s situation. He’s not indignant, but he’d like to continue his life free of Mary’s complications. Apparently, this fear of complexity and potential shame and is the biggest danger to this story. It’s the first thing the angel feels the need to call out. “Do not be afraid.” I wonder if we give enough credit to fear for the role it plays in the nativity story. The nativity scenes constructed in front yards every December don’t make much attempt to capture all the fear and uncertainty involved. To create such a scene would create something much less tidy and polite for the front lawn, but this is not a polite story. It’s a story about an unplanned pregnancy and how fear and shrewd decision-making almost leaves Mary and the Messiah out in the cold.
Almost. This is what Immanuel, the presence of God does to us. It breaks sin’s grip on us. It breaks fear’s grip on us. The one who saves us from our sins is with us. In Jesus, God is with us. Why do we need Jesus? There are as many answers as there are people. But Joseph might answer something like, I need Jesus because I’m afraid and I need someone to give that fear to.
Let’s take a moment and consider how our daily thoughts and feelings and decisions would be transformed by the constant awareness of God’s presence. What would happen to our fear? How would our decision-making change? His is a gentle presence, as warm and sweet as a newborn baby. And that presence, unlike most other things, is not pressuring us to do more than we’re doing or become different than what we are. Let us be present to that presence.
0 Comments