Love Comes Down
Advent 4 – Narrative Lectionary 1
December 21, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Matthew 1.18-25
In the TV show, “Person of Interest,” a man named Harold has built a supercomputer for the US government that can not only see what happens but it can also predict felonious actions. However, the government is only interested in detecting acts of terrorism, considering others “irrelevant.” Upset at this notion of irrelevance, Harold has assembled a team to help everyday people in their lives. Unfortunately, the only information he receives from “the machine” is a number. It is up to him and his team to figure out if the “number” is a victim or perpetrator and how they can help.
As the seasons have progressed, the allusions between the machine and an all-seeing, all-knowing God deepen and broaden. Leaving that idea aside for another day, what strikes me today is the connection between Harold and Joseph, designated by God as the father of Jesus. It may not seem so, but the way forward for both of them is fraught with moral and ethical ambiguity. Joseph, like Harold and his team, is a good person wanting to do right, but he and they are also human. Being human not only means being aware of and having to deal with competing and conflicting goods; it also means being fearful at the prospect. Then there is also our natural inclination to self-interest, to preserving our own lives. Finally, being human means our natural confusion on how to deal with complex situations.
Also like Harold and his team, this new assignment that Joseph receives is disruptive and open-ended. God rocks Joseph’s world with these new instructions. God draws a picture of a new reality for Joseph and then draws him into this new vision of reality. This new reality declares, as we have seen in our trip through the Old Testament, that God is not a “one and done” kind of god, who sets things in motion and leaves. God is continually at work in our world. This new reality has a goal, for God to draw all people into God’s loving embrace. But the way we get there is anything but certain; we really are making it up as we go along.
Even so, to say that we are “making it up” doesn’t mean we are left helpless or to our own devices. The main point of today’s lesson is that love comes down to us; it always has and it always will. Joseph is called to obedience and trust in the work God has called him to do on God’s behalf. Yet it’s important to remember that God’s grace always appears before any demand is made on us. In fact, it is grace that enables us to respond to God’s call. In other words, it was Joseph’s trust in God’s steadfast love that enabled him to do the right thing. And, we might note, more often than not, doing the right thing is often the most difficult thing. However, I would also note that doing the right thing is also the most loving thing.
As Matthew’s gospel unfolds, we will see that Matthew’s Jesus is all about the response of faith, and Jesus is often very pointed about how we are to respond. Yet, it is important to know that “doing the right thing” is bracketed by God’s grace and love. Today, in the first chapter, we learn that Jesus is Immanuel, God with Us. Love always comes down. It is also the last thing that Jesus says to us: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them all that I have commanded you. And lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” This Christmas, and always, know that even though you may not know exactly where your journey will lead you and what your “assignment” is, God is and always will be, Immanuel, God with you. Love always comes down. Amen.
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