But Matthew knew that Jesus was the sign for eternity, Jesus and that evil would be overthrown and that humanity would not be alone! Jesus is a sign from God that we are not alone! And that we will overcome! The invisible God is now visible. God wants you to know, “I Am always with you.” And to know that Jesus is calling His disciples to say the same thing to those who are troubled! Jesus is with His people! But not all of us know that! Do you know someone who needs to hear this? We are Christ’s emissaries! Our role is clear…we are here to say, “God has not forgotten you!” Friends in this Advent season who do you know who is troubled? Will you boldly and gently tell them, “God has not forgotten you!” Will you tell them that Jesus Christ, Immanuel, is God with us. And we are not alone! Who in this Christmas season needs to know this!

A final word about Joseph! The word that describes the carpenter is tekton. This is a person who works with wood. Joseph was a tekton. The word is similar to architect, however, “arch” like archangel, Gabriel, was the master angel; as an architect is the master builder. Joseph was just a builder. Houses in Joseph’s time where stone; requiring a mason. However, Joseph’s job would have been to build the windows and doors or to repair plows and tool handles.

Now I have known only one carpenter in my life personally, my uncle Lew. And there was something about him. Unless he was talking about his work, he was generally a man of few words. And though he was every bit of 6’3’’ with hands almost wide enough to span a hubcap, he never really chattered; when complemented, he’d smiled modestly. I wonder if Joseph was like this? Adam Hamilton got me to thinking when he raised words that Jesus said in His life recorded in the Gospel. Remember Jesus told the parable about a man with two sons, one was obedient and the other had to sow his wild oats. Even when he came home with nothing, his daddy embraced him. Our heavenly Father is that way. But what of Jesus’ earthly dad…was he?

And what did Jesus call His heavenly father, “Abba” which means, “daddy.” 

Did he learn this first from a loving, strong earthly father? And when we pray, “Our Father…” does that say anything about Joseph’s relationship with God? Joseph was the one chosen by God to discipline and disciple the young Jesus. Joseph the tekton: He is never mentioned again after Luke 2. He gets no lines - no record of him uttering a word…really gets no recognition. Joseph is known to some as the patron saint of those who serve God without anyone noticing. Hum, working hard, doing what’s right without anyone noticing. Those of you who know me know I have propensity of wanting people to notice my good deeds… I’m not alone. Are you the types who would put $100 bill in the offering wide open or would you fold it in such a way that only the one would be seen? What if we become Disciples of Christ Jesus doing works of righteousness with no one knowing? Over the years, I have had the pain of receiving word that people have left the church because no one recognized them for their good deed. That breaks my heart because I want to recognize everyone. I even try to stay up with “thank you’s” because I know how important that is. And then I think of Joseph and what he teaches us. Joseph had the greatest and most important job that any male could ever have on this earth. And he did it with no one praising him. He did it because it was the right thing to do. Humbly serving God without being recognized. 

 

Now here this contrast, in the days that Jesus was born and began to grow, King Herod, the great ruled. He knew that Bethlehem would birth the Savior and though he was not a citizen himself, he wanted to be recognized by the people as the great ruler! He wanted to be praised. And so he would build the greatest mountain known to man.   Today it is called Herod’s palace.

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