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Advent devotions 2007

December 21 - Called to a higher righteousness
By Lisa Guedea Carreño, library director

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25 (NRSV)
Scroll down for complete scripture.

Devotional:
According to Jewish practice in Joseph's time, engagement, or betrothal, was more than just a commitment between two parties that would eventually (if all went well) result in marriage. Rather, in those days engagement was a binding contract between two families, and from that point on the couple was considered legally married, even though they likely would not live together for another year. Severing the relationship during this period of engagement required a certificate of divorce. Further, sexual misconduct was not just a personal betrayal but also a breach of Jewish law that called for a public trial and harsh punishment.

Joseph had some difficult decisions to make when he discovered Mary's pregnancy, and he probably didn't care much for his options. Matthew tells us that Joseph was both righteous and compassionate, and so he decided to dissolve the engagement (i.e. divorce Mary) but not to expose her to public penalties for her apparent infidelity.

Then along came an angel, who told Joseph of the Holy Spirit's involvement and instructed him to take Mary as his wife and accept the child as his own, a course of action that required Joseph to set aside both personal pain and public expectations. Joseph must have recognized that God was calling him to a higher righteousness, to a way of life that redefined the law and transcended his understanding of God's will.

Do we recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in morally difficult situations today? When public opinion is strong, when personal reaction is intense, when the law of the land (or the doctrine of the church) defines the parameters of acceptable behavior – can we hear a call to higher righteousness? Absent an angel's visit, how do we discern what God is calling us to do in situations that involve judgment and/or long-term consequences?

Prayer: God, help me look for the presence of the Holy Spirit where it seems least likely to appear. Help me set aside what I know and what I think and what I feel long enough to hear what You are calling me to do, and help me to obey that call as Joseph did, so that I may be part of the new kingdom that began with Jesus' birth.

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25 (NRSV)
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.' All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

'Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and they shall name him Emmanuel',
   which means, 'God is with us.'
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Posted at 15:22 #