Conversations Over Crumbs: December 2013

As he walks away, he doesn’t quite believe her. He questions will she hold it this time? Charlie Brown decides to try and kick the football anyway. He begins running full speed at Lucy, who is holding the football, and just as he swings his leg to kick, Lucy pulls the football away. Thus, Charlie Brown flips into the air, and lands flat on his back.

Good grief, not again.

And there is Lucy standing over Charlie Brown shaking her head saying, you shouldn’t have trusted me Charlie Brown. This is the standard football gag seen in the comic strip, Peanuts by Charles Shultz.

I think we have all felt like Charlie Brown once or twice, at least I have. It’s a classic conundrum, we go out on a limb anxious for what the future could hold, and end up disappointed and hurting ourselves. And lying on our backs we ask ourselves, why did I just do that, why did I take the chance? GOOD GRIEF! And then we say, it would have been easier to just stay the status quo, and go about my business as usual. As long as I stick to the rules, I will get by.

I imagine those same thoughts going through Joseph’s mind in the gospel. Joseph was considered a righteous man, which meant he led a life of morality and followed all the rules. He didn’t like interrupt the status quo.

But, now his is confronted with a dilemma. Mary, his wife, was pregnant. But he knew the baby wasn’t his, which meant one thing she had committed adultery, and adultery was not tolerated by anyone.

To better understand this part of the gospel, I did a little research on marriage in the Jewish culture. In those days, marriage, was a little more complex compared to today. It was actually a two-stage process.

Stage one, began when the kids came of age for marriage. For girls that was like 12 – 14, and for boys it was around 16 -18. But the children really didn’t have much say in who they married. It was more of an arranged marriage, where one household offer would offer a deal to the other household. If the offerings pleased both families, then the kids entered into the second stage of marriage.

This was the legally binding part of the arrangement between the couple, and it would be about a year before a marriage ceremony was actually performed. And during that time, the couple called each other husband and wife to signify their legal relationship. Since marriage was a legal arrangement, the only legal way out of it was to get a divorce. And in those times there were two types of divorce, public or private.

If the divorce was public, the girl was shamed in front of the entire village, which ensured no real chance of marriage ever again. If the divorce was private, only two or three people were witnesses to the divorce, and the couple would split and go about their lives separately, still having the potential for marriage again.

Knowing this information, when I read the gospel again, it shed a completely different light on Joseph. So let’s start again with the line, “she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit”, and here I picture Joseph shouting, just like Charlie Brown, “GOOD GRIEF”. He believed Mary was going to stay true to him, they were legally bound to each other. How could she have done this to him?

Then read the next line, “Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly”. Joseph knew he had to divorce Mary, it was the law if someone committed adultery. But he choose to show compassion for her by wanting to have private divorce.

That way, Mary would still have a chance for life after the divorce. By showing mercy to Mary, Joseph reflected his trust in God’s word to love one another no matter what. Joseph being a righteous man, could have easily thrown her to the wolves. But he believed in God’s word, and trusted that showing mercy was what God was calling him to do. Then while Joseph was sleeping on his decision, an angel appeared to him in a dream, and said, “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". Joseph wakes up and probably proclaims, “GOOD GRIEF!” He can’t divorce Mary now, she hasn’t committed adultery at all, but what would other people think. They will whisper behind his back, “Joseph, he used to be a righteous man, but he married that Mary girl. And that baby she had, it wasn’t even his!” Where will he find the strength to endure the public ridicule? By putting his trust in God’s word, Joseph finds his strength in God! Joseph risked his reputation, but through his faith he had the strength to endure.

He knew that God was asking him to be a part of something amazing. He helped bring Jesus Christ into this world, all by putting his trust in God. What if Joseph didn’t trust God? I think we can say, he would have missed quite the opportunity. Like Joseph, what if we made decisions by putting our trust in God? What risks would we be more willing to take? What amazing feats could we accomplish? Picture what this would look like for you. I think it’s different for everyone.

Maybe, it’s getting involved in a new ministry, or becoming the leader of a ministry we are already a part of. Perhaps, it’s simply striking up a conversation with someone else about God. Listening and trusting in God, what are the opportunities we have outside these walls?

GOOD GRIEF, everyone one of us has the ability to accomplish something amazing. By keeping our trust in God, it allows us to take that risk we weren’t so willing to take before. And the good news is God is holding the football, as we prepare to kick. Unlike Lucy, God isn’t going to pull the ball away. God will hold it, until we are ready to kick.