St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel, FL
Preacher: The Rev. Adrienne R. Hymes
Second Sunday After Christmas Year B ▪ January 3, 2021
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
As human beings, there are some basic “truths” about us; we are born, we eat, we sleep, we die. And, in between those extraordinary moments of birth and death, God has gifted us with the ability to dream. And, since there is no place where God is not, God’s divine communication can certainly be experienced through the phenomenal vehicle of the dream.
Perhaps you have experienced the phenomenon of the recurring dream; it repeats so much that you remember part of it in your waking hours. About 13 years ago I experienced a recurring dream for nearly two years in which I found myself walking peacefully alone on the beautifully landscaped lawn of the University of Virginia, my alma mater. I recognized the traditional architecture of the buildings that lined either side of the historic lawn—the focal point of the campus. I was perplexed by this return to UVA’s campus in my dreams. At that time in my life, I had, after much wrestling with God, said, “Yes,” to the vocational call to become a priest.
Having never visited Virginia Theological Seminary, which would become my home for three years, the first day that I stepped onto the campus, the two-year recurring dream became clear.
You see, the seminary grounds look like a replica of the grounds of UVA, minus the iconic Rotunda structure. I had not been dreaming about UVA at all; God had been giving me a preview of His vision for the next steps of his plan in my formation as a priest in His Church. It gives me goosebumps, and sometimes makes me cry—to know that God in his love for me, would visit with me to prepare my soul for the spiritual journey ahead. Through my recurring dream, God was trying to tell me something—and, more than that—God gave me a clear vision of a journey that had not yet become my lived reality.
The holy family of Joseph, Mary and the infant, was on a journey, each uniquely connected to God’s plan for the salvation of God’s people. As a text written by a man, for men, Matthew’s gospel focuses heavily on Joseph, who, admittedly, does not generally get a lot of airtime. But, who Joseph is, is of critical importance to the birth narrative of Jesus. Our passage today focuses on Joseph’s obedience to God, and how his obedience was inextricably tied to God’s protection and preservation of Jesus’ life so that Jesus could live to fulfill his salvific mission.
Evidence of this can be found by looking back in chapter one which starts with the genealogy of Jesus and his place in the royal line of King David—made possible by the marriage of Joseph and Jesus’ mother, Mary. But that marriage was on shaky ground when Joseph learned of Mary’s pregnancy. Joseph had already decided to quietly dismiss her and move on. When Joseph received divine revelation from an angel in a dream about God’s purpose for the unborn child, he changed his mind and took Mary for his wife. Joseph had been told of something, that had not yet become his lived reality, and he responded with obedient action.
Now in our current passage, we find an obedient Joseph getting up immediately from the dreams, and twice taking the child and his mother to places that shielded the life of the child from the reigning political authorities. For the writer of the Gospel, this strategic movement served the purpose of Jesus’ role as the fulfillment of scripture as it had been foretold by the prophets (2:15, 2:23). Had Joseph disregarded the private messages he received though his dreams, the fate of the child would have been death by Herod’s murderous intentions.
When we examine Joseph’s second dream, we can see that there was a slight change to how his obedience was expressed. With the first angelic visitation, Joseph woke up and moved the family to a safer location. With the second angelic visitation, Joseph got up and took the family to Israel as he was directed. While there, Joseph became fearful of settling in the land of Israel because although Herod had died, Herod’s son had become the ruler. In a dream, Joseph paid attention to a warning to adjust his course for the safety of Nazareth in Galilee. So, even as Joseph was obedient to the first course of direction, he was nimble enough to change course as the divine revelation directed him. God had entrusted Joseph with a journey of strategic movement that required Joseph to follow and to adjust accordingly.
Have you ever felt someone’s name on your heart or wondered about someone with whom you have not connected for quite some time? And, when you did call, the purpose for your call, to that person, at that specific time was made clear. Perhaps there was a sense of regret when such urgings had been ignored. The scenarios are myriad, and some may chalk such happenings up to chance or intuition.
As faithful people, who are spirit-led, let us be clear that those nudges are not unlike what Joseph experienced in the divine revelation in the angelic visitations. God was trying to tell Joseph something, and, for us, these “nudges from God the Holy Spirit,” function in the same way; to announce, to guide our steps and to protect. Brothers and Sisters, God still speaks to us in our individual lives, and in our lives knit together by virtue of our shared humanity and by the gift of God’s grace through this body of Christ, the Church.
As we stand at the threshold of our ministry journey as St. Paul’s, we are equipped with the gift of reflection—a gift which helps us to recognize God’s love and protection in our own faith community’s birth narrative, throughout these past three years, and indeed as we grow beyond our infancy. While the infrastructure for this new church begins to take shape, we as a faith community, must be committed to remaining prayerful, ensuring optimal accessibility to God’s divine communication.
We can look to Joseph as a great example of trusting God, and how to be obediently nimble in our decision-making and in the unfolding vision for this church. God has given this faith community a vision of our journey that has not yet become our lived reality. Let us act in faith, according to God’s direction, and be willing, Like Joseph, to change course as needed with a discerning heart. For whether or not we are asleep and dreaming, or awake, by day or by night, God is our vision; and his presence our light.
Amen.
