“Do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”Worldly CrisisThe story of the birth of Jesus Christ begins in a rather odd way, at least from a human perspective. We can see this if we put ourselves in the shoes of Joseph, the man who was betrothed to Mary. Who knows what hopes and dreams they shared together? We know of Joseph that he was the descendent of King David and of Abraham. And we are told in the text that he is a “just man”. Mary is a young woman living in a small and obscure agricultural village in lower Galilee called Nazareth. She was a relative, likely a cousin, of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. But really we know very little else. Outside of the New Testament there is little – if any – information about either of them.I think it would be fair to say that both of them were quite ordinary people. They lived in a place that was far from any urban centre. There was no middle class in that time and place, so anyone outside of elite circles was either a peasant or a labourer. We are told that Joseph was a tekton, which probably means he was a carpenter. He was a skilled worker and he worked with his hands.It’s important to take note of this. We are about to see how ordinary people respond to a crisis in faith. This is for all of us, not for a spiritual, economic or aristocratic elite. There is something very simple and everyday at the heart of the Christmas story. Indeed, this is one of the central themes of the Christmas season.And so we are told that before Mary and Joseph came together, Mary was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:18). The meaning is clear: Mary and Joseph were not married and had not engaged in marital relations. And yet she became pregnant. Matthew tells us that this was a miracle, an act of God by the Holy Spirit. But, of course, Joseph knew no such thing. Put yourself in his shoes. This would have looked like a straightforward instance of adultery under the terms of Mary and Joseph’s betrothal.The implications would have been bad: although stoning for adultery was rarely if ever carried out during the Roman period, it was nevertheless the legal penalty. And there were social and personal implications, particularly in a small place like Nazareth: Mary would face public shame, disgrace, ostracism and damaged to her reputation. In modern terms, she would be damaged goods and could not expect to be married in the future.It is fair to say that this was a massive crisis for Joseph: a time of great uncertainty, confusion and sadness. We do not know what passed between him and Mary. But we can imagine that there was a period in which Mary was reassuring him of the truth: her virginity, the message from the Angel Gabriel and everything else that she knew. And yet Joseph could not bring himself to believe.And can we blame him? Who could believe such a thing? We are apt to believe that the weary world will just continue in its weary way, with all of its suffering, all of its shattered dreams, all of its disappointments.A Human SolutionAs I mentioned earlier, Mary and Joseph were betrothed to one another. This meant that they were not formally married and would not have had marital relations. But this betrothal was nevertheless a legally binding agreement. If it was true that Mary had committed adultery, as Joseph must have believed it was, then he really had two options. To continue with the marriage was impossible. Option one, therefore, was to expose Mary to public disgrace and to seek the harshest possible penalty. Joseph didn’t go for this. Instead, because he was a just man, he sought to divorce her quietly, to spare his beloved from shame.As I say, this was because he was a just and good man. But, at this point, he was only a just and good man. He had not yet been touched by supernatural grace. He was doing the best he could with the situation as he found it. He was limited by the tragic boundaries that beset us all in this world, the unhappy dilemmas in which we find ourselves, the least worst options.Again, who could blame him? To believe anything else would have been near impossible. But, to quote from the nativity story in the Gospel of Luke, Joseph was about to find out that nothing is impossible with God.A Divine and Unexpected WayAnd so, Joseph considered these things. And perhaps he was still in two minds. Perhaps he continued to be confused by it all. And, Lo, the Lord’s angel appeared in the midst of this darkness and told him the truth, “Joseph, Son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins”.God has something far greater and more wonderful than the bounded and melancholy future that you imagined for yourself. For this is a work of the Holy Spirit and you must receive it in faith and trust. Your options are not as bad as you thought. Not anywhere near.Friends, let’s pause here and consider the wonder of this message, the wonder that we anticipate as we approach the Christmas season. You thought that the world was empty and dark and hopeless and inevitable and, yet, something amazing has happened, something so unexpected and wonderful that nobody could have imagined or predicted it. You thought that things were like this but now…now God has come. And all of your categories and thought and expectations are exploded into nothingness or expanded into infinity. He is able – and willing – to do far more than anything that you could ask or imagine. He turns what looked like a crisis into the greatest adventure imaginable. He transforms the desert into springs of water. He restores the life which appeared to be broken beyond all recognition and hope.This was true for Joseph. Friends, it is true for us also. Take it into your heart. Christmas in the moment when everything changes. Christmas is the moment when God comes to save us all. This is the great and marvellous and wonderful, unexpected and divine way. It is waiting for you also. You can’t see it yet. That’s part of the point. So you have to have faith. But allow that expectation that flows from faith to well up in your heart and do not resign yourself to a sense of sad inevitability. That is not how God works.Godly ActionA further word on the message of the angel, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.”Now it’s already clear why Joseph might be afraid. Word may have got round. There are, indeed, hints later in the Gospel stories that it had. Joseph would have been risking social scandal and ostracization, perhaps worse, for himself, Mary and this child. He was also risking being made a fool by all of this. If he got it wrong, his life and Mary’s and the child’s could be in ruins.And yet the angel told him anyway: don’t be afraid. That is: don’t be afraid in your heart. But, also, don’t be afraid to take action – godly action. The fact is that God calls us to live an adventurous life in which we take action for him. Those actions involve risk and, frequently, suffering. But all to a purpose. We can allow fear to hold us back and keep us from even beginning. But the angel says – and God through him – “Do not fear”. Take action in the sight of God.My question to you: what action is God calling you to do that you are afraid of? What sacrifice are you not yet willing to make? What obstacle are you still afraid to overcome? Ask yourself and think deeply. Is there a risk that God is calling you to take for him? Is there a sacrifice? Is there an action, a task, an adventure? Friends, do not let fear hold you back.And why not allow fear to dominate? Let’s go back to the Christmas message. Have you forgotten? This child has been conceived without an earthly father through the power of the Holy Spirit. God has the power to bring life out of nothingness, without blood, without flesh, without the normal patterns of men and women. If God did that at the first Christmastide, what is he not able to do for you?The new life conceived in Mary’s womb whispers to us all: “There is no need to be afraid. God is making all things new through Jesus. Everything you need will be provided freely in the most extraordinary way. God’s provision is beyond anything you could ask or imagine.”Sins will be forgiven. Even death itself will be overcome. The miraculous life in Mary’s womb will one day be snuffed out by man’s hatred and cruelty and yet raised again through the power of God. And at the very end of the story, that life will illuminate all things in heaven and upon the earth.Such a wonderful miracle. And how unexpected all of this was and continues to be. The Christmas season, so nearly upon us, invites us to believe that that which is impossible for man is possible for God.So please consider this story today and recall the mighty power of God. Recognise that this power is at work in you today and that you too are called to act for the Lord with faith and not fear. What would you do for him if you were not afraid?May we have faith, then, in the miraculous power of God that conceived Jesus in the womb of Mary, which is at work in the hearts and lives of those who believe in him now. May we be freed from fear and strengthened to take godly action, even in the face of risk and loss, in imitation of St Joseph the just man, the husband of Mary and father to Jesus Christ.In the name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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