Читать книгу 95 Prostheses - Frank G. Honeycutt - Страница 14

“Her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly” (Matt 1:19).

Okay, pretend with me and I’ll lay it out straight for you. You’re a man, an engaged man. And your fiancée comes in with a bit of news. She’s pregnant—a bun in the proverbial oven. You can weather this news. After all, you two won’t be the first couple who’ve rushed up a wedding date. You are calm. You can handle this. Your in-laws are understanding people. Things will be okay. Settle down. Take a deep breath.

But then this. She hems and haws and blushes and stammers a bit and then blurts it all out. She says the baby isn’t yours. Silence. It takes no time and a world of time for the news to reach your ears. You are reeling. You see the pain in her face and feel deeply for this woman you love; the anguish in her eyes as she tells you the truth. You both begin to tear up.

But you also can’t help feeling betrayal and anger mounting from way down, deep down. Who has she been with? How did this happen? How could she have lied to you? A thousand things race through your mind. Wedding plans called off. Awkward explanations to friends. The taking back of rings. You love the woman standing in front of you, but this is not your baby. And there are limits to a person’s care, a man’s patience, are there not? You feel for her. But you are no saint. This is not your responsibility now. Things have changed now. Everything has changed.

Her eyes tell you there is even more to the story than she’s revealing. She is silent. So you ask. Indeed you fly into a rage. You’ll get to the bottom of this deception. And so she lies to you now. Tries to cover up her infidelity with a wild story that The National Enquirer wouldn’t even believe. She’s either lying or crazy, maybe both. You thought you knew her better than that. You thought she was one who could take responsibility for her mistakes. She is sobbing uncontrollably. But you cannot hold her. Not now. There is nothing else to do. It’s over now. Thank God you learned this about her before it was too late.

*

The Bible today tells us that Joseph was “a righteous man.” The word righteousness has fallen on hard times. We normally use it in a contemptuous way, as in the phrase “self-righteous.” Lutherans are extremely wary about the word and very fond of accusing folk of “works righteousness” when any discussion about grace and good works occurs. As if righteousness is a bad thing.

“Joseph was a righteous man,” says the Bible. And that meant he followed the law revealed in Holy Scripture. He knew all of the rules and obeyed them. He was a good man, a righteous man. He wanted to do the “right thing.” And doing the right thing in the first century meant calling off the wedding. An engagement, a betrothal, under Jewish law was a serious, legally binding period that was much like a marriage without the consummation of sex.

So under Jewish law these two lovebirds were essentially considered “hitched.” It took a lot to break a betrothal. Adultery, for one, would do it. So when Joseph hears the news, he wants to do the right thing. Joseph loved God’s law. He loved the Torah and he loved Mary. But he didn’t go in for “fooling around.” So Joseph plans to “dismiss” Mary “quietly.” Before you jump on Joseph, know that it was common back then to dismiss such a woman rather loudly. According to the book of Deuteronomy, Mary could have been stoned to death (22:23–44) for what people would surely recognize as a fling with another man. Even before the dream, though, Joseph wants to protect her. He plans to send her away quietly. He was a righteous man. He was probably named for that other famous Joseph in Genesis; that other dreamer (Gen 37:5–11).

And so Joseph wakes up and chooses the hard way. He was a righteous man and no one would’ve blamed him for calling the whole thing off. But he quietly chooses the hard way. And you know it was hard. How does one explain such a thing to your family and friends? You don’t. Joseph swallowed his pride and reputation and put up with the rumors and whispers without a word in order to protect Mary. In fact, Joseph never once speaks in this story or anywhere in the Bible. He does more than he says. Which is not a bad way to look at righteousness.

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Jesus says a little later in this same Gospel, in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law . . . [but] unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:17, 20). Joseph’s behavior in this old Christmas story exceeded the law. Exceeded what was expected and required of him. He chose the hard thing—a difficult, crucifying choice.

Joseph’s quiet choice seems to foreshadow another quiet choice of another man who stood by the whole human race and wouldn’t turn his back. Jesus apparently learned a lot from his earthly father. For Jesus also chose the quiet, hard path. You normally hear him attached to his mom: Jesus, son of Mary. But I like the sound of this phrase also: Jesus, son of Joseph. He grew up to be his daddy’s boy.

*

Christian growth (let’s call it righteousness) is imparted to us by a loving God as a divine gift. But righteousness has a better chance to work its way in us precisely when we choose this hard path when two choices are available. The one “less traveled by,” as Frost put it. Again from the Sermon on the Mount in this same Gospel: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. [But] the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt 7:13–14).

Joseph the carpenter chose the hard path when an easier one was surely available. So did his son. Joseph exhibits the behavior his baby will grow up to preach about. Joseph’s quiet, difficult choice is central in Matthew’s version of the Christmas story. Not the Virgin Mary, curiously. Luke places her on center stage. But not here. It’s the dad.

“For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Without words, Joseph shows us the sacrifice of the hard path at Christmas. His Son will soon follow. Ditto for the Son’s children who call themselves disciples, marked in baptism with the cross of Christ forever.

For further reflection:

1. Discuss this line from the essay: “Joseph never once speaks in this story or anywhere in the Bible. He does more than he says.”

2. Read slowly Matthew 7:13–14. In your own words, try to restate the gist of Jesus’ wisdom in this passage.