Joseph (Part 3): Dreamer, Refugee, Protector (Matthew 2:13-23)

It happens so frequently.  Someone or something captures the public imagination and for a short time they are the talk of the town.  But, no sooner than they become a household name, they disappear from view.  Just two months ago, Joseph was the subject of every nativity play in the country.  Now, in the middle […]

Joseph (Part 2): On that holy night (Luke 2:1-7)

The Christmas story, as is true of any and every historical event, is firmly rooted at a particular time in a particular place.  Luke, that most careful of chroniclers, identifies the circumstances surrounding the time and place of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:1-7.  Emperor Caesar Augustus decreed that everyone within the vast reach of the […]

Joseph (Part 1): A righteous man (Matthew 1:18-25)

It was an absolute bombshell when Joseph heard the news that his fiancée was pregnant.  It was almost unbelievable that Mary could have done this.  It seemed so out of character for the young woman promised to him in marriage… And yet it was true.  She was pregnant and the rumours were swirling. Matthew 1:18-25 […]