Joseph…Out Of Control
Rev. Erik Swanson
December 21, 2025
You can watch the entire sermon here.
The fourth Sunday of Advent always feels tantalizing to me. We are so close to Christmas that the excitement is almost palpable, and Matthew’s version of the birth of Jesus is meant to prepare us for what is coming (Matthew 1: 18-25). Yet as I sit with this text, I’m always struck by how odd and unsettling it is. So much of what we expect from the “Christmas story” is missing. There are no angels filling the sky, no shepherds, no manger scene carefully arranged. Instead, Matthew gives us a story filled with discomfort, confusion, and upheaval. It is not cleaned up or sentimental, and perhaps that is precisely why it speaks so powerfully to the moment we are living in now.
The Spirit Enters Chaos
At its heart, Matthew’s story is about chaos — about two lives thrown completely off course — and about what happens when the Spirit enters into that chaos. Joseph, in particular, becomes the focus, and his situation is profoundly unsettling. He is engaged to Mary, preparing for a future he can imagine and control, when suddenly everything changes. Mary is pregnant, and the child is not his. Joseph responds with compassion and restraint, deciding to quietly let her go rather than shame her. Even that decision represents a major shift in his life. Then, just when he thinks he has found a way forward, an angel appears to him in a dream and overturns everything once again, calling him to take Mary as his wife after all. Nothing about this is tidy or comfortable. Joseph’s life is no longer his own, and the ground beneath him is anything but stable.
Making Room For God’s Work
What surprises me most is that in the midst of all this turmoil, Joseph is called righteous. This directly challenges the idea that righteousness leads to ease, clarity, or control. Joseph’s righteousness, as I understand it, lies in his openness — his willingness to make room for God’s work even when it disrupts his plans. He does not rage against God, insist on his own way, or close himself off in fear. Instead, remarkably, he says yes. He listens, acts, and steps into his role, not as a hero or a star, but as someone willing to partner with the Spirit in bringing something holy into the world.
New Life Can Be Birthed Through Chaos
This story gives me hope, especially when I look at our world and see so much uncertainty, fear, and instability — politically, socially, and personally. So much feels beyond our control. Yet Matthew reminds me that the Spirit is often most active precisely in these places of disruption. New life is birthed not despite the chaos, but often through it. The outcome of this story is not abandonment or punishment, but incarnation: God with us. God dwelling in human flesh, in the mess and vulnerability of real life.
Making Room For God With Us
As I make my final preparations this Advent, I am invited to ask where my own chaos lies, where I feel out of control, and whether I am willing, like Joseph, to say yes. Christmas, at its deepest level, is about creating space — space for the Spirit to dwell within us and to bring light into the darkness. May I, and all of us, learn to recognize that light even now, and make room once more for God with us.