“Do not be afraid,” the angel said. Angels always seem to need to say that first. Then, the angel continues, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, to raise this child as your son. You are to name the boy, Jesus, for he will save people from their sins.”

Because of this dream, Jesus was adopted by an earthly father, Joseph. It’s a powerful message of acceptance. Joseph is called upon to accept this family situation that was not of his own choosing. He is given a premonition that this son, his son, will do something significant. He will save people from their sins.

In their own time and place, there would be those that could do the reproductive calculations and presume that Mary and Joseph were the kind of sinners we like to point fingers at today. Perhaps the angel knew Joseph well enough to know that he could find personal salvation in taking on this role. Perhaps Joseph is concerned about the world as a descendant of a kingly line. Perhaps he’s familiar enough with the scriptures to pay attention to the ancient wisdom of the Israelites. For with Jesus’ birth, an Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled, “The young woman, a virgin, shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel – God with us.”

The sad truth is that we don’t hear much about Joseph after this story. I wish we knew more about this influence in Jesus’ life. However, I think this exchange with the angel and the reporting of Joseph’s decision to take on this strange family responsibility gives us a glimpse into the character of Jesus’ adoptive father.

In fact, it is in and through the New Testament that we learn about adoption as a metaphor for how we come to call God “Our Father.” And it starts with this particular father’s adoption of a son which was heavily suggested, shall we say, by an angel. Jesus, the Son of God, gets adopted by Joseph. Then it is because of Jesus that we get “adopted” into God’s family as sons and daughters, thanks to our brother Jesus who started this family relationship. Then, it is through the testimony of Paul that we learn that the Gentile branches of Christianity are fully adopted into the longer narrative of God’s chosen people.

I can’t say that I know precisely what it feels like to be an adopted child because I’m not one in the ways that we think about modern adoption. However, there are other adoptions that take place in people’s lives that are examples to us of how we enter into God’s family. When two people get serious about dating each other, one of the things that still happens I think, is that you introduce your significant other to your parents. There’s a period of checking that person out. You want that person to be liked by your parents. You want that person to find your parents tolerable at the very least. Eventually as the parent, you want the opportunity to approve of the person your son or daughter brings home for you to meet. It’s a day that will come too soon I guess!

But the good news is that families grow stronger with those webs of connection. I can’t imagine my family now without including Chuck’s extended family or my sister’s husband. Those people who were once strangers are now close. We’re related, but not just related, we’re family. That means that we care significantly about what happens to each other. When one of us hurts, we share in that pain. When one of us has something to celebrate, we join the party. I’m sure that you can think of the specific ways your family has multiplied in welcoming opportunities to add someone to your tribe. There are usually a few funny stories that go with those adoptions as well! The girlfriend who “talked too much” becomes the daughter-in-law who melts Dad’s heart. And on it goes…

Mary and Joseph had the benefit of angels to encourage them both to adopt a wild proposition, that they would be the parents to and for a child that would offer the world salvation from sin and become the very presence of God with us. This child eventually taught that the capacity to forgive and to welcome God comes from within each of us in our capacity to love God with all our heart and to love each other as we love ourselves. This means that the power to become children of God lies in the power of we have to adopt others into this crazy family. This crazy family first came together as Mary and Joseph accepted the responsibility of welcoming God’s only son into their homes and hearts. This crazy family has been called the Body of Christ by one who first persecuted that body – the apostle Paul. He picked an appropriate name because we so often hurt most the ones we love and those wounds are felt in our bodies and are the visible wounds in Christ’s body. Now that crazy family is not just known in our blood relations, but by the blood poured out for us on the cross – the blood promised by an angel to have the power to save people from their sins.

There is something mystical and holy about families even when we know that families are as basic to humankind as packs are to wolves. We are so deeply in them that we can’t always describe what it means to live as one. Sometimes we can only observe from the outside in. When we get some perspective, it’s easier to see that we don’t always show ourselves as holy – that’s for sure – not at home, and not in our church family either. But by calling upon the name of Jesus, the name that means, “He saves,” we are reminded that salvation, and by that I mean health and wholeness and forgiveness, lies at the heart of our relationships – both with God and with one another. Jesus taught over and over in the ways that even the most emotionally-challenged among us can understand that it’s all about love. It’s about love, love, love, love, love. It’s about turning strangers into friends. It’s about offering hospitality to a man left by the side of the road. It’s about loving the sister-in-law who’s nothing like you and caring for the great uncle Joe who drives you nuts. It’s about respect, and trust, and about sharing a place at the table whether we deserve it or not. It’s about honoring our family of origin AND the families that are created by our relationships – as neighbors, as church, or as the family of human beings. “Honor thy father and mother,” has meaning beyond what kind of nursing home gets picked for dear old mom and dad. It means that those relationships bind us and are the foundation for understanding how we belong, body and soul, mind and spirit, to God our loving parent.

Joseph heard the Christmas angel – the one who said, “Take Mary as your wife. Name your son, God’s son, Jesus.” We at Christmas, even more than any other time of the year, call this a time for families. We are one family, full of the craziness and holiness that provides for us. Honor the family, the one that is represented in your crèche set up at home, the one that unites you by marriage or circumstance, and the one to which we are all called – the human family. Love God. Love one another. Jesus said those were our most important things to remember.

Amen.