Author: Michael Himick

The Vigil of Joseph

Joseph chose to believe God’s unbelievable plan. But imagine what thoughts must still have harried his heart. In 1910, poet Elsa Barker did.

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Detail from “The Dream of St Joseph” (1773-74) by Anton Raphael Mengs
Click here to see the full painting

The scripture for this Christ classic devotional is Matthew 1:18-25
Click here to read this passage in various translations

The Vigil of Joseph
by Elsa Barker

After the Wise Men went, and the strange star
Had faded out, Joseph the father sat
Watching the sleeping Mother and the Babe,
And thinking stern, sweet thoughts the long night through.

“Ah, what am I, that God has chosen me
To bear this blessed burden, to endure
Daily the presence of this loveliness,
To guide this Glory that shall guide the world?

“Brawny these arms to win Him bread, and broad
This bosom to sustain Her. But my heart
Quivers in lonely pain before that Beauty
It loves — and serves — and cannot understand!”

from The Frozen Grail and other poems by elsa barker
(duffield & Company, 1910)

Joseph Believes God’s Unbelievable Plan

The Gospel of Matthew starts in a remarkable way. Right from the beginning, Jesus coming into the world means people have to make decisions.

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Which way will Joe go?

This gospel graph is based on Matthew 1:18-25
Click here to read this passage in various translations

Put yourself in Joseph’s place. Mary, the woman you’re betrothed to, is pregnant, and you know the baby isn’t yours. She swears that she’s been faithful to you, that she’s pregnant not by man but through the power of the Holy Spirit. You love her and want badly to believe her, but this is a thing unheard of. How can you accept this incredible claim? It flies in the face of everything you know to be true. You have to quietly send Mary away from you. The law says she should be stoned, but you don’t want that. Enough has been lost already.

Friends, God’s plan for Joseph and his family was so incredible he could not accept it until an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and confirmed Mary’s story. Even then, he could have decided to send Mary away. Even then, he faced a hard choice. To take Mary as his wife meant embracing stigma and scandal. To believe and obey God meant losing reputation and standing in the world. Tongues would always wag about the circumstances of Jesus’s birth. But Joseph chose to trust God. He chose to believe God’s unbelievable plan, to take Mary as his wife, and to become the earthly father of the Son of God.

Merely “Religious” or Good Samaritan?

Love God with all you’ve got, and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said, “Do this and you will live.” Then He gave us an example.

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The example of the Good Samaritan

This gospel graph is based on Luke 10:25-37
Click here to read this passage in various translations

Imagine you are in desperate need of help. Life has beaten you down. You’ve fallen, and you can’t get up without a hand. A few of your “religious” friends tell you on Facebook that they are praying for you or send you emails offering advice. But they never offer to meet with you, and they certainly don’t meet your need. Finally, someone you barely know, having heard of your plight, comes to your aid. He takes real interest in you as a person, spends time with you, and gives you exactly what you need to get back on your feet again.

Which of these neighbors loved you as himself? Which of them showed you Jesus? Friends, Jesus makes clear that loving your neighbor as yourself doesn’t mean minding your own business. It means being literally moved with compassion at another’s plight. It means going to him, bandaging his wounds, getting him to a safe place, and helping him get well. It means using your wealth to help him just as you would help yourself, or want to be helped by others. This is the example of the Good Samaritan, and it’s an example Jesus commands us to follow. He commands His knights, all who follow Him, to “go and do likewise.”

Sir Sheep or Impostor Goat?

Jesus said that as King, He will separate the sheep from the goats. Only His sheep will have eternal life. So we cannot be sheepish about being sheep.

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Which are you?

This gospel graph is based on Matthew 25:31-46
Click here to read this passage in various translations

Imagine you stand before Jesus in all His glory. He is seated on His throne as King of everything and everyone. You know that no one ever shielded the weak, served the sick, or befriended the neglected and forlorn like this King did. You know that He was a knight, and that He commissioned you to be a knight too. You remember He said that, in the end, He would know whether you truly loved and followed Him by looking at how you loved and served, shielded and befriended, the least of your brothers and sisters.

Friends, he will know: Did you feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty, or hoard God’s gifts for yourself? Did you take in the stranger, or stick to your clique? Did you clothe the naked, or undress people with your eyes? Did you care for the sick, or let brothers and sisters suffer alone? Did you visit the prisoners, or keep God’s grace to yourself? Jesus says that those chivalrous “sheep” who served the least of the world served Him. Those impostor “goats” who did not serve the least of the world did not serve Him, even if they called Him Lord. “Whatever you did to the least of my brothers, you did to Me.”

Salt and Light Means You’re a Knight

Jesus told us, “You are the salt of the earth.” He said, “You are the light of the world.” Brothers and sisters, we’ve been commissioned as knights.

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“I dub you Sir Christian”

This gospel graph is based on Matthew 5:13-16
Click here to read this passage in various translations

Imagine you’ve been following Jesus of Nazareth from place to place to hear Him teach, and you want to know, what does He expect of you? What thrilling words of commission will this thrilling man of peace give you to treasure in your heart? One day, on a hill near the Sea of Galilee, you and many other Jesus followers gather to learn from Him at length. At one point in this “sermon on the mount,” Jesus looks directly at you, fixes His gaze with yours, and says, “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Let your light shine.”

Friends, when you and I follow Jesus, He calls us to His quest. He calls us to go about doing good, just as “He went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). Man or woman, young or old, He calls us to be His knights. He expects us to be the salt of the earth, seasoning life and preserving it from decay. He expects us to be the light of the world, shining with reflected light to be sure, but still shining into the darkness. He warned us never to lose our savor and charged us to radiate His love, so that people might see chivalrous deeds and praise God.