And They Will Call Him Emmanuel

If you notice in this stained glass window, we have Mary and Jesus. But Joseph... well, he wasn't really the dad now, was he? No need to put him in the picture.
Unless you're the evangelist Matthew who, in today's gospel lesson, made the story of Jesus' birth all about Joseph:

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
"Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emman'uel,"
which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. --Matt 1:18-25

The prophet to whom Matthew's language refers is Isaiah, which was our first lesson of the day. And it is in keeping with the way Matthew writes and speaks of Jesus. This particular gospel is all about making sure that everyone knows that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Jewish prophecy. He was "it", the Messiah, the real deal.
I doubt that Isaiah was talking about Jesus since Jesus wouldn't have been in the prophet's consciousness. But for Matthew, and for us in Christianity, it is important to have this link and this fulfillment of the prophecy.
What struck me in reading this was how Joseph followed the information he received in a dream. Not unlike the Joseph in the latter chapters of Genesis, one of the other big dreamers in Scripture. The good news of this New Testament Joseph story is that after sleeping on his dilemma of what to do with this girl who is pregnant, he wakes up with the understanding that he has to stick it out with her. Especially if this really is the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah's words, "the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel."
The coming of Emmanuel was as important then as it is today. The Jewish people had already been in exile, seen the destruction of Jerusalem and their temple, and now were living under Roman rule which was a tenuous situation kept in balance by carefully negotiated power structures. Jews could be Jews, but they were to pay taxes to the Emperor and not get too uppity.
But there were those who were ready for a change. And in comes Emmanuel, God with us, to be the catalyst for that change.
In my experience, this is the way of God. God is waiting in the wings for that moment when we say we want a change and then-bam-here it is! I can't count the number of times that I have complained that I didn't ask for God to become a presence in my day-to-day thinking, but then I remember that I did ask. It seemed inocuous at the time. But when I repeated the lines from the Prayers of the People to my mentor (I ask your prayers for those who seek God or a deeper knowledge of him. Pray that they may find and be found by him), that was the knock on the door. And the long strange trip began.
I can only imagine what Joseph must have been going through. It's not like there's a whole lot of information about him. He didn't break into song the way Mary did to have his words immortalized by the Church forever. But I figure whatever he was experiencing, his dreams were meant to calm his fears and remind him, too, that with God, nothing is impossible. And whether he knew it or not or was ready for this new role as step-dad to the Messiah or not, he was now being asked to step up. He did so, and the rest, as they say, is history.
As we quietly approach the re-entry of Christ into the world, take a look around and see what has changed, and where do we still need the love of God to shine a light into the darkness. And if we find ourselves despairing over what needs to get done, and how we will accomplish it all (be it micro or macro in scope) consider Joseph and sleep on your worries. And let your dreams be your guide.