Love Breaks Through
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Joseph’s story
Joseph’s story
Matthew tells the story largely from the point of view of Joseph.
This is not only between Mary & God, but the story ripples wider and wider until it reaches the ends of the earth, until it reaches even us
Joseph plays a critical role in that story.
Without his acceptance and love, then the whole story takes a different turn.
This is the story of Jesus, through Joseph’s eyes.
We have tended to see this through male eyes.
We tend to hold Joseph up as example of acceptance and love and support for the vulnerable. And he is.
But sometimes we miss the fact that Joseph was originally planning to send Mary away. To avoid embarrassment and difficult questions.
In order for Joseph to accept Mary as his wife, in order for Joseph to accept Jesus as his own son, first he had to be transformed by the renewing of his mind.
Sometimes we have the mistaken impression that it is our job to transform the world with love.
It goes something like this.
We find out about Jesus and how to live good lives. Then we look for ways of doing good things for other people.
The problem with this is, it glosses over the need for transformation in our own hearts. We need to be changed by God’s love as much as the world needs it.
It would be more accurate to say that our job is to allow our own lives to be transformed with God’s love. To allow him to show us a new way of seeing the world around us. A new way of seeing our own lives. A new way of seeing the lives of those around us.
This is what love is all about.
Finding our Blind spots
Finding our Blind spots
All of us have blind spots
Glaucoma -mind glosses over our blind spots.
How do you find them? If we weren’t blind to these areas, they wouldn’t be called blind spots.
Pray. Invite God into the process.
Pay attention to what rubs you up the wrong way
Transforming them with Love
Transforming them with Love
Step out of your comfort zone
Joseph teaches us that we don't have to stay stuck in a rut
The good news is that we can change. That our whole world can change.
We live in a fatalistic age
Social media
Political identity
Human identity
Leads to us and them.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,
16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
We can be made new.
Redemption
New birth
Christmas
Love