Advent's "Invisible" Man
Sermon
Joy Songs, Trumpet Blasts, And Hallelujah Shouts
Sermons In The African-American Preaching Tradition
The idea of-the invisibility in our culture is no new thing. The great H.G. Wells wrote a book called The Invisible Man. In it he imaginatively explores the development of a professor's ingenious use of science to effect his own invisibility. Invisibility becomes a metaphor for invincibility. His becoming invisible is by his own choosing. He literally disappears with the ingestion of a certain chemical solution, which eventually drives him insane. The point here is this man, Griffin, chooses to become whatever he desires, a person who cannot be seen, only heard. Nothingness is the form he ultimately selects as a way of being.
On the other hand, we have the nameless protagonist in that great masterpiece of art by Ralph Ellison. His book Invisible Man is a commentary on the invisible status of black people in America. His invisibility, unlike the Wells character, is not by choice, but due to other people's choosing. It is because the larger white culture refuses to acknowledge and recognize the black man as a living entity that he is relegated to the status of non-person or persona non grata. Wells' invisible man chooses his fate. Ellison's invisible man has his fate chosen for him by whites who refuse to see his black skin.
Today, in our sermon, there is Advent's "invisible" man. His role of virtual invisibility is not by personal choice like with Wells, nor is it because others have chosen this for him as with Ellison, but because God has called him to occupy such a place in one of the most important events of all time.
The time is Advent. The event is the birth of Jesus. This invisible man's name is Joseph, the father of Jesus. He is not nameless. He does not, like Griffin in the Wells novel, overdose from his own ambition which leads to his own destruction. He does not struggle to establish his personal identity in a society that has rejected his personhood, like Ellison's nameless protagonist. He has been called by God to be a behind-the-scenes person in this world historical event. He is not center stage. He does not have a leading role. He is not the bandleader or the drum major who saturates the limelight while parading the people of God into a new millennia. He is virtually "invisible" because hardly anyone talks of him. They barely speak his name. He is a mystery, an enigma, a phantasm, an apparition, it seems, which appears for a time, then vanishes from the stage of human history.
Catholics revere Mary, the Holy Mother of God. We know Mary. God chooses and uses her as an instrument of divine intervention. She has high visibility. We know of Elizabeth, and others. We know of shepherds who kept their flocks by night. We know even of the infamous Herod who issued the decree that all baby boys under two years be slaughtered on sight. We know of all the cast and crew of the great pageantry. But Joseph? Who is he? Why in a culture dominated by men is his role so recessed? When the question, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" was asked disbelievingly by others mocking Jesus, could this not have been so much a slur on the town as it was an indirect rebuke of the lineage of Joseph? Who is he anyway? He's too obscure. Too quiet. Too much behind the scenes. Too invisible for our liking.
Advent's "invisible" man is Joseph, father of the baby Jesus. And his invisibility is largely because he is not center stage, but behind the scenes. He is not the leading character but he is in a supportive role to his wife and family.
Yet, despite his seeming invisibility, despite his relatively obscure status, despite the fact that his name is not on the Broadway billboards of the main streets of Jerusalem, he is a man's man because he accepts his role and carries out his responsibility as a man of substance and presence. He is there but not there. He quietly and obediently responds to God's will in his life and leads his family to safety into Egypt under the death threats of Herod.
Yes, he is "invisible," but the imprints of his heroic deeds have made a lasting and indelible imprint on the hearts and souls of all those who have embraced the life of his son Jesus. Yes, he is "invisible," not center stage, not calling the shots, not in control of the strange events which invade his household. He is "invisible," but not completely removed from an important role in Jesus' birth. And this brings us to the first proposition of this sermon:
Advent's invisible man may not have been seen that much but he was a man of substance. We know that he was a man of substance because of the way he responded to God in his dream. He discovered that his fiancee was pregnant with a child, knowing he had not known her, but he still kept her as his very own, married her, and took care of his family.
Joseph was under enormous pressure. In a culture that valued the sanctity of virginity before marriage, he would immediately come under great suspicion by those around him. Many thought that both he and Mary had broken their premarital vows, that they had been as one too soon, and the evidence was immediately forthcoming. She was pregnant with child and the conditions under which Mary received the gift would be highly suspicious. Everyone would know that they had been together.
But a far greater peril was in the mind of Joseph himself. What would he think? How would and could he believe Mary's story about how she was implanted with the baby? There was no in vitro fertilization, no intra-uterine insemination. He would have to rely heavily on her word and on the report he received in his dream from the angels from on high. He could have easily put Mary out. He could have easily written her off, but because he was a man of substance he fulfilled the promises of God.
You don't have to be highly visible to be a man of substance. In today's culture we think of men of substance as those with the brawn and might, those on the gridiron or clay courts who demonstrate their substance through physical prowess. A man of substance in this culture is a Reggie White, a Hulk Hogan, a Charles Barkley, or a physically powerful, well-known man whose name graces billboards. Men of substance are men whose names are household words. Men whose personas fill the silver screens: matinee idols, dream weavers, the titans of tenacity. Men who lead packs of other men because of their fame and fortune. These are the men of substance in our culture. The men of great visibility. Men who stand up and stand out. Men whose profile is so great they can be seen at 100-yard distances in midnight fog.
But here we have Joseph. He's not kicking behinds and taking names on the gridiron. He's not a member of Herod's imperial guard. He's not a prelate or a priest. Not a prince or a magistrate. Not a gladiator or a Roman terminator. Just a minimum wage worker, trying to take care of his family, trying to keep his baby boy from being murdered by a bloodthirsty, political wanna-be.
You don't have to have a high profile or great visibility to be a man of substance. What made Joseph a man of substance? The fact that he made the right choices amid great odds; that he allowed his conscience to be his guide despite what his friends and family would say about Mary; that he allowed the Spirit of the Lord to lead his humble heart to make a decision which changed eternity. He didn't send her to the clinic for an abortion. He didn't run and hide and cry, "Woe is me." He is a man of substance because he made the decision that a real man would make. He didn't have high visibility in society, but he was a man of great stature in God's eyes because of the decisions he made to be supportive of his fiancee during an anxious time.
There are a lot of high visibility people with no substance at all. I recently heard of a man who got permission from his wife to be present at the delivery of his girlfriend's baby, which turned out to be his son. He's a man of great visibility, but a man of no substance. Rumor is he's looking for a way out of both situations so he can be free of all responsibility.
We need black men today who will stand up and be men; be men enough to nurture the children they've brought into the world. The ledgers of eternity are disgracefully filled with too many deadbeat boys who are would-be men. They're looking for visibility but have no substance. They're looking for glory but have no dash, courage, or resolve to take care of what's theirs!
Joseph was a man of substance because he took on responsibility as God requested. You don't have to have a high profile and great visibility to be a man of substance. Advent's invisible man was a man of substance, despite not being seen that much and not having a leading role in the birth of Jesus.
Second, Advent's invisible man may not have said that much but he was a man of presence. Matthew does not record a single word that Joseph ever utters. He is present. He is at the right place at the right time. He never says a word. Not a single utterance in all of Matthew, but he's always there. You know he's there. You don't hear his words, but you see the imprints of his presence through his deeds. He had to have presence for the angels to reveal themselves to him. His presence had to be opened to the will and power of the Holy Ghost to do what he did.
In this culture we think that presence means talkativeness. Those who are present have to make the most noise to have high visibility. But there are those men who may not say much, but they have presence. They have the confidence to be men. They don't utter many words, but when you need them in the crunch of battle they're there. When all hell breaks loose and the foundations are ripped asunder, they stand tall amid the storms and whirlwinds of life's tragedies and calamities, holding the rails of stability until order is restored. No, they don't say much, but they are truly there.
One man tells the story of when he lost his wife, and he was terribly distraught. His close friend came by. They walked by the seaside and the man poured out his heart to his friend. They walked the bustling streets of New York. His friend never said a word. He just listened and provided a presence that helped the man get through the trial of his life. Presence doesn't always mean words, but caring and being there when people need you most. This is a hallmark of true men.
But there are men who talk a lot and back it up. Thank God for them. They can talk the talk and walk the walk. They too have favor in God's eyes. But it is clear that Joseph's invisibility was heightened by his quiet nature.
Matthew puts no words in Joseph's mouth, but his presence is so vital to the well-being of his family that it is clear they could not have survived without his presence. You don't have to say much, just be much. Have presence and be present when people need you most!
Who waited on Mary hand and foot when she was pregnant with Jesus? Who found the place for them to stay on that cold, windy night when the keepers of the inn turned them away? Who stoked the fires and bailed the hay? Who ran the errands and brought them food to eat? Who kept watch when Herod's lackeys were running wild in the streets looking to smoke the first two-year-old they saw looking anything like a messiah? Who was there at daybreak and midnight? Who buttered the bread and poured the cola? Who turned the straw, counted the sheep, and watered the trough for the animals after the baby was born? Advent's invisible man Joseph, who may not have said much but was present, there in body, mind, and soul, helping eternity to do a new thing in Jesus.
You don't have to talk to be present; just be there. It's not your visibility but your availability that often counts in the things that matter. He never said a mumbling word, but he helped turn Mary's cross into a crown, and he helped give humanity the King of kings, Jesus. He wasn't a captain in the Roman imperial army but he helped preserve the leader of God's salvation army!
Matthew says that after Jesus was born Joseph said something. He gave a name to the child. He didn't say much but he was a man of presence.
Third, Advent's invisible man didn't do that much but he was a man of action. After his first dream about the birth of the child, it says in verse 1:24, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary to be his wife. In Matthew 2:13, the scriptures say that an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to get up and take the child and escape to Egypt. As a man of action he did what he was commanded. And in Matthew 2:19-22, after being in Egypt some time hiding out from Herod, an angel of the Lord appeared again and told him to take the child back to Israel. Again, he got up and took the child back as he was commanded.
As I stated, Advent's invisible man didn't do that much but he was a man of action. The scriptures do not record all the deeds of Joseph, but it is clear that his three responses were the most important acts in all of scripture. Perhaps they were the three most important acts in history. Had he failed to act, Jesus' life would have been jeopardized if not annihilated.
Sometimes it's not the amount of things that we do, but that we do something when the moment requires it. Failing to take action at critical times can cost us much. Joseph didn't pass decrees and implement legislation. He wasn't known for the enormity of his deeds, but the fact that he acted on the entreaties of God at a critical time makes him a man's man. In fact, after these critical actions we seldom ever hear about Joseph again, but his actions saved humanity by allowing it to have a savior.
Think about it. He didn't have high visibility. In fact, we might say he had no visibility compared to others in the Bible. But he had three things which made him stand out. He wasn't seen that much but he had substance. He wasn't heard that much but he had presence. He didn't do that much but he was a man of action.
You don't have to be seen to be visible, just have substance in the things you have been called by God to do in your life. You don't have to be heard to have visibility, just have presence in all things vital. You don't have to do a lot to have visibility, just take action in times of critical decision making, and act decisively when the need arises.
Unlike H.G. Wells and Ralph Ellision's invisible men, Advent's "invisible man" changed the course of human history by playing a supporting role. By what he did, he allowed God to bring forth Jesus. Mary was a key player, but Joseph was behind the scenes. Invisibility does not mean lack of substance, lack of presence, or lack of action, just that God can still use someone of a low profile to do a great thing which can benefit the people of God.
On the other hand, we have the nameless protagonist in that great masterpiece of art by Ralph Ellison. His book Invisible Man is a commentary on the invisible status of black people in America. His invisibility, unlike the Wells character, is not by choice, but due to other people's choosing. It is because the larger white culture refuses to acknowledge and recognize the black man as a living entity that he is relegated to the status of non-person or persona non grata. Wells' invisible man chooses his fate. Ellison's invisible man has his fate chosen for him by whites who refuse to see his black skin.
Today, in our sermon, there is Advent's "invisible" man. His role of virtual invisibility is not by personal choice like with Wells, nor is it because others have chosen this for him as with Ellison, but because God has called him to occupy such a place in one of the most important events of all time.
The time is Advent. The event is the birth of Jesus. This invisible man's name is Joseph, the father of Jesus. He is not nameless. He does not, like Griffin in the Wells novel, overdose from his own ambition which leads to his own destruction. He does not struggle to establish his personal identity in a society that has rejected his personhood, like Ellison's nameless protagonist. He has been called by God to be a behind-the-scenes person in this world historical event. He is not center stage. He does not have a leading role. He is not the bandleader or the drum major who saturates the limelight while parading the people of God into a new millennia. He is virtually "invisible" because hardly anyone talks of him. They barely speak his name. He is a mystery, an enigma, a phantasm, an apparition, it seems, which appears for a time, then vanishes from the stage of human history.
Catholics revere Mary, the Holy Mother of God. We know Mary. God chooses and uses her as an instrument of divine intervention. She has high visibility. We know of Elizabeth, and others. We know of shepherds who kept their flocks by night. We know even of the infamous Herod who issued the decree that all baby boys under two years be slaughtered on sight. We know of all the cast and crew of the great pageantry. But Joseph? Who is he? Why in a culture dominated by men is his role so recessed? When the question, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" was asked disbelievingly by others mocking Jesus, could this not have been so much a slur on the town as it was an indirect rebuke of the lineage of Joseph? Who is he anyway? He's too obscure. Too quiet. Too much behind the scenes. Too invisible for our liking.
Advent's "invisible" man is Joseph, father of the baby Jesus. And his invisibility is largely because he is not center stage, but behind the scenes. He is not the leading character but he is in a supportive role to his wife and family.
Yet, despite his seeming invisibility, despite his relatively obscure status, despite the fact that his name is not on the Broadway billboards of the main streets of Jerusalem, he is a man's man because he accepts his role and carries out his responsibility as a man of substance and presence. He is there but not there. He quietly and obediently responds to God's will in his life and leads his family to safety into Egypt under the death threats of Herod.
Yes, he is "invisible," but the imprints of his heroic deeds have made a lasting and indelible imprint on the hearts and souls of all those who have embraced the life of his son Jesus. Yes, he is "invisible," not center stage, not calling the shots, not in control of the strange events which invade his household. He is "invisible," but not completely removed from an important role in Jesus' birth. And this brings us to the first proposition of this sermon:
Advent's invisible man may not have been seen that much but he was a man of substance. We know that he was a man of substance because of the way he responded to God in his dream. He discovered that his fiancee was pregnant with a child, knowing he had not known her, but he still kept her as his very own, married her, and took care of his family.
Joseph was under enormous pressure. In a culture that valued the sanctity of virginity before marriage, he would immediately come under great suspicion by those around him. Many thought that both he and Mary had broken their premarital vows, that they had been as one too soon, and the evidence was immediately forthcoming. She was pregnant with child and the conditions under which Mary received the gift would be highly suspicious. Everyone would know that they had been together.
But a far greater peril was in the mind of Joseph himself. What would he think? How would and could he believe Mary's story about how she was implanted with the baby? There was no in vitro fertilization, no intra-uterine insemination. He would have to rely heavily on her word and on the report he received in his dream from the angels from on high. He could have easily put Mary out. He could have easily written her off, but because he was a man of substance he fulfilled the promises of God.
You don't have to be highly visible to be a man of substance. In today's culture we think of men of substance as those with the brawn and might, those on the gridiron or clay courts who demonstrate their substance through physical prowess. A man of substance in this culture is a Reggie White, a Hulk Hogan, a Charles Barkley, or a physically powerful, well-known man whose name graces billboards. Men of substance are men whose names are household words. Men whose personas fill the silver screens: matinee idols, dream weavers, the titans of tenacity. Men who lead packs of other men because of their fame and fortune. These are the men of substance in our culture. The men of great visibility. Men who stand up and stand out. Men whose profile is so great they can be seen at 100-yard distances in midnight fog.
But here we have Joseph. He's not kicking behinds and taking names on the gridiron. He's not a member of Herod's imperial guard. He's not a prelate or a priest. Not a prince or a magistrate. Not a gladiator or a Roman terminator. Just a minimum wage worker, trying to take care of his family, trying to keep his baby boy from being murdered by a bloodthirsty, political wanna-be.
You don't have to have a high profile or great visibility to be a man of substance. What made Joseph a man of substance? The fact that he made the right choices amid great odds; that he allowed his conscience to be his guide despite what his friends and family would say about Mary; that he allowed the Spirit of the Lord to lead his humble heart to make a decision which changed eternity. He didn't send her to the clinic for an abortion. He didn't run and hide and cry, "Woe is me." He is a man of substance because he made the decision that a real man would make. He didn't have high visibility in society, but he was a man of great stature in God's eyes because of the decisions he made to be supportive of his fiancee during an anxious time.
There are a lot of high visibility people with no substance at all. I recently heard of a man who got permission from his wife to be present at the delivery of his girlfriend's baby, which turned out to be his son. He's a man of great visibility, but a man of no substance. Rumor is he's looking for a way out of both situations so he can be free of all responsibility.
We need black men today who will stand up and be men; be men enough to nurture the children they've brought into the world. The ledgers of eternity are disgracefully filled with too many deadbeat boys who are would-be men. They're looking for visibility but have no substance. They're looking for glory but have no dash, courage, or resolve to take care of what's theirs!
Joseph was a man of substance because he took on responsibility as God requested. You don't have to have a high profile and great visibility to be a man of substance. Advent's invisible man was a man of substance, despite not being seen that much and not having a leading role in the birth of Jesus.
Second, Advent's invisible man may not have said that much but he was a man of presence. Matthew does not record a single word that Joseph ever utters. He is present. He is at the right place at the right time. He never says a word. Not a single utterance in all of Matthew, but he's always there. You know he's there. You don't hear his words, but you see the imprints of his presence through his deeds. He had to have presence for the angels to reveal themselves to him. His presence had to be opened to the will and power of the Holy Ghost to do what he did.
In this culture we think that presence means talkativeness. Those who are present have to make the most noise to have high visibility. But there are those men who may not say much, but they have presence. They have the confidence to be men. They don't utter many words, but when you need them in the crunch of battle they're there. When all hell breaks loose and the foundations are ripped asunder, they stand tall amid the storms and whirlwinds of life's tragedies and calamities, holding the rails of stability until order is restored. No, they don't say much, but they are truly there.
One man tells the story of when he lost his wife, and he was terribly distraught. His close friend came by. They walked by the seaside and the man poured out his heart to his friend. They walked the bustling streets of New York. His friend never said a word. He just listened and provided a presence that helped the man get through the trial of his life. Presence doesn't always mean words, but caring and being there when people need you most. This is a hallmark of true men.
But there are men who talk a lot and back it up. Thank God for them. They can talk the talk and walk the walk. They too have favor in God's eyes. But it is clear that Joseph's invisibility was heightened by his quiet nature.
Matthew puts no words in Joseph's mouth, but his presence is so vital to the well-being of his family that it is clear they could not have survived without his presence. You don't have to say much, just be much. Have presence and be present when people need you most!
Who waited on Mary hand and foot when she was pregnant with Jesus? Who found the place for them to stay on that cold, windy night when the keepers of the inn turned them away? Who stoked the fires and bailed the hay? Who ran the errands and brought them food to eat? Who kept watch when Herod's lackeys were running wild in the streets looking to smoke the first two-year-old they saw looking anything like a messiah? Who was there at daybreak and midnight? Who buttered the bread and poured the cola? Who turned the straw, counted the sheep, and watered the trough for the animals after the baby was born? Advent's invisible man Joseph, who may not have said much but was present, there in body, mind, and soul, helping eternity to do a new thing in Jesus.
You don't have to talk to be present; just be there. It's not your visibility but your availability that often counts in the things that matter. He never said a mumbling word, but he helped turn Mary's cross into a crown, and he helped give humanity the King of kings, Jesus. He wasn't a captain in the Roman imperial army but he helped preserve the leader of God's salvation army!
Matthew says that after Jesus was born Joseph said something. He gave a name to the child. He didn't say much but he was a man of presence.
Third, Advent's invisible man didn't do that much but he was a man of action. After his first dream about the birth of the child, it says in verse 1:24, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary to be his wife. In Matthew 2:13, the scriptures say that an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to get up and take the child and escape to Egypt. As a man of action he did what he was commanded. And in Matthew 2:19-22, after being in Egypt some time hiding out from Herod, an angel of the Lord appeared again and told him to take the child back to Israel. Again, he got up and took the child back as he was commanded.
As I stated, Advent's invisible man didn't do that much but he was a man of action. The scriptures do not record all the deeds of Joseph, but it is clear that his three responses were the most important acts in all of scripture. Perhaps they were the three most important acts in history. Had he failed to act, Jesus' life would have been jeopardized if not annihilated.
Sometimes it's not the amount of things that we do, but that we do something when the moment requires it. Failing to take action at critical times can cost us much. Joseph didn't pass decrees and implement legislation. He wasn't known for the enormity of his deeds, but the fact that he acted on the entreaties of God at a critical time makes him a man's man. In fact, after these critical actions we seldom ever hear about Joseph again, but his actions saved humanity by allowing it to have a savior.
Think about it. He didn't have high visibility. In fact, we might say he had no visibility compared to others in the Bible. But he had three things which made him stand out. He wasn't seen that much but he had substance. He wasn't heard that much but he had presence. He didn't do that much but he was a man of action.
You don't have to be seen to be visible, just have substance in the things you have been called by God to do in your life. You don't have to be heard to have visibility, just have presence in all things vital. You don't have to do a lot to have visibility, just take action in times of critical decision making, and act decisively when the need arises.
Unlike H.G. Wells and Ralph Ellision's invisible men, Advent's "invisible man" changed the course of human history by playing a supporting role. By what he did, he allowed God to bring forth Jesus. Mary was a key player, but Joseph was behind the scenes. Invisibility does not mean lack of substance, lack of presence, or lack of action, just that God can still use someone of a low profile to do a great thing which can benefit the people of God.
