The following homily was shared at our Sunday Evening Eucharist Service 12/28/25.

When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod had died, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel,
for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”
He rose, took the child and his mother,
and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea
in place of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go back there.
And because he had been warned in a dream,
he departed for the region of Galilee.
He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth,
so that what had been spoken through the prophets
might be fulfilled,
He shall be called a Nazorean.

(Mt 2:13-15, 19-23)

I wanna be like Joseph when I grow up. I just want to love my wife and do what God tells me to do. Joseph doesn’t get a lot of attention in the Gospels or in our life as Christians, nor does he ask for it. He is content to be a servant of God, making no great name for himself. He’s also just a good dude. His fiancee gets pregnant, and instead of pitching a fit, he just quietly does what he needs to do. No mess, no fuss. But what really makes Joseph cool is his relationship with God.

God tells Joseph to marry that girl anyway and Joseph says, “Bet.” God tells him to move to Egypt and Joseph starts packing. Then, when Herod is dead and they can finally go home, God tells him on the way that he actually needs to go live in Nazareth, a place of which it is later said, “What good can come from there?” And still, Joseph’s only response is yes and amen. This is Joseph’s shining quality: obedience to God.

Being obedient will take you far in life. Indeed, it will even take you to eternal life. But God’s will for us is not always as straightforward as it is for Joseph in this passage. We don’t usually have angels in our ear relaying instructions. But we do have a helper with us through whom we can walk the path that God would set for us.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can begin to interpret God’s will. The Holy Spirit connects us with God through prayer and intercedes on our behalf. He illumines the holy scriptures for us so that they can work in us even without full understanding. Through prayer we can practice listening to God for direction, and through scripture we learn of God’s nature and story so that we can make decisions that are in line with who he is. But even with prayer and the scriptures to lead the way, obedience still requires courage. It will always be a leap of faith, no matter how sure we are of the outcome. Joseph couldn’t be sure he wasn’t about to marry an adulteress. He couldn’t be sure that going to Egypt would save his family’s life. But he trusted God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness. So yes, gather knowledge and yes, listen well, but know also that God’s will often leads us down paths that are scary and uncomfortable and just plain painful. These are the moments when our obedience is tested. So pray to God for faith. Yes for faith to take the path, for God is always prompting us this way or that to lead us rightly, but pray also for the courage that Joseph has to look down what appears to be a ruinous road ahead and instead of turning aside, to trust in God enough to say yes and amen.

To Be Like Joseph: Akin Bailey

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