“God willing, I’m going to finish
this sermon.” That’s an odd way for a sermon to begin, but the first two words
are ones you sometimes hear folks use when they’re talking about future plans —
though usually more than a few minutes in the future. “God willing, we’ll go to
Disney World this summer.” The idea that we should make that qualification
comes from the Epistle of James.1 James tells us we shouldn’t just
say we’re going to do something, but “If the Lord wishes,” we’ll do it.
The point isn’t just that something
unexpected might happen to mess up your plans — that the preacher might faint
in the middle of the sermon or that air travel delays could interfere with
vacation plans. Those things could happen, but what James was talking about was
more basic. The future is ultimately in God’s hands, not ours. We should try to
plan wisely for the future, but what will happen tomorrow or next year isn’t
entirely under our control. Your plans might not fit in with God’s intentions
for you. But those intentions will be directed toward your good and for the
good of the world. The question then is whether or not you will be open to the
direction God is pointing out.
The uncashed check
Case in point, the marriage plans of
Joseph in today’s gospel reading. Plans for his wedding with Mary had been
decided upon, and Joseph was no doubt looking forward to beginning life with
her. And then ...
But perhaps we’d better step back a
bit first, back over 700 years to the events in the Old Testament reading for
today, with the prophet Isaiah confronting King Ahaz. That passage is quoted in
our gospel reading, but more than that, the story might have been a helpful
reminder for Joseph.
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