The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia Sunday December 22nd 201 , The Re!

erend "lan #eale $%ood&%od's (ntentions)

Matthew 1:20 Just when Joseph had resolved to do this [to dismiss Mary quietly], an angel of the ord appeared to him in a dream!" #he days after $hristmas are filled, pa%&ed, %rammed with good intentions gone awry ' in 200( a survey showed that one in three shoppers e)pe%ted to return gifts after $hristmas *and get the irony here, the people surveyed were those who were +uying gifts for others,-.
/en%e this ditty! 0t1s the 2ay 3fter $hristmas, 4hen 3ll #hrough 5our /ouse, #hose 6rown Mon&ey 7o%&s and #hat 4ay8#oo 6ig 6louse, 9eed to :o 6a%& to the 7tore ;ight 3way, 7o 9o <ne 4ill 7ee 5ou 2ressed #hat8384ay, 0 Mean 4ho in #heir ;ight Mind 4ould :ive 7u%h a #hing 3s a 6right8<range #ie or a =lasti% Mood ;ing, 7o it1s <ff to the 7tore 5ou /ead 4ith a 2ash 4ondering 3loud 4hy 5ou 2idn1t :et $ash.

4hether or not the road to hell is paved with good intentions is a theologi%al question> it is %learly though an anthropologi%al question whether the road to stores post8$hristmas is surfa%ed with well8intentioned gifts.
:ood intentions.

<ur te)t from Matthew des%ri+es a man, a good man full of good intentions. 6etrothed to Mary he dis%overs she is pregnant *and they have had no physi%al relations-> this in a male8dominated so%iety is %ondemned +y %ulture and religion and Mary fa%es severe punishment and ostra%ism. 6ut Joseph, a truly good man, ta&es a %ounter8%ultural stand ' he refuses to +e party to an awful retri+ution paid to Mary and loo&s for ways to put an end to all this! as quietly as possi+le.
:ood intentions.

6ut, from our perspe%tive, the good intentions almost at a stro&e, in the twin&ling of an eye, at the removal of one vowel, the good intentions transform into :od1s intentions. :od1s intentions ' and so Joseph, wa&ing as it were from sleep, ta&es Mary as his wife, %herishes and prote%ts us and nurtures Jesus as his own. 0t as if all the &indness that Joseph had garnered, mustered, rallied ' all this &indness was &indled now into a raging fire that set aside half8measures of generosity and in their pla%e esta+lished and instituted startling a%ts of %ourageous magnanimity. :od1s intentions.

6y the way, 0 %annot resist suggesting that Joseph may +e one of the first 3ngli%an?@pis%opal ar%hetypes, $onsider ' he was a+solutely faithful to 7%ripture *:od1s 4ord- +ut was ready to hear the %ontemporary voi%e of :od dire%ting him to :od1s heart and insisted that one 7%ripture must +e interpreted and understood in the light of the 7%ripture. 6ut enough of the %ommer%ial! 7o what do you and 0 learn for todayA 1. #he ord loo&s to us to ma&e de%isions and to a%t upon them. 5es, let them +e shaped +y 7%ripture and wise %ounsel +ut let there +e de%isions. 2. #he ord e)pe%ts from us goodness, Busti%e and &indness in as mu%h measure as we are a+le to muster> despite failures, disappointments and relapses the ord loo&s deeply into our potential for good and healthy, fun%tional and wise a%tions. (. #he ord will always want to invade us +y /is 7pirit to move us to startling a%ts of magnanimity +eyond our &en and e)pe%tation. C. <ften the transition from good to :od1s intentions involves daring ris&8ta&ing and surrender to :od. D. #he ord invites us to wal& and wor& in partnership. May+e in the ne)t few days we will find ourselves %aught up in family dynami%s that will prompt us to wonder, /ow the! heaven did 0 get hereA". 4e may well stiffen our upper lips and restrain our words as an a%t of %onsummate &indness +ut +e ready! +e ready for the voi%e of :od, the stirring of the heart, that will prompt us to startling a%ts of magnanimity +eyond our e)pe%tation and even, if we1re honest, our erstwhile desire. 3nd in our spiritual Bourney there will, 0 hope, +e many instan%es of good intentions ' to give more, to serve more, to pray more, to witness more ' in the wa&e of :od1s a+undant munifi%en%e we will +e drawn to even greater a%ts, from good to :od1s intentions. 3s we endeavor to grasp, yet again, the $hristmas glory we may +e a+le to e)tend our minds and enlarge our heart to +elieve in the 4ord made flesh, of @mmanuel, of :od in our midst +ut then! we are drawn from wonderfully good to e)%essively divine intentions as we wel%ome the $hrist8$hild and then surrender to <ne who li+erates and res%ues us, the <ne who heals us and ma&es us whole May+e as we +egin to anti%ipate a new year, we find our minds o%%upied with hopes and dreams ' let them +e as e)pansive as possi+le +ut &eep an eye, an ear open for the voi%e and leading of :od that will lead us to e)perien%e realiEed hopes of whi%h we dared not dream. 0f we are fortunate, gra%ed people we may appro)imate to the %hara%ter of Joseph ' a good, Bust and &indly man. 6ut ea%h one of us, in the mind and the heart and the e%onomy of :od, %an have the most meagre em+ers of dreams fanned into roaring flames of divine gifts intended for our strength, our Boy and our happiness.

:enerally Joseph, li&e many a wise step8parent, stays in the +a%&ground +ut today we %ele+rate him. 3 man with good intentions and ready to have them immerse in the intentions of :od ' wide as the o%ean, high as the heaven a+ove and deep as the deepest sea. *oseph + ,e ,ant coura-e and faith to ,al. in your ,ays/ "men