How do you communicate to people? Effective communication follows three essential steps:
- Ponder the Problem
- See God’s Glory
- Get Up and Go
Too often you will find yourself with something important to say and nobody listens. God uses problems to capture our attention. So begin by pondering the problems your listeners are dealing with. Once you have someone’s attention it is tempting to jump straight toward application. This leaves people with too much to do, and too little hope. Rather, Jesus, always pointed toward the activity of God. Salvation and hope comes from God first. So, See God’s Glory, and tell people about it! Finally, one of the trickiest roadblocks to effective communication, is the diffusion of responsibility. Big problems can be overwhelming. We think “those other people” need to do something. God, however, call each person with a job to do. So when you speak, give people something concrete they can do, that is, a call to action. Saint Joseph, the Earthly adopted father of Jesus was a master communicator from which we can learn. An angel of God came to Joseph at least four times and each time Joseph had critical things to communicate.
Dream 1
Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant. He plans to call the whole thing off. Then an angel of God tells him in a dream to not be afraid, but to marry Mary and raise Jesus. So Joseph went to Mary shortly thereafter. He likely began by saying, “Mary even though you are carrying God’s son you will face hardship. Being a single mother is extremely difficult. God, however, instituted marriage. When two become one they can share life’s challenges together. So will you marry me?”
What do you think Mary said? “No way! You thought about dumping me. You’re not good enough to raise the savior and be the spouse of the mother of God!” Well, she probably didn’t say that, but could have thought it. They got married. Josep got up and went to ask Mary to marry him.
Dream 2
After Jesus was born some wonderful things happened. Angels sang. Shepherds praised. Wisemen from the east paid Jesus homage. After receiving such special attention an Angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him to get up and go to Egypt, because Herod would try to take Jesus life. The next morning Joseph had to communicate this challenging message to Mary.
“Mary. I know our stay in Bethlehem has been unusual. I hope that you have enjoyed the special attention from the shepherds and wisemen. The gold, frankincense, and myrrh are quite special. We have a problem. King Herod doesn’t like that Jesus is a new king. He will try to hurt him. The good news is that God has made other places to live, like Egypt. We can go there, and God will be with us. So will you go with me to Egypt?
What do you think Mary said? “No way José! You can’t even find an inn in your hometown Bethlehem and you expect me to go to Egypt where you don’t anyone, let alone the Pharaoh!” Mary probably didn’t say that, but she might have thought it. Thankfully Joseph and Mary were patient people. She accepted his invitation to go to Egypt.
Dream 3
Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lived in Egypt for some time. Maybe they got used to life in Egypt. It was probably more sophisticated, with wonderful history and culture. An angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream saying that Herod was dead and it was time to go back to Israel. So Joseph had to communicate this to Mary.
Joseph might have said, “Mary I know that you like Egypt. You find the cultural artifacts here very interesting. Jesus loves going out with you and learning too. But there is a problem. You and I both know that we are Hebrews, as is our son Jesus. He is to the savior of God’s people first in Israel. Out here he is not learning the old ways of our people. Plus there is good news. God has taken Herod from this world. So will you go back to Israel with with me?”
What do you think Mary said? “Not a chance! I like Egypt. I always wanted to study history. Women can do more here. I can teach Jesus all he needs to know about Israel. Here he learns Egyptian and Aramaic. He is cosmopolitan.” Mary might not have said that, but maybe a part of her felt that way. Thankfully Joseph was a good communicator. He wasn’t afraid to get up and go ask Mary to take the next step.
Dream 4
Mary, Jesus, and Joseph barely make it back to Israel. It is beautiful to see Jerusalem. The holy city! Here you can go to the temple every day. Here you can buy fresh food from the markets. Here you can even take in a little greek philosophy. Joseph is worried about Archelaus, Herod’s son. An angel of God speaks to him in a dream. The angel says to get up and go to Galilee. “Good idea thinks Joseph. There’s nothing going on up there. What a total backwater. Sounds perfect!”
Joseph speaks with Mary the next morning. “Mary my one true love. We cannot stay in Jerusalem. Archelaus could try to harm Jesus. Plus the city is so hectic. God is just as present up in Galilee. There is work for carpenters in the new city of Sepphoris. Will you go with me to Nazareth?”
What did Mary say? “Nazareth! Nazareth? How can Jesus save the people if he grows up with a bunch of country bumpkins? Plus Archelaus probably doesn’t even care about us. Joseph I’ve had it with your dreams. Joseph the dreamer, just like the other Joseph with his special coat.” Of course Mary never said anything like it. But consider all the moving she had to do. Think of how much bad news Joseph had to break to Mary. Joseph must have been quite the talker, to keep this Holy Family together during so much transition.
Joseph teaches an example of faithfulness in communication. Begin by addressing a shared problem. Mary knew about pondering problems. Then see the Glory of God and talk about it. That is what Jesus would do with his ministry. Finally Get up, and Go Ask the Question like Joseph. As far as we know Joseph did not live to see Jesus public ministry. He is last mentioned when Jesus goes missing in Jerusalem during passover. Joseph is never mentioned in the gospel of Mark which begins at Jesus baptism. Maybe Jesus the Son of God, learned more than just carpentry from his adopted father Joseph. Maybe he learned hot to Get Up and Go Ask the Question. Amen.
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