Hi everyone, as we enter this final week before Christmas, we are called to remember that the love of God requires courage.  Courage as shown by Joseph and Mary, a courage to say “yes” to a future we cannot see.  And a trust in God’s love teaching us that “Immanuel”, God with us, requires our participation and bravery.

Pastor Tim
“God has led you to the desert, and spoken to your Heart.”

Mount of Olives Lutheran Church

3546 E. Thomas Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85018

602-956-1620 office

Courageous Love: Stepping into the Immanuel Promise

As we move deeper into the season of Advent, our scriptures today bring us face-to-face with a difficult truth: Love is not merely a warm sentiment or a holiday feeling. True love—the kind of love that God pours into the world—is a courageous act.

It is the courage to trust when everything is falling apart, the courage to stand by someone when the world says to walk away, and the courage to say “yes” to a future we cannot see. Our readings today show us three different responses to God’s call to love, teaching us that “Immanuel”—God with us—requires our participation and our bravery.

The Courage to Trust (Isaiah 7:10-16) We meet King Ahaz, a man paralyzed by fear. His kingdom is under threat, enemies are at the gates, and his heart is “shaking like the trees of the forest in the wind.”

God comes to him with an incredible offer: “Ask for a sign.” But Ahaz refuses. He wraps his fear in the language of false piety, saying, “I will not put the Lord to the test.” In reality, Ahaz didn’t want a sign because a sign from God meant he would have to trust God instead of his own political maneuvering. But God gives the sign anyway: “The young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.”

Courageous love begins right here. It begins with the willingness to believe that God is “with us” even when the world feels like it’s crumbling. Ahaz lacked the courage to love his people through trust in God; he chose the safety of his own shadow. Advent asks us: Will we, unlike Ahaz, have the courage to trust that God is present in our darkest valleys?

The Courage to Protect (Matthew 1:18-25) If Ahaz is our example of fear, Joseph is our ultimate example of courageous love. Think about Joseph’s position. He is a “righteous man”—a man who follows the Law. He finds out Mary is pregnant, and he knows the child is not his. According to the social and religious laws of his time, he has every right to humiliate her, to have her judged, or even worse. Matthew tells us he intended to “dismiss her quietly” to save her from public disgrace. Even in his hurt, Joseph was trying to be kind.

But then, the dream comes. The angel tells him, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.”

This was a terrifying command. To take Mary as his wife meant Joseph would have to:

• Risk his reputation: Everyone in his small village would whisper.
• Set aside his “righteousness”: In the eyes of the community, he was condoning what looked like a scandal.
• Embrace an unknown future: He was being asked to raise a child that was not his own, but God’s.

Joseph wakes up and he acts. He doesn’t argue; he doesn’t ask for a second sign. He steps into the scandal. He chooses Mary. He chooses the Child. This is courageous love—the decision to protect the vulnerable even when it costs you your social standing. Joseph shows us that love is not about following a set of rules, but about following the lead of the Spirit into the messiness of human life.

The Courage of Identity (Romans 1:1-7) Paul gives us the framework for this courage in his letter to the Romans. He introduces himself as a “servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle.” Paul understood that courageous love is tied to our identity. He calls us to the “obedience of faith.” This isn’t a blind, fearful obedience; it is the response of someone who knows they are “beloved of God.”

When we know we are loved by the Creator of the universe—the one who “was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power”—we no longer have to live in the fear that paralyzed King Ahaz. We have the strength to be like Joseph. We are “called to be saints,” which simply means we are called to be people who reflect God’s courageous love in a world that is often ruled by fear and shaming.

The name of the child is Immanuel: God with us.

If God is truly with us, then we can afford to be brave.

• We can have the courage to forgive when it feels impossible.
• We can have the courage to stand up for the marginalized when it’s unpopular.
• We can have the courage to stay in the room when things get difficult.

As we enter this weekend with Christ, look at the life of Joseph. Look at a man who chose love over reputation, and grace over judgment. Let us ask God for that same spirit—the courage to step out of our fears and into the radical, life-changing work of being “with” one another, just as God is with us.