+ The birth of Jesus the Christ took place in this way.
When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived
together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband
Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace,
planned to dismiss her quietly.
But just when he had resolved to do this, an Angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be
afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the
Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will
save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by
the Lord through the Prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph
awoke from sleep, he did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as
his wife. (Matthew 1.18-24)
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Having some background into the marriage practices of the
Jewish people at the time of Jesus birth helps us understand the dynamics of
today's gospel text.
Marriage had a few stages to it. The first stage was
betrothal. A contract was drawn up, effectively making the woman the legal wife
of the man. The next stage was a waiting period of several months, when the
bride remained with her family. The couple did not come together as man and
wife during this period. This time of abstinence was to ensure that she was
truly a virgin, thus ensuring that any children born of this union were
fathered by the husband. If pregnancy was discovered during this waiting
period, it would mean that the wife had been unfaithful, the conceived child was not
the husband’s. The betrothed wife would immediately be divorced and could be severally punished,
even by stoning.
Whether Mary tried to explain to Joseph how she came to
be pregnant is not revealed in the text, but it does tell us that Joseph did
not want Mary to be publicly shamed or put at risk of punishment. Perhaps he
was deeply conflicted; on the one hand trying to believe what Mary told him,
but on the other hand, who ever heard of virgin conception? (But wait – did not
the prophet Isaiah foretell this very reality?)
The text does tell us that an angel of God comes to
Joseph to confirm that if God has so ordained it to be, a virgin shall conceive
and that Mary is that true virgin, who has conceived a son by God’s design, and
that she is the one foretold by the prophet.
The gospel for tomorrow, Monday, tells us of John the
Baptist’s father, Zachariah experiencing a similar encounter with the angel,
announcing to Zachariah that he and his wife, even in their advanced years will
conceive a son; that this child will have an important role to play in the plan
of God. In the gospel for this Tuesday’s liturgy, Luke will give us Mary’s side
of this beautiful story.
These stories are not meant to be just pious stories to
fill the Christmas imagination. They are serious stories, and their retelling
has important lessons meant for us to ponder – to gain wisdom for our own story
and relationship with God.
Here is one lesson we can start with as we take to prayer
and reflection these scriptures. Nothing is impossible for God. Do not fear
life’s events, no matter how confusing and challenging they may be. Rather,
seek to discover and understand what is God’s plan for you as things unfold.
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