 In those days, the period of engagement of marriage was to
last up to one year. The marriage covenant was official, they are married, but
before the couple lived together, this one year waiting period would prove that
the betrothed was indeed a virgin and that any child conceived would be that of
the husband. Should a conception occur it prove infidelity and adultery on the
part of the woman. The engagement/marriage would be broken off and the woman
publicly disgraced. Matthew does not give us many details as to how all this
unfolded with Joseph and Mary. This provides us with a wonderful opportunity to
explore these questions in meditation and prayer. Matthew tells us, "... she was found with
child." Here we are led to wonder when did Mary explain her pregnancy
to Joseph, that it was the work of God? Did Joseph believe her? We can only
speculate. We have a clue in the text that follows. “Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling
to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly." “…
since he was a righteous man” Joseph was a man of holy integrity and that
he followed the Law of Moses in all its detail. Now, in the Book of Deuteronomy
22:23 we read: “If there is a virgin pledged in marriage to a man, and
another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her, you must take both
of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because
she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his
neighbor’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.…” What deep conflict must have been tearing at the heart of
Joseph. Mary is pregnant! What to do – the law is clear as to what must be
done. What if what Mary has told him about how she became pregnant is true? But
the Law is clear, Joseph knows he must divorce Mary. Surely God will permit him
to spare her such humiliation and disgrace, even death. Now the hand of God is revealed through the angel Gabriel: "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.” Joseph too must see the important role God is giving him to
fulfill in this plan - "She will bear a son and you are to name him
Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Dear friends, these stories are not fairy tales we bring out
at Christmas to dress up in colourful scenes. They are real events that
happened in the lives of real people. Recognizing this can we not identify with
these humble people of God? Do we not have to face conflicts and challenges in
our lives, struggling to understand, struggling to make sense of it – to find
solutions just as they did? Our faith is not disconnected from our real life. On the
contrary, they are both intimately connected just as it was for Mary and
Joseph. And when we make this connection our faith becomes a living, life
saving dynamic reality guiding and supporting us throughout our life. Once we make this connection the stories of the lives of the
people in the scriptures become learning centres where we begin to learn how
to recognize God’s hand in our lives. Do not let Christmas just be a fairy tale. |
 "O Antiphons" This coming Saturday, one week from Christmas Eve, begins the traditional "O Antiphons" The O Antiphons refer to the seven antiphons that are recited (or chanted) preceding the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours. They also are used as the Gospel Acclimation of the daily Masses. They cover the special period of Advent preparation known as the Octave before Christmas Dec.17-24 |
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