Advent Journey: December 22nd
© Michael Livesay-Wright
Questions and Reflections
QUESTION: What would you have thought if you were Joseph and heard Mary's story?
I can't imagine being in Joseph's shoes. He was a nice guy. A carpenter. Just an average man getting ready to get married. Who don't know the details around their impending marriage, but likely their marriage was arranged by both families. They may have been betrothed to marry for years and it is likely that Mary is quite young. Since young women were frequently married by age 14 or 15 it is thought that Mary was probably younger than this and that's why she hadn't yet officially married Joseph. How interesting that in the miraculous births of John the Baptist and of Isaac in the Old Testament, the mothers were considered too old to have children and in the case of Mary she was likely considered too young to have a child. Therefore Mary's story would have seemed exceptionally crazy to Joseph. She was supposed to be too young to have a baby, which is why they hadn't yet been married and here she was saying she was miraculously pregnant... with the Messiah. He either thought she was crazy or dishonest and immoral...maybe both. But Joseph is a good man. The Bible says he is "a just man and unwilling to put her [Mary] to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly" (Matthew 1:19, ESV). Since they were betrothed, which was a legal agreement between two families, they would have to legally break the betrothal which could only be done through divorce. Doing this without great shame, penalty, and even violence between the two families would have been very difficult. But Joseph is going to do his best.
QUESTION: Why was Joseph told to name the baby Jesus?
Jesus means "Savior" or "Rescuer" and the angel even explains the meaning when he says, "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21, ESV). It sounds so simple and this verse is so often quoted that we often forget just how mighty of a message this is. Sin, that thing that has haunted all humans from the beginning - the source of all of our discomfort and loneliness, pain and arguments - is about to be undone. God is coming and He is going to rescue us from our sins! It's incredible. It's been the plan all along, but it's finally here! Also, side note, Jesus' last name isn't "Christ." Christ means "anointed one" or "chosen one" and it is the same as the Hebrew word Mashiach or Messiah. So when Jesus is referred to as Jesus Christ, we are calling Him, Jesus the Messiah. Also, one more name is mentioned. The angel, just to make it clear exactly how huge of a thing God is doing, quotes Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (Matthew 1:23, ESV). The word "Immanuel" which the angel once again graciously translates for Joseph means "God with us." The angel isn't trying to give Jesus yet another name, He is letting Joseph know that this is it! This baby is what Isaiah foretold hundreds of years previous and He is quite literally the almighty, everlasting God "with us"! God is moving in and joining the messy family of humanity.
QUESTION: What do you think things were like for Mary and Joseph in those early days?
I can only imagine what they experienced. Families were large and very tight entities at this time. At what point did Mary's mother know she was pregnant? Did Mary tell her or did she figure it out? What about her father? Or her mother-in-law? Did they refuse to speak to her? Did they assume that Joseph was the father? Or did Mary tell them the whole story? Did they believe her? We don't know. But I can only imagine that things were not simple or easy. We know that Mary went to stay with her Aunt Elizabeth for a time and this very well could have been because she was uncomfortable in her home village where people whispered rumors about her. When the baby grew and began to kick, did Mary ponder that God's presence was kicking at her own small body from inside? Did Joseph place his hand on her stomach to feel it move? Or did he feel as if he should keep his distance? I can only imagine what it was like to live out such a strange and miraculous story. These normal humans prepared to leap into marriage and parenthood parenting the Son of the Most High! What an unbelievable position to find oneself in.