Advent 2006
Mary & Joseph

We live in a world where the role models are celebrities be they politicians or sports figures. You know, the folks in People magazine or on Oprah. We know about them from carefully crafted public relations releases or exploits on and off the stage, screen or playing field. But, we know little about their character…what they believe and how their beliefs affect the way they live.

Consider the difference when we examine Mary & Joseph. Mary’s story is compelling. She was betrothed to Joseph but unmarried in the sense we understand marriage. Under Jewish law they were legally pledged to be married but lived apart without physical contact. The betrothal was to give the couple an opportunity to see if there were problems in their relationship and how those problems would be handled before the formal wedding ceremony. Now, she was pregnant before it was permitted! What would she tell Joseph? If he now rejected her and asked for a divorce, it would be an awful life for her. A single woman with a child would never be married. How would the priests, her community, her family understand that she is pregnant but it is not because she or Joseph has broken their marriage vows? Who ever heard of a virgin birth?

In spite of all she faced, Mary’s response to Gabriel resonates throughout history as a powerful but simple statement of faith. She did not say: “Joe, I had a horrible dream, I better see an analyst.”. She did not say: “Joe we can’t have a baby now. I better get an abortion.” She did not say: “How can we have what we want if we have a baby now? I have got to work, Joe.” No, to the mighty Gabriel she responded:
Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.
[Luke 1: 38]
Mary chose to believe, trust and obey God as His servant. What an example of faith for us all!

And, how about Joseph? What a shock, Mary was going to have a baby! Here they were in the betrothal period of their marriage when they were to live apart without physical contact for a year. Now, she is pregnant. And, she claims it is by divine intervention! The entire matter was confusing and potentially humiliating to Joseph, Mary and their families. What was there to do? Joseph was a righteous man so he wanted to do the right thing. He was a sensitive and compassionate man to Mary for he knew no matter how farfetched the story sounded; she was an honest and faithful person. He believed her.

Should he silently obtain a divorce to avoid humiliation? Joseph knew the law. If Mary was found not to be a virgin upon their formal marriage ceremony, she would then be put to death because it was a disgrace to be unfaithful while still living with her natural father [Deut. 22: 20, 21]. Joseph wanted neither to disgrace her nor sentence her to death. He resolved to divorce her quietly. While considering these matters, like with Mary, God sends an angelic messenger to Joseph [Matt. 1: 18 – 25]. The angel gives Joseph God’s answer—marry Mary. The angel corroborates Mary’s story; Joseph does the right thing. He took Mary as his wife and had no physical contact or sexual union with her until the birth of Jesus. He exhibits his character in dealing with this situation…righteousness, sensitivity, and responsiveness to the commands of God.

These two had no PR person. They were faced with a serious dilemma and they acted faithfully and obediently to their God. Is that not the test of character? Trusting the sovereign God of the universe no matter the circumstances in our lives? For after all, we believe in His providence in all things and His provision for His faithful, don’t we? We live in a world where contrived image and personality trumps character. But, that is not the way of believers. If we are His servants, we listen to His revelation to us in His Word and trust and obey Him no matter what. Faithfulness and obedience to Almighty God are the character traits of Mary & Joseph. What are our character traits?