Rejoicing: Mary & Joseph

Joseph. Hey, Joseph. Wake up!

Hmm? What is it, Mary? Is it my turn with the baby?

No. It's our anniversary. Happy Anniversary!

What? It's not our anniversary. Go back to sleep.

It's not the anniversary of our marriage. It's the anniversary of something better--your commitment to stay with me. Stay awake with me for a little while Jesus still sleeps. I want to hear the story again.

All right, my love. We had been betrothed for several months. You were visiting your cousin and were due to return any day. I was in the workshop finishing up a project. A couple of women passed by the window and I heard one of them mention your name. I figured you must have returned, so I hurried to your father's house.

I remembered later you were covered in wood shavings. You hadn't even thought to brush them off.

Yes, I was anxious to see you. As I approached the door, I heard your parents voices. Your father was angry and your mother was scared. I got scared too. I thought maybe something had happened to you. I burst in the door, and there you were. Your father was pacing, and your mother had tears streaming down her face. You were standing there in the middle of the room with your head down. I could only see your profile, and tears fell from the tip of your nose. My eyes traveled down the rest of your body, and I saw the fullness of your stomach.

Go on.

In an instant, I felt as if my heart stopped. You turned and looked at me with fear and pleading in your eyes, and you told me everything. About the angel. About the child. About your trip to Elizabeth. So many thoughts and emotions were swirling in my mind, and in a fog I turned and fled. I ran until I had left the town and collapsed in the dust. I wanted to believe you, to believe that you had been faithful to me and still were but I thought you were lying. My heart was broken. I cried and prayed for what seemed like hours. My older brother Levi found me and sat beside me. After a while, he said, "You know what you must do?" I nodded my head in agreement. We sat for a while longer in silence and then walked back to our house. My parents were sitting at the table when we walked in, waiting up for us. My father simply said, "What is your decision?" I told them that I would divorce you, but that I would not make a big deal out of it.even though I was hurt, I still cared about you and your family. You had enough troubles without me heaping more upon you. My parents were surprised but satisfied with that decision. We then went to bed.

This is my favorite part!

Ha! Well, that night I had the strangest--

And best!

--and best dream of my life. An angel of blinding light and peace appeared and told me not to be afraid. He said that the child you carried was from the Holy Spirit. We were to call the child Jesus because he would save the people from their sins. I awoke with the start and knew that you had told me the truth. I couldn't go back to sleep and waited for my parents to wake up. I told them about the dream and that I had changed my mind. I would still marry you and claim the child as my own.* They disagreed, thought I was crazy, told me about the dishonor it would bring, threatened to kick me out of the family, but I was unmovable. I then went to your house and told your family the same thing. I remember the look on your father's face. He couldn't decide whether to be relieved or throw me out as a mad man.

He often had that face...Do remember the night Jesus was born? I was exhausted after travelling and then the birth. I had spent so many months pondering the angel's and Elizabeth's words and preparing to have a baby, and then he was finally here! I was overcome with joy at holding this precious life. Not only was he my son, one I had carried and cared for for nine long months, but he was also the Son of God. What would his life be like?

I was terrified. Terrified that neither of you would survive the labor and the terrified about the responsibility of being a father and a husband. I know how to work with wood, to take planks that have nothing in common and make them into something strong and useful. But a child? What do I do with a child? As I laid him in your arms, I was so scared I would break him. How do we parent him? What have I to teach the Son of the Most High?

A great deal my love. I was chosen to carry the child, but you, too, were chosen to raise him. We have each other, our families, and most importantly, we have Adonai. He will be with us. I was afraid too, you know. I thought I was too young to be a mother and not strong enough for the task God had given me. Are you still afraid?

Of course, but it is reverence at the precious gift we have been given. When you gave him to me to hold, I marveled over his dark hair, his slightly upturned nose, and his little chin. I fell in love, and the terror turned into overflowing joy.

It gladdens my heart to hear that. Jesus will be waking soon. I must get up. Thank you for telling me the story. When he is older you must tell it to our son.

I will. Oh, and Mary?

Yes?

Happy Anniversary!

*Matthew 1:18-25