Holidays - Seasons Greetings!

A wave of exultation filled the heart of Mary. The young girl no longer wondered and worried about her part in God’s will. She became lyrical and she stood before her aunt, arms outstretched, eyes dimmed and half-closed with tears of joy, and she uttered words which remained engraved on the heart of Elizabeth for all days:

“My soul extols the Lord;

And my spirit leaps for joy in God my savior. How graciously He looked upon this lowly maid! Oh, behold, from this hour onward age after age will call me blessed!

How sublime is what He has done for me the Mighty One, whose name is ‘Holy.’

From age to age He visits those who worship Him in reverence.

His arm achieves the mastery:

He routes the haughty and proud of heart; He puts down princes from their thrones, and exalts the lowly;

He fills the hungry with blessings, and sends away the rich with empty hands. He has taken by the hand His servant Israel, and mercifully kept His faith-as He had promised our fathers with Abraham and his posterity forever and evermore.”

The women embraced and Mary wondered what made her think of those words. The young girl remained with Elizabeth until June, a week prior to the birth of John. Mary was three months pregnant and her parents had sent word that she should be at home preparing for her wedding. Yes, the wedding. Elizabeth now enjoyed Mary’s complete confidence and the two wondered if Joseph knew. It was important that he know what was about to happen, and to understand.

When Mary arrived home, she saw her husband-to-be.

He was not happy that she had chosen to be away from him for three months and, if he knew the secret, he hid it well. He had heard from Mary’s mother that Elizabeth was to bear a child, but surely there were others in her town who could have attended her. The young girl did not dispute Joseph. She decided, from his attitude, that he knew nothing of the great secret. She would not marry: him without telling something of it.

“I’m going to have a baby,” she said. The shock to Joseph was beyond measure. Throughout the courtship, his intended bride had worn an aura of innocence; he was painfully conscious of her lack of knowledge. She had gone away three months ago, and now she returned to say that she was pregnant.

It is impossible to read the depths of sorrow in both hearts. He looked at her tenderly and she offered no word of explanation. She looked away from him and wished that she might tell everything. The baby was going to need a foster father-who better than the man she loved, the gentle and pious and patient Joseph? The thought crossed her mind that he had been selected for the role for these very reasons. He would be an ideal guardian for the infant. Then why, why had he not been told? Why wrench two young hearts with tragedy when the truth was as bright as the sun and as warming?

On the tip of her tongue Mary had the greatest secret of all history. She could not unlock her tongue. Joseph went away from her to think. Of the two, he was the more pitiable. He loved this girl with all his heart and he had had visions of a long and fruitful life with her. Now, he felt, she had betrayed him and he could not understand the betrayal, nor even force himself to believe that it was true.

Joseph kept his awful secret. He could divorce her publicly. If he did this, he would be impelled to tell the elders the reason. In that case, they would ask Mary if she was with child. If she said yes, Joseph would have to swear that he was “without knowledge of her.” The priests would adjudge her to be an adulteress. There was only one penalty for this crime: stoning. The guilty person is led by townsmen to a high cliff and ordered to jump. If the adulteress refuses, she is pushed. As she lies at the bottom of the cliff, the people arm themselves with stones, and watch. If she moves, they throw the stones. If she doesn’t, they go home. The body is left where it is for the birds and the animals.

Joseph was being put to a test. He did not want Mary to die. He loved her. He could, under the law, pay money to put her away, to have her sent to some remote place. There, she could have her baby and remain. A third possibility would be for Joseph to swallow his pride, proceed with the wedding, and hope that there would not be too much comment in the town over a six-month baby.

He was dwelling upon the possibilities one night in bed.

Suddenly, the carpenter made up his mind. He would put Mary away privately. It would break his heart, and he knew that he could not love anyone else, but it would be just and, at the same time, merciful.

Within a few moments after the decision was reached, relaxation came to Joseph, and he slept. In sleep, he was visited by an angel. The spirit said to him “Joseph, son of David, do not scruple to take Mary, your wife, into your home. Her conception was wrought by the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus; for he will save his people from their sins.”

When Joseph awakened, he remembered the dream and he wondered if his forlorn hopes were reaching for rationalization. A dream was nothing more than a dream. His unconscious wishes might be fulfilled in sleep. Still, if this were so, he would never dream a blasphemy in which the pregnancy was excused by attributing it to God. Besides, the dream fulfilled an old prophecy to the letter:

“Behold, the virgin will be pregnant and give birth to a son, who will be called ‘Emmanuel,’ which means ‘God with us.’ ”

Joseph felt refreshed. He felt happy. The more he dwelt upon the dream, the more clearly he saw the hand of God revealing a great truth to him. It required restraint to go to work, making stalls and tables and wooden hangers for utensils and closets for garments. He longed to hurry to Mary’s house, yelling: “I know! I know!” His patience manifested itself, and he waited until the proper time, after supper, and when she saw his first glance, Mary knew that he knew before he took her for an evening walk to explain.

God had tried both of these young people, and they had not failed him. Still, Joseph was worried because he did not understand what part he was to play, nor how best to interpret the will of God. The scripture plainly said that the messiah would be born of a virgin, and Joseph interpreted this to mean that he would have no prerogatives as a husband, now or ever. The following week, they were married and Joseph took Mary to his home. One of his worries, he confided to Mary, was that if the old prophecy of a messiah was to be fulfilled, then something was wrong because everyone knew that the sacred scriptures said that the King of Kings would be born in Bethlehem-the City of David. Their infant would be born in Nazareth, a little place over ninety miles north of Bethlehem.

She had no intention of traveling anywhere, Mary said.

She was going to remain here in Nazareth. In the summer months, and the early autumn, the older women of the town noticed that she was pregnant, and they counseled her to remain close to her home. She would not go to see Elizabeth’s baby, so why would she consider traveling to Bethlehem? Joseph nodded. That was the way he felt. He had never been to Bethlehem and he had no intention of going there.