16th December
Luke 1:56
Mary stayed with
Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.
Matthew 1:18-19
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When
his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was
found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just
man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
"Joseph the carpenter.
Joseph, a common man caught up in cosmic affairs;
Joseph, known to his neighbours, yet so unassuming that he
sinks swiftly from Biblical sight;
Joseph, more mute in the Gospels than Zechariah, since the
words of the latter are recorded in talk and in song, but of the former there
are no words remembered, none;
Joseph, husband of Mary, adoptive father of Jesus - Joseph
is just a man.
Because the Evangelists say so little about him, each word
must bear enormous importance: Joseph is an 'upright' man. For raising his
child, Papa Joseph shall be the very model of a righteous man - not so much in
what he says as in what he does.
'He resolved to divorce her quietly.' He will make no
accusation at all, although he has every right to do so. Joseph resolves to
keep the Law, yes, but with such lenience that Mary's life will not be
destroyed in the process.
What then is righteousness? These two things: the obedience
we owe to God and the mercy God grants us to grant to others. It looks first to
god, second to the other, never to the self - yet the self experiences a most
holy peace in these relationships.
Come Lord Jesus: Come, live in my heart as you lived in the
house of Joseph. I yearn to be as righteous as he. O Lord, become the source of
righteousness in me. Amen."
W. Wangerin Jnr,
Preparing for Jesus
With grateful thanks to Gabriel Olude, International Photographer, for the Muses.
TFL!
Bernie x
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