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 of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
"Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
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Ok, this thought doesn't really have anything to do with today's passage...but it does relate to the theme.
ReplyDeleteso today i was running, and praying the second Luminous mystery, the Wedding at Cana, and God really spoke to me.
first of all i thought what a big deal it is that the wine ran out, and how devastating that was to the reputation of the family throwing the party. Wine is a huge part of the celebration, particularly for the Jewish people. And the party goes on, and people are having fun, as long as they're being served.
i imagine that Jesus enjoyed wine, and i could see him even passing glasses to other people, encouraging others to enjoy the fruit of the earth! It's interesting to me that he doesn't just multiply the wine as the party is going, to save the reputation and sanity of the family hosting the reception. He lets the wine run out, and He, by drinking wine Himself, is part of the reason that the wine ran out.
the truth that God was telling me is that i often try to serve others, and even Jesus, with the best that i've got, my time, my energy, my emotion (my wine). But He not only allows that to run out, He drinks deeply so that i would run out sooner!
Because only when i'm all out of what i've got can He pour His life into me. And that's infinitely better than anything i could offer.
Kay first. Wow.
ReplyDeleteAnd Question. Does the last line of the passage not mean they had sex? Joseph and Mary I mean? After Jesus was born?
Emma,
ReplyDeletethat's a great question, in fact it's the same one posed by other Christians who do not believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary.
Here are a few thoughts...
First of all, all Christians look to the Fathers of the Church (the earliest writers and leaders) as being authentically preaching truth. And all of these Fathers agree with our Tradition that she remained a virgin.
Secondly, God created us to be integrated, meaning that He made us to be both body and soul, working as one! But ever since Adam and Eve sinned, the rupture wasn't just between them and God or them and each other, we all experience the rupture within ourselves, and we experience this daily as we tend toward using other people in so many different ways. We want people to do things for us, without ever taking into consideration their soul's worth.
So we have 2 vocations, two paths by which people pursue holiness (union with God):
celibacy and marriage.
And God always has a way to bring us back.
So in the marriage of Joseph and Mary, we see both vocations being lived, a sign (Sacrament) to us of what Heaven will be like, both marriage and celibacy. They are living witnesses to the power of God, though all of us live "disintegrated" lives, God is working through time to draw us back to his original plan of integrity and unity.
Practically, i think of it this way: If they were to live as a normal married couple, they would have to be open to more children. How bad would it be to be one of their other kids? You would know that no matter how important your needs were, they would always have to take a backseat to your older brother's needs, because He is God. Raising the Son of God is kind of a big deal, and their lives were defined by their duty to love their Son.
Finally, remember when Mary asked the Angel, "How could this be, since i do not know man?"
she clearly understood how baby creation worked, and she was betrothed to Joseph, so why would she ask this question like it was an impossibility that she would get pregnant? It must've been because she had no intentions of consummating the marriage.
hope this helps...
there's lots more info out there, check out:
http://www.cuf.org/Faithfacts/details_view.asp?ffID=102