December 8, 2018
“And her husband Joseph, being just a man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”- Matthew 1:19
I cannot imagine the confusion Joseph experienced upon hearing Mary’s news. Every expectation he once had was crushed and this shocking news had turned his entire world upside down. This man who was from the House of David knew that a Messiah was to come, but how was he to know this is the way He would come? He was a righteous man, knowing that the next step was to divorce this girl whom had turned his world on its edge. The only way for this mess to become a miracle was for the Creator to intervene. Just as it seems that all hope was lost, an angel comes to Joseph and gives him the promise that this boy that Joseph was to raise would save the world from their sins.
There are so many expectations we all have going into the holidays. Maybe we expect our families to be kinder, our relationships to be mended, or the grief of that empty seat at the table to not be as strong as it was last year. And yet we come to December 26thand realize that none of those expectations were met. Why? Why do we feel more sadness and shock than happiness and joy? Maybe because our joy is not in the one who saved us from our sins. God intervenes in the holiday season if we give Him room to do that, but more often than not we take it into our own hands striving for a “perfect Christmas” to make up for all of the imperfection around us. This cannot be. Our joy has to come from Him and Him alone. Then our only expectation will be to feel HIS JOY and that expectation will always be met.
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