Throughout the centuries, there has been a lot said about Joseph and what was likely going on in his heart when he found out that Mary was pregnant with a child that was not his own. Think about it. In a binding religious ceremony, he had become betrothed to Mary; he publicly stated his commitment to her as his wife. At that time, Jewish law required a period of time between the formal betrothal ceremony and taking her into his home as his wife. In the midst of that waiting period, Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant. Either way you look at it, it must have been quite a terrible shock to him. And then for Mary to tell Joseph that it was the Holy Spirit who had given her this gift…that’s a little hard to believe for anyone.

Joseph had absolutely every reason to believe that his betrothed wife had been unfaithful. He had every right to subject her to public ridicule, to make this known to his family, their friends, their entire community. Yet, instead of bringing down the full wrath of the Law on Mary, he decided to keep it quiet, planning to divorce her discreetly. In those days, Mary could have been stoned to death for adultery, and Joseph, as heartbroken and mortified as he must have been, simply did not want that. Why? Because he loved Mary.

And then the Angel appeared to him in a dream and explained everything. I imagine that must have been a little bit of a relief. Mary hadn’t been unfaithful to him after all. And he decided to take her into his home.

Joseph could have responded in a much different way. He could have stayed in the fear, in the hurt, in the sorrow. He could have given into doubt that the dream wasn’t a true encounter with the angel. He could have responded out of a need for justice and vindication, out of a desire for revenge. Yet, just as Mary trusted the message of the angel, so, too, did Joseph.

For us, in the moments of uncertainty that we experience, those moments of sorrow and pain, how often do we respond out of fear, hurt, a desire for vindication? How often we struggle to find the presence of the Lord in those situations…and we usually end up relying on our own strengths, our own abilities, rather than turning to the Lord.

If we are experiencing a moment of uncertainty, if we are enduring a moment of suffering, may Joseph be an example to us of how we should be open to what the Lord is doing in the midst of those circumstances. May we bring those things to the Lord and ask Him to be with us, to guide us, to show us the path forward. Because in doing so, we might just receive an incredible gift from God in the process.

Image: The Angel Speaks to Joseph in a Dream. Engraving by A.A. Morel after J.B. Wicar after A.R. Mengs. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Wikimedia Commons. Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org