Joseph

I wonder what it must have been like for Joseph. Many historians say that he was married previously and had children which meant that he was a widower. How fortunate he must have thought he was to find, fall in love with and then engaged to marry Mary. How lucky he must have thought he was to have lost the love of his life, his partner and the mother of his children, and find another woman to be his wife, partner and mother.

Then he discovers that Mary is pregnant. He must have been thrown into the throes of confusion. Do I keep Mary as my wife? Or do I quietly let her go? He resolves to let her go. The measure of Joseph is that he chooses to let her go quietly so that she is not disgraced. Still, he must have been conflicted. It all comes to a head one night; in a dream God speaks to him. God says that he should still marry Mary.

When Joseph awakes, he returns to Mary and reaffirms his desire to wed her. We can only imagine the joy that both of them felt. Mary's interaction with the angel was affirmed by Joseph's dream. Excitedly they wait for the baby. And then they learned that they must travel to Bethlehem. It's no easy road to Christmas for these two people. It's no easy road for us either: the shopping, the malls, the rushing from here to there; the parties; the relatives; and the tree. How can we forget the tree?

Mary

I love Christmas and frankly, I don't care much for Advent. Why wait? Why hold back from saying, "Merry Christmas." It's not like we're waiting for the birth to occur. It's not like we have to patiently wait with the expectant mother. A birth is a risky thing, even in our modern times, but we know the birth will happen successfully. So I have a hard time waiting.

Like any expectant mother, I have to think that Mary must have had a hard time waiting, too. She had to leave home. What a thing to ask. No matter how spiritually mature she was, to leave her mother, other female relatives and friends must have been extremely tough. Many tears must have been shed. Now after riding alongside Joseph, they arrive in Bethlehem. We all know the story - "no room at the inn". With her hands pressed against her aching back, she must have been a sympathetic sight - "we've got a manger". Did she cry when she finally settled off her feet? She must have simply wanted the birth to happen: "Just get this baby out of me, please God."

For as much as we want our waiting to end, it is in the waiting that the growth occurs. Happy Advent and Merry Christmas! Tomorrow, I'll explore Joseph and the specialness of Christmas.

Bundled Satisfaction

It's hard to watch television these days without being overrun by someone trying to sell something for Christmas. A simple tree lighting ceremony is filled with entertainers selling their latest CD. Now I certainly am not naive to the reality of retail. I understand that the consumer industry is a vital part of our economy, especially in these troubled times.

However, no matter how many gifts we buy or how many gifts we give or receive, we'll never turn off that little voice in our head that says, "Is that all?" Like it or not, Christmas is not found in the gifts that we give each other. In order to find the true joy in Christmas, we need to uncouple love and gift-giving and recouple love to the divine love of God.

The true Christmas is not about "shopping, eating, gift-giving and being with loved ones" as one television announcer said this night, rather its about the little gift bundled in a manger some 2000 years ago. The baby Jesus is the only way to satisfy that little voice, because Jesus says to us, "Yes, I am all in all."

Tomorrow, I will explore how to bring Jesus and gift giving to our children together in a meaningful way.