Thursday, December 23, 1999
Thursday, December 23, 1999
But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child
conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Joseph's emotions remind me of something that happened to Mark Maurer of Hilton Head, South
Carolina. For some reason Mark was in the doghouse with his wife. He wanted to make amends
so he ordered her some flowers and told the florist that the card should read, "I'm sorry, (comma)
I love you." Unfortunately, his instructions must not have been clear enough. When the flowers
arrived, there was no comma. The card read, "I'm sorry I love you."
That is probably how Joseph felt at first--sorry that he loved Mary. It was too much to ask him to
believe that this child had somehow been mysteriously conceived. But then something quite
disturbing happened to Joseph. He had a dream. An angel appeared to him and confirmed Mary's
story--that the child which she would bear had been conceived by the Holy Spirit. And that is all
Joseph needed.
(Matthew 1:20
NRSV)
Joseph was startled to learn of Mary's condition, as you might imagine. At first, he had second
thoughts about their impending marriage. He didn't want to humiliate Mary publicly. He loved her
too much for that.
Dear God, please remove my doubts and fill me with trust. Amen.
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