Written by Steve Tarver, CEO & President YMCA of Greater Louisville, Kentucky
Looking back to my travels through the rocky hills of Judea to Bethlehem, I wonder what it was like for Joseph and Mary to be somewhere out there, nearing the end of their exhausting trip.
Unmarried, a controversial pregnancy, forced by the government to go back where their family came from, poor, alone, uncertain, maybe even scared – Mary and Joseph approached Bethlehem amidst complicated legal and moral questions.
What in the world is one to do? What would you have done if you were Joseph?
Joseph faced unwanted dilemmas: logistically – where would they stay; personally – how will he care for Mary and their soon to be born son, Jesus; ethical – what happens when the town finds out we’re not married; religious – is this what God is calling us to do?
Where does faith fit in? I’ve faced many unwanted dilemmas in my life and career with the YMCA, not always being sure where to go for guidance and how faith fits into the complicated situation.
What did Joseph do? Did he panic or abandon those under his care in fear of what others might think of him?
If Joseph had bailed on the situation, no one would have likely even blinked given the cultural values at the time – though, for Mary, it could have had deadly consequences.
From a worldly lens, it must have seemed counter to every natural tendency he had at that time.
Only looking through the lens of faith does this have any semblance of rationality whatsoever.
Joseph received clarity based on an angel’s visit to him in a dream; he had the patience and mindfulness to listen and believe.
He chose to walk alongside pregnant Mary in love.
Accepting the clarity of the message from God, Joseph was able to serve as a righteous man.
Joseph faced unwanted dilemmas because of God’s call on his life, the magnitude of which was overwhelming, but he chose to prayerfully listen and be patient, to believe God, and walk in faith.
When we find ourselves in complicated and controversial situations where we lead and serve, we can be distracted by worldly conditions.
But we may also be like Joseph and go early and often to God in faith and prayer.
May we have the patience to seek God first in our dilemmas and, through faith, find righteousness.
But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Gospel according to Matthew, 1:20-21 NIV
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