December 16, 2018
Joseph
Sleep eluded him.
Hot, bewildered tears
Soaked his pillow in the private silence of his room.
Mary, his beautiful betrothed, had told him earlier that day:
“I am still a virgin, but I am pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
I am bearing the Messiah.”
Now alone, questions and doubts swirled in a gut-wrenching vortex,
That somehow spiraled down into a fitful sleep.
He awoke in peace,
His swirling, unbelieving thoughts stopped,
Silenced by an angel-visitation dream:
“Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is
Spirit-conceived…She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph,
will name him Jesus – ‘God saves’ - because He will save his people from their
sins.”*
In the morning light,
Joseph ran to find her,
To hold her in a long embrace,
To apologize for doubting,
To weep with her
For the bright mystery of this shining truth.
Matthew 1:20b, 21 The Message