Thoughts for the Day

Luke 1:39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea…

Encouraged by the angel, Mary set off to visit Elizabeth.  This was a journey of around 80-100 miles taking maybe a week’s walking, less if she could join a caravan.  We are not told exactly when she set off, but Luke’s details suggest within one or two months of Gabriel’s visit.  It also seems likely that she would have shared the whole thing with Joseph before she left rather than surprise him on her return.  Which leads me to wonder how that conversation unfolded.  Matthew records that Mary “was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit”, yet, if this timeline is correct, there may have been no physical evidence at the time they spoke.  How did Joseph respond in the moment?  I can easily imagine him encouraging her to go away and give him some thinking space, which wouldn’t be inconsistent with Matthew’s narrative about Joseph and his vision.  There we learn that Joseph was both righteous and compassionate.  The former told him it was just (right under the law) to divorce Mary, the latter led him to plan to do so quietly without exposing her to disgrace.  Justice and mercy.  It’s easy to imagine him lying on his bed lamenting his situation before God, and we would not blame him for indulging in some self-pity.  But through a dream God tells him the situation is not what he thinks and lifts the veil a little on His ways and purposes.  And Joseph listens, does as he is commanded and marries Mary … which tells us something more about the character of the family of God’s choosing for the parenting of His Son. Righteous, compassionate, open to God’s revelation and obedient to it … I wonder where those qualities would sit in our list of important character traits for parenting.