Yesterday's Lenten reflection, which I didn't think to write until today, is on the Annunciation, when the archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would be bearing the Son of God. Think about what God was asking of her: she lived in a culture where an unmarried woman could be stoned for turning up pregnant, so her saying Yes to Gabriel's message wasn't a foregone conclusion at all but an incredibly brave act of agreeing to do God's will, no matter the cost. Mary was willing to risk her life because she believed it was more important to do what God asked of her than to play it safe. This is no exaggeration; even today in the Middle East, women are routinely killed for getting pregnant outside of marriage or even for being raped.
In the Gospel it says Joseph was a righteous man, which meant he could not take an impure woman as his wife, but he was also merciful so he planned to divorce Mary quietly. In a way, he was agreeing to take some of her perceived shame upon himself, since everyone would assume the child was his. We often think of Mary and Joseph as extraordinary people who didn't have second thoughts about doing what God asked of them, but they were humans like us and must have had their doubts and fears. We should remember that when we think of Mary's fiat, that she was risking more than a little embarrassment when she agreed to bear Jesus.
Famous Hat
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