Dear one,
Last week I reflected with you some uncertainty regarding Romania; however, not long after my writing to you, I received an invitation to return to Romania, not only in the spring of 2019 but also in the fall. The spring invitation had been proffered several months ago: to encourage pastors, mostly from the southern portions of Romania, at Sinaia, located in the Carpathians. This fall invitation also means encouragement, but for pastors mostly from the western and northern portions of Romania. The site for this gathering might well be Alpinis, a retreat center also in the Carpathians. For both opportunities I am thankful and excited, even though the details are uncertain.
Given this lack of certainty, and given our present season, I have had pause for thought: I wonder, with what uncertainty did Joseph and Mary live? Apart from Mary’s pregnancy, what did they know? Likewise, what did they take with them: blankets, bedrolls, food? O’ yes, Rome had decreed, Caesar had spoken, but then what? Did they have family in Bethlehem—distant relatives who might help?
I also wonder: How did they travel—no doubt by foot, and even Mary? I don’t mean to be a skeptic, but donkeys were signs of wealth, and Joseph and Mary were surely impoverished—in some regards homeless. Our annual depiction of Mary seated upon a donkey might not be accurate; but if so, might someone with means have gifted them with such an animal? Uncertainty.
Given what I don’t know, given what they didn’t know, Luke’s Account (chapter 2:1-7) and Matthew’s Account (chapter 1:18-25) leave no uncertainty: this young couple obeyed. Admittedly, a cynic might counter: “What choice did they have? To refuse might have meant courting Roman brutality; and besides, leaving Nazareth might have meant the escape from ugly gossip.” Perhaps this cynicism bears some truth, but the greater truth, I think, was their willingness to trust:
“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. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew. 1:20-21);
or: “"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
They lived with uncertainties far greater than mine, and they said “yes.”
Amen,
Stan