Matthew 1:19-20 “Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do 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 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.”

This passage has always intrigued me. We don’t hear much about Joseph in the Bible. I wonder how Mary and Joseph felt deep inside about Mary being pregnant without the help of her soon-to-be husband. What kind of faith does this show from the two of them? A very deep faith, to my eyes.

I often wonder in these moral stories how this might make me feel and how I would respond to such situations: an angel has come to me and told me that my fiancé is pregnant and that he must not only marry her but raise Jesus as his own. How would I, Michael, have responded? I have no clue, especially when factoring in the point of history and social mores of that time in history.

I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic schools through undergrad. I remember, especially in grade school, I asked the nuns many questions about morality, scripture, dogma, etc. I wanted concrete answers but was never given them. Fr. John Lafferty (pastor) was my spiritual advisor for many years in my life. I would bring these issues to him when I was an altar boy. His answer was for me to keep asking questions and to be inquisitive.

One of the things that I didn’t question was the concept of prophecy and realization. The reason I am talking about my own early spirituality is because I have always thought about how much God loves us that he was willing to send and sacrifice his Son for us. The idea that God sent an angel to talk with both parents of the Savior was a deep, deep show of love.

Michael Monnikendam