NEVER ALONE

 

DECEMBER 15, 2023

Matthew 1:18b

When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with Child from the Holy Spirit.

For many, there is a focus on Mary’s helplessness. Our text today seems to bear this out. It says she "had been betrothed" to Joseph, meaning that  somebody else did the marriage arrangement for her. Further our reading says she "was found to be with Child", which sounds like someone made an unexpected discovery. And finally, there is the phrase "before they came together", which only emphasizes how alone Mary must have been with what was happening to her body and indeed the impact of her situation on her life.

But wait, she isn't really without help, is she? It seems to me that as awful as things seem to be, God is with her. Mary is carrying Jesus. The Holy Spirit is guiding her, granted she does not yet see the big picture, the how or where or when is still unanswered for her. I admit that this is a difficult situation for this teenager. Through the narrative of Mary’s story, we are drawn to see that God is with her, in what on the surface seems to be a mess.

There is a message and a reminder for us in this, God is with us, too, no matter how terrible or messy our situation is, or how helpless and alone we feel. God has not abandoned us. Our God will not give up on us. God came into the world as a tiny baby to make us His own, to live and to die for us all. Please remember, and never doubt that you matter to God. We matter so much that when Jesus suffered, when Jesus died, when Jesus rose again, he did so out of love so that we might live a new life of joy and freedom.  

Since the Gospel’s show us that God demonstrated his love for us in Jesus, that God is for us, not against us. How about we let go and be still and let God care for us as we see he cared for Mary.