A stigma to embrace

Since it is almost Christmas, I have been thinking a lot about the predicament Mary found herself in after she, without skipping a beat, accepted to play the role of the Mother of our Lord. I imagine how she broke the news to Joseph and how he may have initially responded. 

The Christmas story reveals that he acted as a man who knew the rules of his faith, but that he did not want to follow them to the letter. Instead of having Mary stoned to death for being unfaithful as the law required, he chose to quietly divorce her before the town found out what was going on. 

Fortunately, since he would play a key role in the plan of salvation, the Angel of God explained to him his beloved’s new role. He became convinced that she was carrying the Lord. The two married and he became the earthly father and protector of the baby Jesus. Good man.

Surely the town found out about this development and tongues began to wag about this “hussy” and that “illegitimate” pregnancy. She, Joseph, and all the family were probably looked down upon by those who enjoyed the feeling of superiority when “sharing” with others this “sad” news. 

“Oh, those poor, poor, parents.  How they must feel having spent all their years trying to raise a good girl, and now look at her.”   “Tisk, tisk, it’s such a shame, and blah, blah, blah...”

Because scripture says that Mary pondered everything in her heart, I believe she never told anyone, except her family, about the angelic visitation, or the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, or all the miraculous events thereafter. She kept all to herself at the cost of losing her reputation and maybe some of her family and friends. 

I bet the stigma of this pregnancy was attached to her her whole life.  And I bet when Jesus took his ministry to his hometown, thirty years later, a lot of that stigma found its voice and judgement and fueled the townspeople with desire to push him off the cliff outside of town after he made the audacious comparison between them and two Gentiles of the Written Torah whom God favored. Luke 4: 21-30 

Even though Mary knew that she would be treated most unfairly, looked down upon, and become the gossip of the town for years to come, she did not hesitate to accept the Lord’s plan for her life.  Let us do the same.