Willing Vessels
The day was bright and the air was fresh, as Mary walked the familiar path to gather wood for the evening meal. With her mind distracted by her task, she did not see the man approach, and was startled when the snap of a twig catch her attention over her shoulder.
“Hail, O favored one.” The stranger spoke, as Mary’s eyes locked on his face. “The Lord is with you! Blessed are you before all other women!”
She was extremely troubled, for this man was unfamiliar to her. “How does he know me?” she thought to herself, “And why is he calling me ‘favored one’?. Confusion began to clouded over her.
As she pondered all of these thoughts in her mind, she could not help but believe the one who stood before her was more than a human stranger. There was something supernatural about his appearance and manner of speech, which made her believe she was in the presence of someone or something she had never experienced prior in her life. The unknown caused fear to well up within her heart, and her eyes darted around looking for an escape route. As if reading her thoughts, the man spoke again.
“Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found grace with God. Listen! You will become pregnant and will give birth to a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His forefather David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob throughout the ages; and of His reign there will be no end.”
“Pregnant?” Her heart began to pound hard within her chest as she repeated the word in her head. She was suddenly convinced and knew without a doubt, this was an angel sent by God. Finding her courage and voice, she spoke.
“How can this be, since I have no husband?”
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will over-shadow you, and so the holy Offspring which shall be born of you, will be called the Son of God. And listen! Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is now the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing is ever impossible, and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.”
Mary was suddenly transported back in her mind, to when she was a toddler, listening to the magnificent stories told by her father of their ancestors. With the fire blazing warm and inviting, she would sit by his feet and soak in the wonders of father Abraham, and his great faith to go where God instructed, not fully knowing the outcome. Next would come the strength and courage of Moses, as the Lord used him to set her people free from slavery in Egypt.
She always loved the parting of the Red Sea, for her father was a grand story teller, and no matter how many times she heard about the manna from heaven, her eyes would grow wide with wonder at the provision of Yahweh. Then the words of her papa, rang deep within her. “Remember, my little Mary, the great prophet Isaiah tells us a Child will be born, and Israel will be given a Son from the house of David. The Messiah! So, we must keep God’s law, and be ready for His coming.”
Was she, this simple girl from Nazareth, going to be one of the great heroes of her people? Would there be stories told of her one day? Her heart could barely contain such mercy and love from the Lord. Looking at the face of the angel, then bowing her head down low, Mary replied,
“Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord. Let it be done to me, according to what you have said.”
When she lifted her eyes again, the angel was gone. She looked around quickly, but he was no where to be found. Was this all a dream? Had she imagined the events? A warm breeze blew across her face and lifted the hem of her tunic slightly. Stillness surrounded her, and she replayed every word the angel had spoken over and over again in her mind and heart.
She did not fully understand, part of her was scared for what the journey ahead would mean, but she was ready to be used by God.
Joseph could hardly keep his mind on his work from the excitement of seeing Mary again. She had been gone several months, visiting her cousin Elizabeth, but she was due to return to Nazareth any moment now.
It would not be much longer before he would be able to take her fully as his wife. He was pleased with his choice. She was not only beautiful, but was a virtuous woman from a respectable family. His carpentry work was gaining notoriety, and he just knew his small business would grow enough to serve his new family well. Yahweh was blessing him, and he was deeply grateful.
He was interrupted in his thoughts from shouts and excitement coming from further down the street. Looking up, he could see the caravan from Judah coming into town. The pace of his heart quickened, and he strained to see his fiancée. Finally his eyes spotted her, and a broad smile broke out over his face, but as they approached closer, there was something within her countenance that troubled him, and he wasn’t sure why.
Loaded with her large traveling bag, Mary walked slowly toward her parent’s home. Joseph ran to her quickly to offer aid and give his warmest greeting.
“Here, let me help you with that.” he said as he grabbed her bag.
She smiled briefly and handed him her possessions, thanking him softly.
“I’m so glad you have returned. How was your journey?” he asked.
She replied it was long and hot, but she had a wonderful visit with her family. Joseph scanned her face. It looked to him she had put on some weight. “Well, no worries,” he thought, “I’m sure Elizabeth feed her well, and she is still lovely.” Her quietness; however, troubled him, as they walked toward her residence.
“Joseph,” she said, barely above a whisper. “There is something I must share with you.”
He stood there frozen, staring with eyes full of mixed emotions as Mary told him she was pregnant. Feelings swung between sadness and rage, then back to disappointment and sorrow. How could this be? Did she really expect him to believe an angel of God visited her, and she had not laid with any man? He knew he was just a simple carpenter, but he was not stupid, nor did he appreciate a deceptive tongue.
He saw her the rest of the way home in silence, lead her to the front door, bowed and turned, walking away with steps so heavy they felt like lead. He was sick to his stomach, and did not know what he should do. He knew the law. He knew his rights. He could humiliate her in front of the whole village, drag her into the street, declare her sin to everyone and demand she be stoned. Adulterer. He just could not wrap his thoughts around that word. Everything he thought he knew about this woman evaporated in a moment, and he knew his world would never be the same.
His dinner was getting cold, as he sat at his table staring at the wall in front of him, but seeing nothing. He was too deep into thoughts to eat. At last, he resolved to quietly and privately repudiate her, so as not to shame her publicly. Despite his anger and broken heart, he cared deeply for her.
Laying down for the evening, he desperately searched for sleep, but was unable to locate the peaceful reprieve a night’s slumber would offer. “God, how could this have happened to me?” he thought, as he finally drifted off to rest in the wee hours of the morning.
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and spoke. “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. All this took place, that it might be fulfilled which the Lord had spoken through the prophet, ‘Behold, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel- which, when translated, means, God with us.’”
Joseph bolted up from his bed, shaking the last fragments of sleep from his mind. Mary had told him an angel had visited her, and now an angel had visited him as well. How is this possible?
“The virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a Son” Joseph replayed the line again in his head.
“Wait!”, he thought. “I know that story. I remember it as a boy in the synagogue during bible class. That prophecy is from the scroll of Isaiah.”
Letting the truth sink into his heart, wonder overcame him. God had not deserted him after all. Actually, He was offering Joseph the miraculous. The heavy weight that had been sitting on his chest all day, began to lift off. Maybe things would work out after all.
He did not fully understand, part of him was scared for what the journey ahead would mean, but he was ready to be used by God.
What about you, dear friends?
You may not fully understand, and maybe part of you is scared for what the journey ahead will mean, but are you ready to be used by God? Are you a willing vessel?