P ♰ C

~ Jean Allen

Just like us, Mary and Joseph had their life plans. And, just like what often happens to us, their plans were disturbingly upended and they were thrown into a set of confusing circumstances that called for stark faith that God was in control. Sure, it’s great to have a name for the baby but WHAT ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE??

Just like us, Mary and Joseph were called to walk in that stark faith by taking one day, one step and one moment at a time. As we are doing right now, they had to wait for the arrival of Jesus, knowing that at the same time Jesus was already with them. All Mary and Joseph could do in the midst of uncertainty was trust and wait day by day and moment by moment. And that’s all we can do. 

We tend to think that Mary and Joseph didn’t have to struggle like we do with anxious thoughts about uncertain situations. We think that they never privately asked themselves if what they had heard and experienced was really true because it all seemed so bizarre. We struggle and have doubts in our secret hearts about difficult situations and feel less than holy because real holy people don’t struggle the way we do.

I think that if you could talk to Mary and Joseph right now, they would disabuse you of the notion that holiness means being perfect, never doubting and never fearing what’s coming. Holiness doesn’t mean perfection; holiness means consecration. A cracked cup consecrated to hold the body of Christ is holy, not because of its perfection but because of its contents. Mary and Joseph were consecrated to God and assented to the contents of their lives completely changing from the contents they had always assumed would be theirs into the contents that God desired them to hold. God didn’t choose them for their perfection but for their willingness.

So, “Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in.” (Leonard Cohen)