Sacred Season, Peace

Second Week of Advent

Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 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.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

   and they shall name him Emmanuel’,

which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

 

A young, pregnant, and virgin Mary is faced with an impossible challenge: Convincing her family to believe the truth about her sexuality. It’s a struggle that women have faced throughout history. Whether it be unheard claims of sexual assault, unwarranted accusations of adultery, or disenfranchisement over sexual orientation, women are not always believed when they state the truth about their own bodies.

The miracle of the Advent Season is the virgin birth. Christ, begotten by God and born of a woman. It is the cornerstone of many Christian practices and held as gospel truth. But before it was a theological tenet of the largest world religion, it was just a story told by a young woman to her doubtful fiancé.

What peace would Mary have desperately prayed for before she explained to Joseph that she was pregnant, and it wasn’t his. What courage would she have needed to tell her parents, her friends, and her neighbors. A pregnant virgin, possibly the most unbelievable story a woman has ever told about her sexuality. And yet, the truth. For weeks or months Mary would have been alone, desperately clinging on to the inner strength of knowing that she wasn’t lying, that even if no one believed her she was telling the truth.

Her life was crumbling around her, until, miraculously, Joseph woke up one morning and said he believed her. What peace would have flowed through Mary at that moment. Incredible, comforting peace that someone believed her, that she wasn’t alone anymore.

A religion predicated on one woman’s story about her sexuality should believe more women. Believe women who say they are virgins. Believe women who say they are not. Believe women who say they are women. Believe people who say they are not. Extend the peace of being heard to the women of the world. Don’t wait for an angel before you believe what Mary has been saying all along.