What are You Doing, Joseph? Mary's on the Verge of Childbirth!

What are you doing, Joseph? Don’t you know that Mary’s great with child? Have you ever wondered what in the world Joseph was thinking as he loaded his very pregnant wife on a donkey and traveled to Bethlehem?

What are You Doing?

What are you doing, Joseph? Loading your
pregnant wife onto a small donkey at this
stage in her pregnancy.

Don’t you realize pregnant women
shouldn’t ride donkeys and travel when
their time has come?

What are you doing, Joseph? You knew about the
census and how fast a donkey could walk
ninety miles to Bethlehem.

Don’t you realize that Mary can’t
travel as fast? Bathroom breaks, an aching back, and
sudden cravings will slow the journey.

What are you doing, Joseph? Had you no
friends you could send ahead to bespeak a
room in an inn?

Don’t you realize Mary will have used up all her
strength balancing her cumbersome body atop the
narrow back of a small donkey.

What are you doing, Joseph? Did you think a
midwife would come to a smelly stable in the
dead of night to guide you through the birth?

Don’t you realize that birth brings
pain and travail before it brings new life? Do
you even know how to cut the cord?

What are you doing, Joseph? As you
stare into squinty eyes set in a
bloodied, crumpled face.

Do you realize you hold the Son of
God in your trembling hands?
Immanuel, God with us. God with you.

What are you doing, Joseph?

Journey to Bethlehem

I can’t help but wonder Joseph’s take on the birth of Jesus. Did husbands regularly help their wives through childbirth? What prompted him to set out for Bethlehem so late in Mary’s pregnancy?

Had Joseph really reconciled himself to marrying a pregnant woman—even if both Mary and an angel had assured him that the child was Immanuel, Jesus, the Son of God? Did Joseph’s faith grow as each encounter with shepherds, wise men, and prophets confirmed the babe’s identity?

And you. What are you doing with the story of the birth of Jesus? Does it fill you with awe and wonder? Do you pause and breathe in salvation’s story when you see the lights and stars? Does Immanuel, the assurance of God with us, fortify you each new day?

Go beyond the manger scene, the story of the birth, and explore what Immanuel means for your everyday life.

What are YOU doing with the story? #fmfparty #Christmas Click To Tweet

8 Comments

Thanks,
Always enjoy your posts. I’m fascinated by Joseph. When playing the game of what any 3 people you would like to have dinner with, I always say Joseph. As a dad, I can’t help but wonder all that went through his mind as he watched the Messiah being born and growing up. He was absolutely an amazing and godly man but we know so little of him. That’s why I would love to just sit and talk to him about his experiences

And, do you know that not once does the Gospel story say she rode on a donkey!!! Most likely, she walked. Not sure which would be worse! xo
Susan Shipe recently posted…Five Minute Friday: BIRTH

What? You’re really giving BIRTH?
Holy Mother, sacre bleu!
Tell me, please, what on Earth
can I, should I, must I do?
Now you say that you can’t wait
a little while, ’till midwife’s here?
Oh, this is the cruelest fate
and I really need a beer.
If, oh, if you were a car
I could swap your engine out…
…what you just said, that’s gone too far,
and dear, there is no need to shout.
I guess I’ll have to help…oh, ICK…
hey, now, put away that brick!
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser recently posted…Your Dying Spouse 712 – A Christmas Gift {Five Minute Friday}

I’ve thought about these kind of questions a lot. I don’t think Jewish law normally permitted men to be present at a birth. But perhaps these were special circumstances. (I’ve been doing research on this topic because in a first century historic fiction piece a brother assists in the delivery of his older sister’s first child. We’ve had a hearty debate as a group about whether this would be likely or even permitted.)
I’ve often thought about Mary and Joseph traveling all of those miles. I’ve thought about when God asks me to do things that are uncomfortable or inconvenient, do I make the journey anyway?