Matthew 1:18-19

“Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.” vs. 19

We love hearing birth stories and generally are not surprised that there are almost always at least two varying accounts, one from the perspective of the mother, and the other from the father. Both Matthew and Luke decided to include a birth narrative in their respective gospels but picked stories that have significant differences. In Luke’s account Mary is the central figure, has all the good lines, and gets a visit from an angel. In Matthew’s, little is said about Mary and Joseph is the star, the one who gets the angel visitations. Of course some of us wonder about those differences and many make the mistake of conflating the stories. (That’s how we end up with manger scenes that include figures of three wise men.) The problem is that focusing on differences leads us away from the truth. We’ll never know whether Matthew or Luke got it right…that’s just how it is with birth stories. Matthew wants us to know that Jesus didn’t arrive out of the blue like some demi-god or angel. He was fully human and had a family that stretched through Joseph all the way back to Abraham. The good news is that we are a part of that faith family and share in the fulfilled promises. We too, as brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of Abraham, are blessed to be a blessing.

Thought for the day: What stories have I heard about my birth?