Let us pray for the true meaning of Christmas to return

“Eeh! Our Mary is pregnant! And her not married!”

“What will the neighbours say? That Joseph and her who would have thought it?”

I guess you may be smiling at what I’ve just written? Maybe you are shocked?

The thing is, all those things were no doubt said and or thought by family, friends and neighbours, in smalltown Nazareth. What they didn’t know they made up.

Joseph is denying he is the father! It can’t be, he is wanting to divorce Mary ‘quietly’ “So, who is it then?” “Who has Mary been seeing in secret?”

All of Joseph’s doubts disappears when the Archangel Gabriel appears to him and he is told Mary is bearing the Son of God, Jesus.

As if that isn’t enough excitement, news has reached Nazareth that Mary’s elderly relation Elizabeth, too old to get pregnant is having a baby!

“Well I never! What are Elizabeth and Zechariah thinking of, at their age!”

Elizabeth is excited. Like Mary she finds herself lonely, afraid and the subject of gossips. Mary hurries to give her love and support to Elizabeth.

There meeting is joyful and full of expectation. Elizabeth recognises Mary as the God Bearer and even from Elizabeth’s womb her baby leaps for joy as he recognises the long-expected Saviour, Jesus.

Two thousand years later, we The Church, too wait in expectation. Christmas is days away and we will celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Pray in the coming days for the true meaning of Christmas to return to us.