March 20
Thinking back to when I was a child, I like to think that I was a pretty good kid. I never got into (too much) trouble and hopefully never caused too much of it either...I wish I could say the same of myself as a student. I was a mediocre pupil with a passion for comics, art, and music but not too much else. Needless to say, by the time I reached high school, I had received my fair share of letters home and failed tests that needed to be signed. Looking back, I remember that I would try and try to do anything in my power to get out of the consequences but that in the end, in a very strange way, those academic struggles became the basis of my interest in theology - but that's another story altogether.
The gospel reading for today tells us of Joseph's attempts at getting out of his betrothal to Mary due to her rather "unexpected" pregnancy. Life is messy. Life is unexpected. Life for Joseph was no different. But in his struggle to grapple with the prospect of being an unexpected father, Joseph teaches us something very important about the way we look at and analyze our problems. To Joseph, not only was Mary's pregnancy an impossibility but the repercussions for such an event could have resulted in one or both of them being stoned to death! But despite Joseph's attempts to dodge the situation, God urges him to accept his betrothment to Mary because the "fruits" of his struggle would be worth it. During Lent, Christ urges us to look at the hard points and stumbling blocks in our lives and, rather than try to dodge them, to hit them head on because our struggles will yield to better and brighter things! Blessings!
