{"id":125811,"date":"2024-01-03T07:30:20","date_gmt":"2024-01-03T12:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=125811"},"modified":"2024-01-03T04:26:39","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T09:26:39","slug":"tim-keller-on-the-challenge-to-mary-and-joseph-at-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=125811","title":{"rendered":"Tim Keller on the Challenge to Mary and Joseph at Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

So what did it mean for Joseph and Mary to accept the Word of the Lord, to say, \u201cWe embrace the call to receive this child. We will accept whatever comes with it\u201d? What did it take for them to literally have \u201cGod with us\u201d in their midst (Matthew 1:23)? What does it take to be with him? This text\u2019s answer is courage. And a willingness to do his will, no matter what.<\/p>\n

When the angel said to Joseph, \u201cMarry her,\u201d he was saying, \u201cIf Jesus comes into your life, you are going to be rejected. You will have to kiss your stellar reputation good-bye.\u201d And he married her. Surely some of Joseph\u2019s friends said, \u201cWhy in the world did you marry her? Either you did that or she was unfaithful to you.\u201d Can you imagine Joseph trying to tell them the truth? \u201cOh, I can explain. She is pregnant through the Holy Spirit. We learned all about it from the angels.\u201d The truth wasn\u2019t something his friends would understand, and therefore he knew they would always think ill of him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

–Tim Keller, Encounters with Jesus<\/b> (New York: Penguin Books, 2013) pp. 202-203<\/p>\n

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For the second day of Christmas… \u201cNativity\u201d (c. 1490), St. Martin\u2019s Cathedral, Bratislava, Slovakia @SlovakArt<\/a> #Christmas<\/a> #nativity<\/a> #CatholicTwitter<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/HJiiPmG3bj<\/a><\/p>\n

— Lady of Good Counsel (@ofgoodcounsel) December 26, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n