The Christmas Story Uncut
Read:
Introduction
Part One - The Census
Part Two - The Plan
Part Three - The Journey
Part Four - The Rejection
Part Five - The Angels
Part Six - The Manger
Part Seven - The Shepherds
Part Eight - The Question
Part Two:
The Plan
Two days after Joseph spoke with Isaac, he caught Mary's eye outside her parents' house. He gave her "the look," and she nodded to let him know that she understood they were to meet at the usual place and time.
Just as the sun was going down, Joseph made his way to a small grove of ancient olive trees on the edge of town and not far from Mary's home. He loved this place. The trees kept their silence, as always. Their twisted trunks and sagging branches seemed to lend him their dignity and peace. He laid a hand on the rough bark of one of the oldest trees and thought about all that had happened.
This was where he first saw Mary, about a year earlier. He was passing by when, ever appreciative of good wood, he stopped to look at the trees. Mary chanced upon him, startling them both. They nodded politely and went their separate ways, but Joseph had not been able to get her out of his mind.
Later they met formally at the town well. "Well meetings" were very biblical and traditional, and it made Joseph feel good to get things started in such a proper fashion. Of course he had orchestrated the whole thing. He found out when Mary was going to be at the well, then he showed up claiming he was there to "water his friend's donkey."
A simple courtship followed, then an engagement agreement was made with her father. After that, they met occasionally in the olive grove to talk and once even to embrace, though such a thing was a little forward and even now made Joseph blush to think of it.
And then everything had taken an unexpected turn. One day Mary looked at him, and he understood that he should meet her at the grove that evening. She was already there when he arrived, looking quite frantic. She fell at his feet and begged his forgiveness, telling him about a baby and a mysterious visit from an angel. He stormed off in anger, planning to call off the engagement, only to return a few days later and fall at HER feet with his own crazy story to tell.
She saw an angel who told her the child inside her was God's own little boy. He had a dream where an angel told him to believe her and to marry her anyway. They were the only two people who knew of these visions, and everyone else thought they were out of their minds.
Things had been especially hard on Mary. Some people called her a whore, and her parents had even shut her out of the house one evening. That night she stayed in Joseph's shed with his tools and his wood. While she slept he whittled her a tiny angel to help her be strong and believe. She loved the little angel and kept it with her always.
Now, standing in that same olive grove, Joseph shook his head and wondered what he was getting himself into. Then he saw Mary approaching through the trees with a small lamp in her hand. She looked agitated.
"Joseph, have you heard about the census? You're going to have to go to Bethlehem, aren't you? And right when the baby is due. I'm scared to be here without you. I…I don't know what my parents will do. What if something terrible happens to me before you come back?"
She looked away for a moment, biting her lip, then pulled her eyes back to meet his.
"You ARE coming back for me, right? You do still believe in your dream, don't you?
Joseph smiled and held out his arms for her. "Of course I believe in the dream. Am I not named for the greatest dreamer of all, the one whose dreams and visions led our people to Egypt? I've always believed in dreams. This is how God speaks to people in important times."
Mary rushed to him and melted into his chest. They were unashamed of embracing now, though such a thing was frowned upon. Social and religious customs seemed weak and silly in light of what they were facing.
And they were facing a lot. Crazy dreams and visits from angels had convinced them that the baby boy she carried inside her had a very important part to play in God's plan. They understood that they should stand together as his parents, even if that meant standing against their own religious tradition.
And so Joseph stood with Mary in the olive grove and told her his plan.
Mary would come to Bethlehem with him, in spite of the fact that she would be near the end of her pregnancy by the time they could leave. It was crazy, he knew, but he thought they could pull it off. They would take six or seven days for the journey instead of the usual four. They would cut straight through Samaria to save time, walking slowly and making their way from village to village.
When they got to Bethlehem, Joseph's family would take care of them. His parents lived there, as did a couple of brothers and some extended family. They would assume that Joseph had gotten Mary pregnant before their marriage. They would be disappointed, but such things happened from time to time. If they assured his family that they planned to be married as soon as possible, they would be accepted after some scolding and a lecture or two.
Mary was stunned. The idea that she would bear her first child away from her mother and the familiar women of the village was very frightening. "I don't know, Joseph. It's very scary. Are you sure we're going to be okay?"
Joseph was not a man to make foolish promises. He exhaled loudly and told the truth.
"No Mary, I'm not certain we'll be okay. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure of anything anymore. We're in uncharted territory, and I've lost sight of all the familiar paths. We've left religion itself behind, you might say. It's not like the Torah is going to show us the way, exactly."
He looked thoughtful, and they were both silent for a moment. Then he spoke again.
"Although, I do seem to recall that some of the greatest women of our faith often found themselves in, uh, shall we say, 'interesting' predicaments. I mean, there was Rahab, who…well, you know. And Lot's daughters - oh my God! And there was Ruth; don't forget Ruth. She and Boaz…well… and she was a gentile! And Rahab too, uh, was a gentile. And what about Queen Esther? She didn't exactly live the life of an innocent Jewish girl, and yet God used her to save our people. None of these women were exactly pure in the eyes of their neighbors, if you know what I mean."
Joseph's eyes began to sparkle with excitement. He looked at Mary in a new way.
"Mary, did your father ever sing to you before the Sabbath? Did he ever sing, 'May you be like Ruth and like Esther?'"
Mary's smile lit up her face. "Yes," she said.
"Okay then, you ARE like Ruth and like Esther. To me you are, anyway. Maybe we only have God on our side, but that's enough, isn't it?"
"As I see it, the only path the Lord seems to have left for us is taking us right to Bethlehem."
rlp
Click here to read about Rahab, Lots daughters, Ruth, and Esther
Click here to read part three
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