Emmanuel Mary Joseph and Mystery

Matthew’s Gospel in the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today tells the story of the Birth of Jesus. The challenge for modern readers of this passage is to attempt to rationalize how a virgin gives birth. The “Mystery” of the birth of Jesus is an essential part of the Incarnation “scandal”. The sign of a Messiah includes miraculous birth. Isaiah declares this. The understanding of ‘God is with us’ as the indwelling Divine Presence is an obstacle to Hebrew thought. It is not any easier for the rational Western mind yet the message is to dwell in the Mystery of the Divine desiring to be within, to be born in Creature. This is a place where imagination and art can go but our ego and logic holds us back.