Behind the Eight Ball

Personal reflections on Advent: Hope
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 1:46-56

  

Often times when a young couple is first married, they start off a little behind the eight ball. One of the first places that my wife and I lived was a small bungalow. It had a claw bathtub in it, which sounds kind of cool until you took a bath. In order to fit in it, you had to bend your knees in half. Even then, it was a tight fit.

 

And if you wanted to take a shower, you had to go to the basement where someone had Gerry rigged a showerhead. There were no walls; not even a shower curtain. You were down there with the spiders and whatever other little creatures might be watching you. It probably looked like a hopeless start to our marriage.

 

Mary and Joseph started out “behind the eight ball” too. First, Mary became pregnant with an unwanted child before the wedding. On top of that, Joseph wasn’t even the father.

 

The Jewish culture was one of laws and judgement. She could have been stoned to death for such an indiscretion, but instead, Joseph was going to “divorce her quietly”.

 

But then God intervened through the angel Gabriel. He appeared separately to both Joseph and Mary explaining that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. As unbelievable as it sounded, they both trusted the Lord and were obedient. But still they had to start off their life together with this stigma hanging over their heads.

 

Can you imagine what people thought when Mary or Joseph explained that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit? This poor carpenter and his wife? Who were they to be chosen for such a calling? No doubt they were social and religious outcasts, starting their marriage poor and rejected. A life without hope.

 

But listen to Mary’s song of praise in The Magnificat.

 

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
⁴⁷     How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
⁴⁸ For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
    and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
⁴⁹ For the Mighty one is holy,
    and he has done great things for me. NLT

 

That doesn’t sound like someone living behind the eight ball; living without hope. In fact, from a hopeless situation, Mary gave birth to the hope of the world; hope for you and for me.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams