Matthew 1:18-25
There are passages within the bible which show to me the true meaning of love. I have my favorites, such as when Abraham asks the Hittites for a small cave to bury his recently deceased wife and they give him all the land surrounding it (Genesis 23). Also, when Naomi tells the wives of her recently deceased sons to return home because there is nothing she can offer them, her own husband also deceased, and Ruth refuses her request, deciding to remain with Naomi instead (Ruth 1).
Then there's today's passage. Joseph, having found out that Mary is pregnant, decides to release his future wife quietly so as not to bring attention to her situation. You see, in those days as long as the woman wasn't accused of adultery, there was no sin. What Joseph had decided to do was meant to save her life. The story goes on to tell us that an angel changes Joseph's heart, choosing instead to take Mary as his wife, further ensuring that no harm would come to her as well as providing a family for the soon-to-be-born Christ-child.
Each of these stories has one thing in common - sacrifice. It took every bit of Abraham's being to ask for something that he had no right to ask for, according to the laws of his day. It took even more for the owner of that cave, and the people of that land, to give Abraham a place to bury his wife. Ruth agreed to live a life of poverty and shame, because that's what the laws of her day would have provided her, in order for her mother-in-law to not go through that same shame alone.
My guess is that it took the release of every ounce of pride for Joseph to agree to take Mary as his wife, knowing that the people of his village and the surrounding towns would shy away from them the rest of their lives.
Self-sacrifice is the thing love is made of. Christians believe that God gave the world God's son; a sacrifice. Moses knew that he wasn't going to enter into the promised land and lead the people there anyway; another sacrifice. Jesus goes to the cross, not once complaining about the mistreatment he's receiving and instead praying for those around him; more sacrifice.
Love is just that - a willingness to give of yourself for no other reason than to make another's life better. When we sit with a homeless family and take interest in their children, even though we have a lot of work to do, that is love. When we reach into our pockets and place the loose change into a donation kettle, knowing the balance of our bank account is reaching zero, that's love. When we take the coat off our back to give to someone sitting at the bus stop because it's obvious they don't have a place to live or warm clothes in their bags, that is love.
Love takes sacrifice, the same sacrifice that is modeled for us time and time again in the stories of the bible. I guess the only question left is, what can I sacrifice in this Advent time?
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