Reflections on Joseph and Mary

I've posted this late but it was first published on Christmas in Sunday Monitor

My friend Julius posing next to a painting depicting Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus

• Mary was certainly a veritable knockout, the village belle, beautiful beyond measure! Joseph must have cried, "Holy Jesus" the first he saw her! And he was never the same again! That's why he was cool about something that would drive today's man insane. He was cool about Mary carrying a pregnancy that was not his because he was not going to let anything take his Mary away from him. It's called unconditional love!  
• He must have been the coolest guy in his time else he would not have wooed to victory a stunner like Mary! And the coolness of that time was certainly not dependent on the lakeside mansion or the yacht one owned. True swagger back then, at least in Mary's books, was measured by how much time you spent in the prayer closet, if you know what I mean! 
• Don't you think Joseph was ridiculed by his 'messed-up' hommies next door? They must have called him a capon for not trying to get some from a woman as lovely as Mary! But for Joseph, sex was a sacred gift best unwrapped in the arena of marriage. And because he respected that, he set us an example that will never be erased.
• In a world where sex is advertised and fornication the day's obsession, a brother out there must be wondering where he can find a virgin. Take heart, brother; I believe some ladies are following in the footsteps of Mary. They are jealously guarding the precious treasure that virginity is! They don't need plastic surgery; don't have to rock bikinis to receive affirmation from men. Such women believe true beauty is in fearing the Lord, and are keeping themselves for the men God has preserved for them. You can even hear the herald angels giving them a standing ovation!
• Lastly and importantly, for the first time before the dawn of artificial insemination, a virgin gave birth because Mary respected her value system. Jesus became the "new kid on the block" that altered the course of history and humanity. By choosing to walk in the path of sexual purity, Joseph and Mary proved beyond any shadow of doubt that the rewards of waiting; of being a little more patient are far greater; extending into eternity.

Merry Christmas y'all, and Happy New Year.