We are not told how Joseph found out his fiancé was pregnant. It might have been that Mary told him. It might have been from a friend after Mary had gone to visit Elizabeth. How he found out is not the important point. The important point was his reaction. Joseph's first reaction was that he did not want to make it more difficult for Mary that it had to be. Because engagement was seen as the same as marriage, and could only be broken by a decree of divorce, he thought this to be the most honorable.
To Joseph's credit he believed the angel that appeared to him in a dream. Dr. Oswald C. J. Hoffmann, long-time speaker on The Lutheran Hour, called that one of the greatest miracles of Christ. Joseph believed the angel and became for Mary what she needed.
Faith remains one of the great gifts of Advent. We do not pretend to understand everything revealed to us through the Holy Scriptures. What we do believe is that it was announced to Mary and to Joseph that Mary was going to have a baby, and that this baby would be the Savior of the world!
THE PRAYER: O heavenly Father, grant us great Advent faith in what was revealed to Mary, to Joseph, and to us, that our Savior was born to a virgin named Mary. Amen.
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