The Suspicion Theory

glittery-snowflake

This December, a series of daily Advent, devotional postings is running from December 1st to December 25th. Journey beside Mary, the Mother of God, as she waits for the birth of Jesus.

Scripture: “Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19).

Quote of the Day: “People hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is they love more than the truth. They love truth when it shines warmly upon them and hate it when it rebukes them”
(St. Augustine of Hippo).

Song Suggestions:
“Voice of Truth,” by Casting Crowns
“You Can Have Me,” by Sidewalk Prophets

Questions: Do I acknowledge God in my life? Do I ignore Him? Do I trust Him even when others disappoint me?


MIND

First of all, as a quick explanation and some historical context, betrothal, and marriage at the time of Mary and Joseph was very different than it is today. Betrothal was a period in which a man and woman did not live under the same roof, but they were already promised to each other and bound—in their context, they were “married.” The bride would enter the groom’s home about a year after their betrothal, thus officiating the marriage.

In this meditation, we are witnessing Mary and Joseph’s interaction in Nazareth during their betrothal period. Mary “belongs” to Joseph as his wife, but she has not yet entered his house. Furthermore, early Church tradition claims that Mary was always intended to be a virgin and that even when married to Joseph, she was not intended to have relations with him. Now, remember this is just an imaginary meditation and there are no concrete facts here—just the inspiration of Scripture and what we can gather historically and traditionally.

So, let’s go back to Nazareth. The Lord’s will has clearly been revealed to Mary. She, a virgin, is to be the mother of the Savior of the world. Mary is pregnant with Jesus! But she is betrothed to a man named Joseph, and in a few months will move into his home as his wife. Mary, as an honest woman, tells Joseph the truth. What is Joseph’s reaction? Biblical scholars suggest many different motives for Joseph’s wish to “divorce” Mary. Let us imagine one possible conversation Mary could have had with Joseph. We will base it off of what Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch call the “Suspicion Theory” (Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament; Second Catholic Editions RSV Notes pg. 8).

“You are telling me you are with child?” Joseph throws his hands in the air, staring at Mary. Thin as usual, Mary does not appear pregnant.

Mary nods her head calmly. “Yes, but as I said, I have had no relations with a man. I have conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Joseph gives a humorless laugh. He rubs his jaw and shakes his head. “Mary…” he groans, “What am I to do? I thought I was marrying a pure, chaste virgin!”

“You are betrothed to one. I tell you, in the name of the Lord, I am a virgin.” Mary speaks distinctly and sincerely. Her voice is soft but clear and confident.

“A virgin cannot be with child!” Joseph raises his voice. He does not mean to frighten her, but he is a righteous man! Has this woman truly committed adultery? He never would have suspected such a thing from her!

“I too have questioned this,” Mary says, taking a step forward, “but the angel told me nothing shall be impossible for God.”

Joseph puts both of his hands on his head. “Angels…you are seeing visions of angels, Mary? How can you claim such a thing? That your sin is actually a miracle from God?”

“I tell you, it is true, Joseph.” Mary’s eyes plead with sincerity. “We have been chosen by God and must not be afraid. We are to be the parents of Emmanuel.”

“We?” Joseph’s eyes narrow. “No! You may go and…and have this…child—whoever’s it is.” He backs away from Mary. “But this…this marriage…is finished.”

(Scripture Inspiration and Reference: Matthew 1:18-19; Luke 1:26-38)

HEART

Just think of Mary’s great sorrow and confusion. She knew that the Lord spoke to her, yet Joseph in this scenario does not believe her. Mary knows that the Holy God dwells in her, but Joseph suspects that she has committed a grievous sin against holiness.

Does this not happen to us as well? When God speaks to us and reveals a part of His will to us, we may be filled with joy and eagerly tell others about God’s work. Yet, the response we get from others can be disheartening. Though we see the amazing work of God, others may brush it off or find our joy annoying. They may not take us seriously or assume the opposite of what we claim. Yet, just because Joseph tells her that she has sinned, does not mean Mary takes that to heart and believes it as well. Let us stand firm with Mary and hold what God reveals to us in prayer. Do not let a disbelief or lack of encouragement from others hold us back from doing the Lord’s will.

Now, does it not also happen when we are like Joseph? When the Lord speaks to us and we suspect it is not God? In our meditation, God spoke to Joseph through Mary, but Joseph did not recognize God’s voice. In our own lives, we also can suspect that God’s voice is not actually His voice. We can doubt what the Scriptures say because it makes us uneasy. We can ignore a friend’s advice because we don’t like the sound of it or it’s hard to do. We can self-sabotage ourselves when good things happen to us and say, “this can’t be real,” or “this is too good to be true. I don’t deserve it.”

As we wait, let us take Mary’s disposition of heart. Let us be ready and acknowledge that God’s methods may not be accepted by all people. Let us also be ready and acknowledge where we ourselves are not accepting God’s methods. When we wait, we do not want to “miss” the Lord passing us by. Contrary to Joseph in this scenario, we must be ready for the Lord to come to us, no matter how or when He comes. It is one thing to wait, and another to totally miss what we are waiting for.

SOUL

Come, Lord Jesus, come. Lord, help me to believe and persevere in Your way, even when I am believing the ridiculous and the impossible. When doubtful thoughts or other people’s negative reactions come, please help me to hold true to You and Your Word. Yet, also grant me the humility and meekness to recognize Your voice, even if I am suspicious. Grant me discernment to hold true to Truth, flee from falsehood, and encounter You where and when I least expect it.

Mother, model of patience, trust, discernment, wisdom, humility, and understanding, grant me the grace to recognize the Lord’s voice and to cling to Him when He comes to me.

Mary, teach me how to wait.

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2 thoughts on “The Suspicion Theory”

  1. Hahn and Mitch showed that the suspicion theory does not fit the evidence, so this exercise is not just speculative but fanciful and disrespectful if not outright blasphemous. St Joseph thought he was marrying a woman dedicated for life as a Temple virgin as her protector. Now he finds that God has miraculously made her pregnant with the Messiah all Israel had longed for. He felt he should divorce her because he was not worthy to be the foster father of the Son of God and didn’t see where he himself fitted into God’s plan, until He revealed it.

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