that the baby would be born very soon now because she had been having pains off and on ever since about noon. But she was feeling fine otherwise.
It was after midnight when Mary woke Joseph. “You had better get the midwife,” she told him. “I think it is time.” Joseph scrambled into his sandals, and checking Mary one more time, he set off for the house of the midwife. He was glad he had checked with her earlier that day. She would be expecting him to call.
When he got to her house he pounded on her door. It seemed like hours before she answered. He was greeted by the sleepy woman who recognized him. “Oh, it’s you already,” she said.
“Yes,” replied Joseph. “It’s time. Please hurry.”
“New fathers are always in a hurry,” she smiled, “but the baby always comes in its own time. I’ll get my things.”
When Joseph led her to the stable, she seemed a bit surprised but didn’t say anything. She watched Mary for a while occasionally poking and prodding. The she turned to joseph and said, “The baby is very near. I want you to go outside and see that no one disturbs us.” Now she was aware that the likelihood of anyone coming into the stable at that time of night was extremely rare, but the last thing she needed was an anxious husband peering over her shoulder and getting underfoot.
The time seemed to drag by for Joseph as he kept his lonely vigil outside the stable. He had plenty of time to think. He couldn’t help feeling that somehow, he had let Mary down. Bringing her all the way from Nazareth with the baby so close. And when they got here the best place, he could find for them to stay was an old stable. It wasn’t a very likely place for the Son of God to be born.
Perhaps they had been wrong. Maybe their baby was not the Messiah after all. Surely God would not send his chosen one into the world from such a place. But what about his dream and Mary’s vision? Could they have imagined them? His mind was a whorl of doubts and fears. But mostly his thoughts were of Mary and of the ordeal she must be going through. He prayed to God that she would be all right.
After what seemed like an eternity Joseph was startled by the cry of a baby, his baby! He could wait no longer and rushed into the stable. He was met by the midwife who had a strange expression on her face. “Just a few more minutes,” she said. “Then you can go to her. You have a fine healthy son.”
When he was finally allowed to go in, Joseph found Mary sitting up holding their child. He thought that he had never seen Mary look so radiantly beautiful. “Are you all right,” he asked?
“Yes,” she said. “Isn’t he wonderful?” She pulled back the coverings so Joseph could see. He was indeed a beautiful baby, perhaps the most beautiful that Joseph had ever seen. Even allowing for the fatherly pride that swelled within his breast, Joseph knew that this was a special child. He had the sweet and compelling look of the newborn, but there was something more. It was a kind of radiance that surrounded him which was felt more than it was seen. Joseph thought that maybe he was seeing more than was actually there because he was the father, but a look at the midwife told him that she felt it too. As she packed her bundle and prepared to leave, she could not take her eyes from the child. She even refused to take the money Joseph offered her as payment for her service.
Unity Lodge No. 146 