Gospel for the Day: Our God Who is Hard to Accept

One of the possible Gospels for the day is about Joseph who plans to quietly divorce Mary after discovering that she is pregnant. The angel appears to Joseph in a dream and commands him to accept Mary. (Command is the word used to describe the angel's action). Joseph obeys and the story goes on.

This must have been tough for Joseph. He must have been so decided on divorcing Mary that the angel had to appear to him in his most unguarded moment (while he was asleep).

But if we think about it, the circumstances involving Jesus' birth were really hard for the major players to accept.

Joseph having to accept Mary who had a child that wasn't his.
Mary who had to accept that she could have a child even if she had no previous relations with any man.
Zechariah who had to accept that his wife Elizabeth was pregnant despite being advanced in years.

And as if it weren't enough that the circumstances surrounding his birth were difficult to accept, Jesus himself proved hard to accept.

John the Baptist found it hard to accept that Jesus was not a political Messiah. Even his father, Zechariah, seemed to think Jesus would be a political Messiah. I suppose other characters like Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot thought so too.

Some of his other disciples found it hard to accept that they had to eat his body and drink his blood and they chose to walk away.

The religious authorities found it hard to accept that Jesus was God and that God became man.

The disciples who chose to stay with Jesus found it hard to accept that the Messiah was crucified.

Yes, our God is a God who loves each and everyone of us infinitely but as time passes, one realizes that he is also a God who is hard to accept. And in most of the cases cited above, acceptance of our God and his commands is a fruit of grace and our cooperation with that grace.


May the graces of this Christmas Day be with us all!