How do you understand holiness? Sometimes, when we read the bible, we come away with the idea that holiness is about rule-making, rule-keeping and exclusion; that holiness is about being a person who does not do bad things, or hang out with people who do.
To Joseph’s mind, Mary’s pregnancy signalled that she had a crossed a line; she was sexually impure and he needed to cut off relationship. And yet, as we read the story, we find that in fact Mary’s life was right on track. She was looking to God, devoted to him, even willing to sacrifice her name and reputation if that was what it seemed to take. And strangely it was Joseph, who thought so hard about how to apply the rules correctly, who needed to be redirected towards God.
Tonight we explore the story of a scandalous pregnancy and discover that simply applying the right rule would have meant completely misunderstanding the purpose of God and undermining God's mission of salvation.
