The Christmas story is so familiar to us and to our people that we may no longer see it clearly. Specifically, I wonder if we can fathom how full of surprises was that event — and the days preceding it — for Joseph and Mary.
Between the two Christmas accounts (both Matthew and Luke offer versions of the story), we see both Joseph and Mary having angelic visitations and communications. Likewise, the shepherds outside of Bethlehem and Zechariah in the temple were visited by angels. Assuming such appearances were an uncommon thing, the story and the period are full of surprises.
Of course, for Mary and Joseph the surprise of angelic visitors is quickly eclipsed by the shock of the news that the angels brought: Mary is pregnant. She immediately knew that this was not humanly possible, and s…