When Life is Disrupted, Interrupted, and Detoured

I know this time of year can be extremely busy. I’m even thankful you took a few minutes out of your day to read my post, because I realize these minutes are precious and you could use them to do something else. So back to it.

For many people, time is of the essence during these last weeks of the year and before the holidays, and we tend to think there is no room for disruptions, interruptions, or detours. We are laser focused. I’m sure you have at least one, if not multiple, checklists you’re juggling.  And time, or rather timing, is exactly what I wanted to talk about today.

With a lot of things in life, it can feel like the timing is off.

Sometimes, things don’t go as planned or how you imagined them playing out. For example, maybe you just bought a house, and then you lose your job or get laid off. Or perhaps you’ve been looking forward to retirement, only to retire and be diagnosed with a serious health condition. Maybe it’s Monday morning, after a crazy busy weekend and the house is torn apart, and you get some unexpected visitors come to your door.

Or like me, when I was recently coming home from visiting my daughter, I started up the on-ramp of the interstate and within two minutes of getting on the road, they closed the interstate. There were no exits to get off, so I sat – parked – with my car turned off for an hour and a half until the interstate reopened. The timing of the road closure was terrible. Why couldn’t they have closed it just five minutes earlier – before I got on it? I’m sure we both could share many other examples of when something happens, and it feels like the timing of it is just totally off.

As I was reading through the Christmas story, I couldn’t help but think that Mary, the mother of Jesus, certainly questioned the timing of things happening in her life. It definitely would not have been as she planned them in many instances.

Mary’s life was disrupted, interrupted, and detoured.

Mary, a virgin espoused to a man named Joseph, was visited in Nazareth by the angel Gabriel, who told her she was highly favoured and blessed among women.

Luke 1:29-31, 35, 38

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

Mary questioned the angel how this could be, seeing she was a virgin.

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

You can imagine Joseph’s surprise when he found out Mary was pregnant.

Matthew 1:18-21, 24-25

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Mary was espoused to Joseph, meaning she was betrothed or engaged. This mutual marriage agreement was legally binding and only broken by a regular divorce. The time between the agreement and the marriage vows was usually 10 to 12 months among the Jews. Breach of this contract was considered adultery and punished the same way, which would have been stoning. So, Mary being found with child after her espousal to Joseph put her reputation, honor and life at stake, not including her marriage to the man she loved. It seemed to be a terrible time to carry a child – and was certainly a disruption to her wedding plans. Not only that, but death by stoning appeared to be in her near future!  

The Lord’s timing is perfect.

Joseph was a kind and tender man who, I’m sure, loved Mary very much. Certainly, the discovery of her pregnancy was heartbreaking to him. With a merciful heart, he considered to divorce her privately, without assigning a cause, to spare her not only from embarrassment but also from death. Had Mary been betrothed to a cruel and violent man, she most likely would have lost her life. While Joseph was thinking about his options and at just the right time, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph reassuring him that Mary’s story was true and he should make her his wife. Joseph, obediently, takes her as his wife without any further disputing or delay.

There are a few other reasons why Mary being engaged to Joseph and carrying Jesus seemed like poor timing, but the Lord made it all right. As we’ve already read, Mary was engaged to Joseph but was a virgin, so Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit. If she had already been married to Joseph, then people would see Jesus as the Son of man instead of the Son of God. The timing was just right. Also, Mary’s engagement to Joseph would mean Jesus would have an Earthly father when He was born and would be born into a family. Again, the timing was just right.

As Mary was close to giving birth to Jesus, Caesar Augustus, made the decree that all the world should be taxed (Luke 2:1-7), where their names would be recorded along with the value of their goods. So now, Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem. According to Micah and the other prophets (Micah 5:2), and knowing the Old Testament well as Mary did, she more than likely knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, not Nazareth. However, traveling approximately 70 miles over rough terrain, with bandits looking for prey, while just shy of giving birth would seem like a terrible time for this trip. If they had gone on foot, it would probably have taken them about a week, especially in her condition. Her birthing plans in Nazareth had just been drastically interrupted.

Back then, everyone couldn’t fill out their census and make their payments online, so many people were traveling to Bethlehem at this time. As a result, by the time they got to Bethlehem, the inn was full and could not provide accommodation for them. As we know, Mary gave birth to her first son there and laid His swaddled little body in a manger. This would seem like an awful time to arrive in Bethlehem and not anything like I’m sure she imagined her first birth to be. However, it was just as the Lord intended. His Son, the King of kings, would not be born in a palace, of royal parents. He would be born and rest in a lowly manger. The Lord’s timing was just right. There was no room in the inn so Jesus, in deepest humility, would be found lying in a manger. Jesus was to become the Saviour of the rich and poor alike.

If we fast forward, past the visit from the shepherds, past Jesus’ circumcision, past their trip of taking Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord and offer a sacrifice, we come to when the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt. Why? Because King Herod, who feared his reign might end, sought to kill Jesus. They were to stay there until Herod’s death.

To Mary, this entire situation was probably quite alarming to say the least. She and Joseph are still somewhat newly married, they have a very young child, and now instead of continuing a life together in Nazareth, they must flee to Egypt! Talk about a detour! Again, I’m sure she thought this was awful timing! Most likely, they would not have family, friends, or a support network in Egypt. I’m sure she yearned for a “normal” life with her new family, even though she realized this would not be so as the mother of the Son of God. But again, the Lord’s timing was perfect. Enraged, King Herod killed all the male children of Bethlehem and the surrounding areas who were two years old and under. Jesus was in Egypt, so He was protected from this slaughter. And this event also fulfilled the prophecy in Hosea 11:1 that God called His Son out of Egypt.

Mary, Jesus and Joseph are finally able to return to their homeland and to Nazareth, after spending Jesus’ toddler years in Egypt. As an adult, Jesus performed miracles throughout the land. Mary was present at His first miracle when He changed water to wine at the wedding in Cana. However, she also stood by the cross when Jesus was crucified. According to most accounts, Mary was probably a widow at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. In addition to the grief Mary experienced as her Son endured a gruesome death, it seems like it would be a disastrous time for a widow to also lose her son. Who would support her? How would she live?

Even moments before His death, with intentional timing, Jesus looked down at Mary from His cross and looked at John, His beloved disciple. To Mary, He said, “Woman, behold they son!” and to John, He said, “Behold they mother!”. From that moment on, John cared for Mary as His own mother (John 19:25-27). In His perfect timing, Jesus made sure that Mary would be taken care of. Tradition says that John was the only disciple to die a natural death and resided in Jerusalem until Mary died (possibly 15 years later). 

Ponder this.

I hope you can see how Mary encountered a lot of disruption, interruptions and detours to her life’s timeline. However, when she responded to the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:38) she said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”, and she meant it. Today I want to encourage you to take a few moments to be still this Christmas season. To yield to life disruptions, interruptions, and detours because it may in fact be God intervening in our well-thought-out timeline. What can we find in His perfect timing? We can find protection, we can find prosperity, and we can find promise. Just like Mary did.

What will you do with this day you’ve been given? How will you make it matter for His Kingdom?