Being raised Catholic, I was taught that Jesus did not have any brothers or sisters. The reason being that he is God and since there is only one God, there could be only one Jesus. Any other child that Mary would give birth to would be "half God". It made sense to me at the time. As I grew older and did my "homework", I learned that Jesus did, in fact, have brothers and sisters. The argument still continued in my household until the day I blatantly put it to rest: "If God didn't need the sperm from a man, what makes you think he needed the egg from a woman?" Speechless is an understatement!
Our Heavenly Father created an entire universe from nothing. He hung stars in the sky, he suspended planets and moons perfectly in his heavens. He created Adam and Eve and all of the creatures that roamed the earth in the very beginning. He allowed for the population of the earth to it's numbers today. He can, at any time, destroy all that he has created in the same vein as an artist wipes his canvas clean with paint.
The child in question, Emmanuel, would be the one who would wipe the slate clean for us. He would pay for the sins of man and offer us a gift. His death would be the only one ever recorded in history that gave everyone (past, present and future) a share in his inheritance - the gift of life everlasting. He came here, to earth, as a man, to partake of our nature - our ways, our fears, our joys.
Jesus came to save people from their sins. He saves us from the divine consequences of sin. We need to follow the path laid before us, by him and go with faith. We take our cue from Joseph: accepting our path without delay, cheerfully and without dispute. The full measure of our salvation comes to us through the death of Jesus, yet, without his miraculous birth, there could be no death! All things in his time and by his command...all things, not some things! Take the time to thank him for this amazing gift of life, death and eternal life!
