The young wife Mary, the husband Joseph and the baby soon to be born &045; they were a family like no other and yet outwardly so ordinary for their time. Who would have guessed an angel had spoken to the mother and then to the earthly father, telling them their child would be Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit and sent to save people from their sins.

Challenges of their circumstances in that time 2,000 years ago equal those of any family through the ages. And the strength they demonstrated in that long-ago time has messages for families in today’s world, ministers agree.

This begins the family history, as told in Matthew 1: 18-24: &uot;Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.&uot;

The Gospel of Luke tells of Mary receiving an angel, who told her God had chosen her to bear a son who would be &uot;great, and will be called the Son of the Most High&uot;; her response was, &uot;Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.&uot;

The Rev. Bart Walker, pastor at Parkway Baptist Church, said families today might take a lesson from the obedience of Mary, Joseph and Jesus to God’s plan for them. &uot;All the decisions they made, everything they did was in obedience to God,&uot; he said. &uot;The obedience of Mary when the angel came to her; her chastity, which already showed obedience to God; the obedience of Joseph when the angel came to him and said, ‘you’re going to take a pregnant woman as your wife’; and the obedience on the flight to Egypt.&uot;

Delia Smith in &uot;A Feast for Advent&uot; also notes Mary’s obedience: &uot;Mystified, uncomprehending, she does not demur or protest like others before her had,&uot; Smith says of Mary.

&uot;Moses had said, ‘send anyone but me Š Jeremiah had said, ‘but I’m too young. Š It’s easier to believe God can work miracles in other people &045; but in ourselves?&uot;

The baby was born in Bethlehem, where the couple had gone to register for a census. Soon after, wise men from the East came looking for the child. Their interest in the baby alerted King Herod to the &uot;child who has been born king of the Jews.&uot;

Once again, an angel appeared to Joseph, telling him to take Mary and the child to Egypt. Meanwhile, Herod &uot;killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under,&uot; as described in the second chapter of Matthew.

The threat of terrorism in the 21st century has some similarity to the early days of Jesus, said the Rev. James Earl &uot;Pete&uot; Herndon, pastor at Jefferson Street United Methodist Church.

&uot;I think in these times of terror about the fact that Jesus was born in a time of terror. Herod terrorized families with children, and Mary and Joseph took steps to protect their child &045; whatever it took,&uot; Herndon said. &uot;The lesson for us is that we need to do the difficult and necessary things to protect our children.&uot;

Terrorism exists in many forms, Herndon said. &uot;We live with drugs, alcohol, promiscuity. These things are after our children to destroy them, and the parent is the first line of protection. That is what Mary and Joseph did. They protected their son.&uot;

The family returned to their homeland when it was safe again, and young Jesus &uot;grew and became strong&uot; and was &uot;filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him,&uot; the Gospel of Luke says.

And the family went each year to worship at Jerusalem, according to the law, Bart Walker said. &uot;When a family is obedient to God’s Word, we never know what difference it may make,&uot; Walker said. &uot;Mary never saw me. Joseph doesn’t know who I am. But what they did brought the world salvation. We don’t know how the way we live our lives can have an everlasting impact.&uot;

An obedient family is the body of Christ, Walker said. &uot;It carries out that same work that Mary and Joseph did, not with the same sacrifice, but the living out of the proclamation.&uot;

Going on the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem, his parents gave Jesus opportunities to grow in many ways. Pete Herndon said Mary and Joseph &uot;instilled in Jesus a value system reflected in his teaching. Part of the Sermon on the Mount is Jewish law; but he gives principles and values that supersede the law. The law says go a mile. Jesus says go the second mile.&uot;

Instilling the teachings of Jesus into today’s family life could lift humanity from some of its troubles, Herndon said. &uot;As I see it today in our society, our value system is about bankrupt because parents don’t instill values in their children.&uot;

The family of Jesus was an ordinary working-class Jewish family, probably living in a small house made of clay. Joseph worked with his hands and taught Jesus to do the same, making yokes for oxen but also perhaps making furniture and even building houses, according to some biblical scholars.

Joseph the carpenter, husband and father had to make difficult decisions because of his role in the life of Jesus, said the Rev. John Larson, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Natchez. &uot;He had to decide on two contrasting mores, one economical and one spiritual. He chose to make a faith decision,&uot; Larson said. &uot;Today, too many fathers are absent from their families, either physically or spiritually. To give up his job and go to Bethlehem was not easy for Joseph to do. Further, to go to Egypt he put his faith above his business and above money. It’s the reverse today. He was faithful to a vision and the Word given to him.&uot;

Furthermore, Joseph was the storyteller of the family, said the Rev. David O’Connor, pastor at St. Mary Basilica. &uot;In the early life of Jesus, a lot of his learning was done alongside Joseph. That’s how we pass along our values,&uot; O’Connor said. &uot;I see Joseph telling stories of God and his people; Joseph created the environment where Jesus would have asked questions.&uot;

At times, Joseph has been pictured as an old man, O’Connor said. &uot;I don’t think that’s right. I think he was strong and trustworthy, even in the midst of crisis. He was the bread winner and lent security and basic sustenance to the family.&uot;

Families spent more time together in the time of Jesus, O’Connor said. &uot;Families today do not take the time to nurture the life of the family, to listen to what is going on in the life of the members of their family,&uot; he said. &uot;The family of Nazareth had much more family time.&uot;

The Christ child’s family also teaches families of today about giving, O’Connor said. &uot;There’s an enormous sense of giving &045; Mary giving life to the son, the Father giving his son and the son giving his life for all others.&uot;

Mary and Joseph had a real sense of their roles. &uot;They had a keen awareness of how God worked in them through their forebears,&uot; O’Connor said.