It’s easy now that we’re two thousand years removed from the event to think of Mary and her miraculous pregnancy in glowing vignettes. We imagine a young woman, her eyes cast heaven-ward, serenely making the trip to Bethlehem. 

    What we miss is the vicious gossip that must have spread through Galilee. The other girls whispering about the oh-so-pure Mary being brought down a notch or two and the old women clicking their tongues and thanking the Lord that it wasn’t their granddaughters. We don’t think about the stilted conversations and sleepless nights as Joseph contemplated how to best end his relationship with Mary without shaming them both.