Praying Together 21st December 2025

Dating from the early 15th Century, the ‘Cherry Tree Carol’ is still very much loved and sung in the last days of advent, as the Holy Family draw close to Bethlehem to be counted. It’s a simple song that speaks of Jesus’ miracle from the womb and the power of God over nature – it can also give a sense of the emotional turmoil experienced by both Mary and Joseph during the months of her pregnancy

We can imagine Mary’s trepidation on telling Joseph. “How shall I tell him? What will happen to our marriage? Will he believe me? I couldn’t blame him if he didn’t and threw me out.”

And we can understand Joseph’s harsh words. “I can’t believe what she is saying. I’m being made to look foolish, to say the least, especially when people hear the improbable explanation. She would be punished and ridiculed. I love her still – I don’t want her humiliated. We’ll just quietly separate. I don’t want to, but I’ve no other choice. It’s all very well what the angel told me in a dream, but I still get angry and jealous sometimes.”

As we sing the carol, Joseph gets a bad press. He appears to snap back when Mary asks for a cherry. But like many old songs, it has been edited and translated many time over the years; and the earliest version then tells of Joseph’s regret for his outburst when he hears the voice of the unborn child

‘When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him’.

O then bespake Joseph:
‘I have done Mary wrong;
But cheer up, my dearest,
and be not cast down.’

Joseph’s example is one of love, human reaction, vocation and ultimate obedience to his Creator. So we rightly celebrate both Mary and Joseph as the chosen parents of the Christ-child. But we must also remember that they were ordinary people with human emotions who lived extraordinary lives. That’s the whole point of the story of incarnation. If Jesus had been born of an aristocratic or military family, there would have been a social hierarchy. His salvation could not have been regarded as universal, offered from pauper to prince. As it is, born in a stable and shortly afterwards seeking asylum as a refugee in Egypt, there are no exclusions – he is servant of all. In that ‘upside down’ act of Salvation, perhaps it is those wordly ‘rich’ who often consider they don’t need Him.