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Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Opinions
Ruffin’s Renderings: Righteous Men
BY MIKE RUFFIN
ruffinml@gmail.com
M atthew 1:19
says that
Joseph was “a
righteous man.”
We could use more
righteous men these days.
1 say that as a man. I’m
allowed to talk about my
own kind.
Men catch a lot of flak
these days. We deserve
much of it.
1 hate to put so much
pressure on them, but 1
suspect that women will
have to get us out of the
mess we’ve made. 1 hope
we men will partner with
you in doing so. And 1
hope we’ll do so with
good will, good inten
tions, and humble spirits.
Women may have
to save the world, but
righteous men—men who
are righteous in the way
Joseph was—could help.
So what makes Joseph
a righteous man? Let’s go
to the text.
Joseph learns that
Mary is pregnant. This is
unsettling news because
they haven’t consummat
ed their marriage relation
ship. So Joseph naturally
assumes that Mary has
been unfaithful.
This isn’t necessarily
a case of Joseph having
several possibilities to
choose from and jump
ing to the worst possible
conclusion. Given the
circumstances, he prob
ably can’t imagine what
other explanation there
could be.
On the other hand, one
wonders if Joseph talked
to Mary about the situa
tion. The text doesn’t say,
but we’d like to think he
did.
While we should
exercise caution in trying
to harmonize Luke and
Matthew’s narratives—we
should take each Gos
pel’s particular approach
to the story on its own
terms, since the writers
had reasons for telling it
in the ways they did—we
know that Mary has a
story to tell.
She knows she
is pregnant.
And she knows
she hasn’t had
sexual inter
course.
To throw
caution to the
wind for a mo
ment, we might
observe from
Luke’s narrative
that she has re
ceived divine insight into
why she is in the situation
she’s in.
If Joseph asked Mary
what happened—and
we hope he has—then
he must either accept or
reject Mary’s story
If she told it, he evi
dently didn’t believe her.
We live in a time when
we are encouraged to
believe women when they
tell us what has happened
to them. Such encourage
ment is warranted. We
should take them serious
ly. Believing should be our
impulse, not skepticism.
Granted, the story
Joseph is asked
to believe is
incredible. It
may even be
unbelievable.
So Joseph has
to decide what
to do. We wish
he had believed
Mary’s incred
ible and unbe
lievable story,
but he didn’t.
The text tells
us that we see Joseph’s
righteousness in the way
he decides to implement
his decision.
Life in many ancient
cultures, including that
of first-century Palestine,
revolved around honor
and shame. If Mary has
committed adultery, then
Joseph has the right to
divorce her publicly By
doing so, he could move
toward restoring his
honor. How would he re
store his honor? He would
do so by taking Mary’s
honor away from her. His
replenished honor would
come at the price of her
increased, and perhaps
insurmountable, shame.
Matthew tells us
that Joseph doesn’t do
that: “[Mary’s] husband
Joseph, being a righteous
man and unwilling to
expose her to public dis
grace, planned to dismiss
her quietly” (v. 19).
We probably think of a
righteous man as one who
does right and stands up
for what is right. We may
even think of a righteous
man as one who stands
up for himself and refuses
to be humbled or shamed.
But Joseph shows us
that a righteous man goes
beyond doing “the right
thing.” He shows us that
a righteous man stands
up for what is right in a
better way. Compassion
and kindness condition
his righteousness.
Joseph wants to do
the right thing. Maybe
he even feels like he has
no choice but to do what
his culture regards as
the right thing, namely,
divorcing Mary
But he won’t do it in a
cruel way He won’t act
in anger. He won’t heap
contempt on Mary
Joseph sees the light
when an angel visits him
to explain. Once the angel
tells Joseph the truth of
the matter, he and Mary
establish a home in which
they will receive and raise
the child who will be the
Savior.
In doing so, Joseph ac
cepts some damage to his
reputation, but probably
not as much as Mary ex
periences. Whatever they
must bear, they will bear
it together.
Joseph is righteous
because he acts with
humility, with grace, with
kindness, and with com
passion.
We could use more
such righteous men these
days.
Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native
who lives and works in Macon. His
new book, Praying with Matthew,
is available at helwys.com and at
Amazon.
NAVIGATING LIFE’S CURVES
Remembering a Revolutionary Christmas
LETTERS T
THE EDITOR
How should we vote?
There are several op
portunities to vote com
ing up. Who do we vote
for? How can we decide
when we are getting so
much wrong information
on every side? We want
to do the best thing for
our city, county, state
and country How do we
find the correct informa
tion about the candi
dates? Each candidate
is not honest. Some will
tell you the truth about
themselves and what
they think. Others will
tell you anything you
want to hear. It is best
to decide first the truth
you want your candidate
to stand for. Then go
hunting information on
each one. Listen to their
speeches, watch their
eyes, ask real questions.
If their answer begins
with, “Well, that is a good
question,” it means he
doesn’t know the answer.
Find out where he works,
his education, does he
go to church? How long
has he been a member,
did he join last week?
That’s a good trick,
The Pike County Jour
nal Reporter welcomes
letters to the editor.
Include the writer’s
actual name, address
and telephone number.
We publish name only
Limit letters to 250
words or less. All letters
are subject to editing.
Personal attacks on
private citizens, political
endorsements or letters
Pike County
Journal
Reporter
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
P.0. Box 789
16026 Barnesville St.
Zebulon, Ga. 30295
770.567.3446
The Pike County Journal
Reporter is the official
organ of Pike County, the
cities of Zebulon, Molena,
Meansville, Williamson
and Concord. It is
published weekly by
Hometown Newspapers
Inc. Second class
postage is paid at the
Zebulon, Ga Post Office.
Publishers: Walter and
Laura Geiger; staff:
Jennifer Taylor,
Brenda Sanchez and
Rachel McDaniel.
because many voters are
Christians. Does he have
children? How many?
What schools do they
go to? Does the candi
date belong to clubs or
organizations? Did they
join the Lion’s Club last
week? Listen for honesty,
integrity, morality and a
thinking mind. Watch for
racism. That is an excuse
for anything they can’t
explain. You can always
call them, write a letter,
or visit their office. Be
fore you ask questions,
be sure you know the
meaning of the follow
ing: Socialism, marxism,
totalitarianism, racism,
communism, cancel
culture, poverty, control,
bribery, extortion, kick-
backs and syndicate.
Be a wise voter. Some
of these items are clearly
explained in the Bible. I
John 4:1 says, “Beloved,
do not believe every
spirit but test the spirits,
whether they are of
God, because many false
prophets have gone out
into the world.”
K. HERSHEY
that are racially divisive
will not be considered.
Drop letters by the
office on the courthouse
square, mail them to
P.O. Box 789, Zebulon,
30295, fax them to
770.567.8814 or email
them to news@pike-
countygeorgia.com.
For additional
information call
770.567.3446.
BY BARBARA LATTA
kbkj@bellsouth.net
Several
years my
husband,
Ken, worked
in the Wash
ington, D.C.
area. He
commuted
home as often as possible
and sometimes I traveled
to see him and stayed
for two to three weeks
at a time. On weekends
when he was off work, we
scoured the countryside
to visit historic sites. One
of our favorite places was
Mount Vernon, the home
of President George Wash
ington. We became so
enamored with this place
we decided to join the
group of volunteers who
worked for the scheduled
events held there.
As volunteers, we wore
the authentic costumes of
the period. My husband
donned a tricorn hat and
thick cape and after I
struggled with the ties and
wraps of my garments, we
walked among the tour
ists to take on the role of
revolutionary citizens.
Because we were required
to keep in character and
speak to guests in colonial
lingo, curtsey when in the
presence of the General,
and not wear or carry any
thing such as a cell phone
or modern-day watch or
jewelry, it was easy to get
caught up in the ambiance
of living at Mount Vernon
in the late 1700s.
George and Martha
Washington were frequent
ly seen on the property, as
well as some of their staff
and family members. Mrs.
Washington’s granddaugh
ter, Nellie, joined her by
the fireplace while the wife
of the beloved General
told stories to children
who surrounded her while
she sewed. The Gen
eral rode his regal stallion
across the lawn at sunset,
and his blue Continental
Army uniform reflected
the man’s commanding
presence.
My favorite part of all
the year’s festivities was
the Christmas Candlelight
celebration. In December,
special tickets were sold
for a nighttime visit to the
property Lanterns lined
the sidewalks, fragrant
greenery decorated the
estate, and outdoor fires
crackled in black iron
kettles supported on tri
pods. Aladdin the camel,
who was imported from a
zoo and kept in a corral,
was always a major draw
for visitors. General Wash
ington did this every year
to entertain his guests at
Christmas, so the Mount
Vernon staff made every
effort to keep the happen
ings authentic.
This candlelight event
was designed to simulate
the entertaining way the
Washington’s greeted
guests who visited Mount
Vernon during the holi
days. Dignitaries, friends,
and military personnel
were invited to celebrate
with the family In the
spirit of history each year,
the Mount Vernon staff
operate the house as if
the Washington’s were
at home about to serve
a meal to guests. Martha
Washington’s china and
crystal set off the dining
room table and the make-
believe food looked ready
for imaginary guests.
As ticket holders
arrived for the evening
Christmas tour, they were
assigned the identity of
an actual visitor from
the Washington’s guest
list. Corresponding name
tags were passed out. My
husband was the town
crier, and as each visitor
started the tour, Ken read
their name off a list, rang a
bell, and yelled in his best
revolutionary historic
voice, “Hear ye, hear ye,
the General and Mrs.
Washington are pleased
to announce the arrival
of”... and he would call
out names from the list.
The visitors wearing those
name tags were escorted
to the mansion for their
candlelight walk.
Bitter cold blew in for
our final night of Decem
ber volunteer duty The
barely above freezing
temperatures were just
enough to keep mud that
covered the ground from
a week’s work of rain from
solidifying. Instead, the
mixture created a slick,
cold goo.
After hours of his town
crier duty, Ken’s hoarse
voice struggled to fulfill
his role, and cold mud
crept into my boots. Dur
ing lulls in guest recep
tions, we stood around
the fire warming ourselves
along with the other vol
unteers.
Carolers sang in a
nearby brush lean-to and
read their music by the
light of lanterns. Aladdin
peered over the fence of
his corral and after losing
interest in us, continued
to munch on his supper.
The Potomac River’s
strong currents rushed
past the landing at the
back of the estate and
were a reminder of the dif
ficulties of travel over two
hundred years ago.
As each guest returned
from their visit to the
mansion, I collected their
early American name
tags to be used again
and placed them in my
basket. I started down the
path to the information
center to greet another
group as they waited to be
escorted to the first stop
on the tour. The sharp
reeds from the basket I
carried couldn’t be felt
through the numbness of
my frozen hands. Iciness
penetrated my bones.
The clear night and the
glistening stars brought
thoughts of the night of
our Savior’s birth. I gazed
into the sky for a few
moments until a noise
brought my attention
back to earth and toward
the corral where Aladdin
paced. I could almost see
one of the Magi standing
nearby. The air sparkled
with Christmas magic.
The candles in the
glass lanterns lining the
walkways flickered in
the wind and although I
was cold, the experience
overwhelmed me. In the
shadows I saw a tall figure
approach me on his way
to the mansion. I stopped
and caught my breath. Al
though I knew this wasn’t
the actual man, I felt like
I was in the presence of
royalty.
I curtseyed and said,
“Good evening, General
Washington and Merry
Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to
you, ma’am,” he replied.
He doffed his hat and
bowed.
I watched as he passed
me by on the way to
entertain his guests, and
I knew I had just experi
enced something I could
not have received from
history books.
I received a Christmas
memory from the father of
our country.
Barbara Latta is a freelance writer
who posts online articles at barbara-
latta.blogspot.com and contributes
to the devotion website Christian
Devotions.
AT PIKE
BY DWAIN W. PENN
100 YEARS AGO
December 9, 1921: During a difficulty between
Pike residents Strickling [sic] and Daniel, Strick-
ling shot Daniel twice. Upon falling, Daniel pulled
his pistol and shot Strickling through the heart
before dying himself 40 minutes later.
75 YEARS AGO
December 12, 1946: Friday, Dec. 6, a delegation
went to the Georgia Youth Assembly in Atlanta but ad
journed in sorrow after the Winecoff Hotel fire claimed
28 members on Dec. 7. Six attendees from Pike were
fortunately assigned to the Robert Fulton Hotel.
50 YEARS AGO
December 10, 1971: After a most successful
season in its 5 year history, Six Flags Over Georgia
closed Nov. 28 for the winter. Work began soon af
ter to refurbish the 200 acres of rides, shows and
attractions for the park’s April 1972 opening.
25 YEARS AGO
December 11,1996: Pike Chamber of Commerce
recognized citizens for service at the Christmas ban
quet. Volunteer of the Year was Mary Ann Dawes,
Farmers of the Year were Eleanor, Roger and Wayne
Green and Citizen of the Year was Jerry Crawford.
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