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Though the Scripture stories today focus on three males, King Ahaz, the Apostle Paul, and Joseph, I would propose that the theme of those readings might best be understood from the perspective of a woman—a pregnant woman. Ahaz and Joseph both are at a crossroad in their lives. Both are offered a sign--the promise of pregnancy, while Paul offers the Romans a glimpse at the fulfillment of that promise.Some years ago, I came across a poem/prayer, A Psalm for Midwives that gives some insight into the universality of the image of pregnancy in this season of anticipation and hope.The signs will be all around you, urging, insisting: now is the time.You have to know just when to bear down and concentrate on one thing only.It takes labor, hard labor to bring forth something new.You have to know when to push when something new is about to happen….You have to know when to push for something that is worth fighting for….You have to know how to cut the cord and how to let go of what has been….You have to know how to wait for things to settle after the dream is born…There is clearly an Advent quality in the image of pregnancy. Pregnancy is a time full of promise, anticipation—a time of hope. But it is also a time full of apprehension—a time of anxiety. It is in many respects the best of times and the worst of times. Women testify that pregnancy offers both a sense of fulfillment as well as a feeling of restraint. A pregnant woman is often said to “glow,” but she is also plagued with discomfort and often illness. She relishes the experience of carrying new life within her, but as the time draws near, she is overwhelmed by a sense of urgency: “Is this ever going to be over with!”Not a bad image for this pregnant season of Advent. Not even a bad image for life in general. It’s an image that urges us to consider the nature of woman as central to our celebration of Advent and to our reflection on our own lived situations.We, like the pregnant woman, experience a sense of fulfillment and at the same time are haunted by feelings of restraint. A good job, family and friends: things are going well, and still frustration enters when hopes and aspirations remain unfulfilled. There are times when we glow with a sense of self-worth, yet are uncomfortable with the stresses of meeting our own and others’ expectations. Though we take pride in being independent and resourceful, yet our own sense of security seems forever in jeopardy when we worry that what might be could at any time become what might have been.Much of this is simply part of the human condition, “natural,” if you will. But it is so much like the experience of pregnancy, so much like the situation of the Advent Scriptures that look ahead and seek reassurances–signs that the fulfillment will be swift, expectations met, contentment secured.It may very well be that the community of Matthew’s Gospel is seeking just these kinds of assurances. Like us, in the face of frustration, discomfort, anxiety, they yearn for the promise that God is with us. Joseph’s story is an image of the Matthean community’s feelings, just as they are of our own. We, like Joseph, have our faith tested. But the Good News is that God is with us, a prospect rejected by King Ahaz, but embraced by the carpenter Joseph.The image of the pregnant woman gives us a paradigm for what it means to be human. It also offers us a model for our faith lives. The Good News today tells us that, like the pregnant woman, we are touched by a divine promise. It offers us a sign, that in the face of all our frustrations and doubts, God is with us. So like the pregnant woman we wait for the promise to be fulfilled. Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel. *A Psalm for Midwives