Lamp Light

“Desiring not to put her to shame,

Joseph resolved to divorce her quietly.”

Matthew 1:19 

          Relationships are full of surprises.  The things you learn about a person after you say, “I do” can either stretch or strain the bond that was created.  When God is present and central; the commitment and strength to face the obstacles follows.  Where God is absent those challenges can overwhelm.

          Joseph was a man of his times, and they shaped the expectations he had for Mary his bride-to-be.  First among those was that she would come to their honeymoon hotel innocent and inexperienced.  When it became known that Mary was with child, his marital vision shattered.  There was only one explanation that made any sense. 

          In that time the options would be two.  Either shame her publicly, in which case she could be stoned, or divorce her quietly so that she might have an opportunity to move to another community and create a new life.  What Joseph did not see, until God revealed, was a third option; marry her and raise the child as his own. 

          This Joseph did, and then he disappeared from scripture.  Not much is said about him after that, but I can’t help but think that much of Jesus’ understanding of what it meant to be a man must have come from his adoptive father.  He took on Joseph’s carpentry trade after all, and I’m sure that he learned from him more than how make a board straight. Joseph was also his model for manhood.  He saw in him decency and dignity.  Joseph gets short shrift, but quiet steady men often do. They find deeper rewards that extend beyond themselves to those around them and those that follow. 

          So, “Merry Christmas” Joseph. Without you the story may have ended before it began.

          Lord, we thank you for steady men whose actions speak louder than their words.  Grant that we may learn from them and from their example become an example of faith to those we hold near and dear.  Amen.