Nativity Stories . . . Joseph

Week Three
Joseph
A Faithful Man

Matthew 1:15-16

. . . and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob,
and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary,
of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

No need to talk much about me—
There’s not that much to know.
Oh, I guess you need to know my name.
That would be Joseph ben Jacob.
I am from the tribe of Judah
and the House of David.
And yet I am a very simple man
as was my father
and his father Matthan
and his father Eleazar.

This story is certainly not about me.
It’s not about my remarkable wife Mary.
It’s all about Jesus, her son.
Her son you ask?
That’s a big part of the story.

How did I first meet Mary?
Well, we both lived in Nazareth.
You could say I watched her grow up.
Of course, both of our families
attended the synagogue.

At first Mary was just another
one of the children
in the women’s gallery
while I was already
considered a man,
a young man.

As she grew and became
a young maiden
in a craftsman’s family,
I was drawn to her
as a happy and joyful,
obedient daughter
to her parents.

I must say I was drawn to her
for her godliness
among our people.
And it may seem odd
to hear this from me,
but her singing
became for me something
I loved to hear.
I could tell
her singing came from
a pure heart of love for God.

Her parents had made the arrangements
and we had been betrothed.
We were to be married
and become man and wife
at the appropriate time.

When I heard that somehow
she was with child,
I was angry.
How could this be?
Who had done this?
To Mary?

My pure sweet Mary?
What could I do?
The Law told me what I could do,
but how could I do that to Mary?
My soul was troubled.
I couldn’t understand
why God had allowed this to happen.

I couldn’t sleep at night.
But then I had a vision.
How do I describe that?
I can’t.
I knew I was in the presence
of someone very holy.

I felt so unworthy, so unclean.
I still remember the angel’s words:
“Joseph, son of David, do not fear
to take Mary as your wife,
for that which is conceived in her
is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus,
for he will save his people from their sins.”
(Matthew 1:20-22)

After that, I wasn’t angry.
I was scared out of my wits.
Who was I?

How could I help Mary raise
so holy a child,
the Savior of our people?
How could I face the gossips
and their cruel accusations
against Mary.

All I could do was obey.
The angel told me to
take Mary as my wife.
So I did.

Of course we did not
live as man and wife
until after the baby was born.
Mary never changed.
She lived out her joy before me,
She lived out her trust and obedience.

Oh, it hurt her—
the ugly, the ridiculous gossip.
It made me mad
but there was nothing we could do.

Our trip to Bethlehem was a mercy.
It got us away from all of that gossip.
It was all so unfair.
Our people knew Mary.
They knew me.
But they just couldn’t trust us.
They couldn’t trust God.

The days were hard,
but the nights were harder, still.
The ground where we slept
made us both sore,
but especially Mary,
as she was now so large with child.
We had only the simplest of foods
and as the trip wore on,
I could see Mary growing
wearier by the day.

But we did have God’s promise
to us both,
and that gave us strength
each morning to face another day,
and especially as we drew
nearer to Bethlehem.

When we entered my familiy’s
ancient hometown,
it seemed Mary’s baby
in the womb noticed.
She could tell her time was near.
I could tell how the pains
grew stronger even
as we searched the
overcrowded little town
for a place to stay—
and to give her some privacy.

No one had a room for us, it seemed.
Every inn was full.
Every house with any extra room was full.
I grew more and more desperate
until one innkeeper,
after taking a good long look at Mary,
and recognizing her condition,
took mercy and offered us
an almost forgotten
stable behind his inn.
He even made sure the straw
was fresh and clean.
He did the best he could do.

And as soon as we managed
to get Mary settled
He came, Mary’s baby Jesus.
Mary had wisely prepared me.
We both knew what to do.
So, as God would have it,
of course, there were
no complications—
though it was very painful
and intense for her, of course,
but her strength from our God
shone through.

Then, when she and her son
were clean and resting
on the straw,
I gave God praise,
and took up my place
to guard the entrance,
though I don’t think
anyone would have
noticed us there.

I heard them at a distance,
they were laughing
and talking and
joking with each other
as I guess, shepherds
at night often do.

When they saw me in the entrance,
they suddenly stopped
as the elder among them
stepped forward and asked,
”Is this the place
where the angels told us
we would find Him born—
a baby, the Savior,
our Messiah,
lying in a manger?”

Immediately,
all of these shepherds,
some merely boys,
some still young men,
some of them older—
I think there
might have been twelve,
started talking at once,
mentioning angels
and their glorious appearance,
brighter than stars.

I tried to talk some sense
in the midst of their babel,
”My Mary and her baby are resting,
she’s exhausted,
he’s a newborn—
could you return in the morning?”

But then from inside
Mary spoke up with joy;
”Oh, faithful husband,
do not send them away—
did you hear them?
Angels have sent them.
We cannot turn them away.
Let them share in our joy.
Let them join us in praise.
Almighty God has blessed them
with the birth of His Son.”

What could I say?
They fell to their knees
as they entered the stable.
Some wept and some laughed,
some shouted, some whispered
but with us they all worshipped—
not one of them stood
in His Presence
the One
who lay in the manger.

And then they were gone,
and I heard their singing,
praising our God,
declaring the Truth
over and over again.
“The Savior is born.
Our Messiah us come
right here in Bethlehem,
our Savior is born.”

You know, even though
the shepherds spread the word,
very few came to see Him,
very few took the time
from their business
to see Mary’s son.

When her time for cleansing
had come we journeyed
the short distance
to Jerusalem
and the Temple
as we should.

There we were heartened
by Simeon and Anna
and their assurance
Mary’s baby was the One.

Not long thereafter,
Wise Men came
led by the star
shining in the heavens,
as they said,
guiding them all the way
to this humble
place where Mary’s son was born.

They gave us rich gifts,
gold, frankincense, and myrrh—
as in their worship
they proclaimed Him,
prophet, priest and king.

They warned us of Herod
and his dangerous
plot to find
us and Jesus
since Mary’s Son
was born to be king.

After they left
the angel appeared
to me again,
and we fled from our town
to Egypt where
our peoples’ journeys
had begun.

Only when Herod had died
did we dare to return.
At home in Nazareth
Mary’s boy grew more
wonderful and stronger
and more obviously
dedicated to our Great God.

What a blessed man I am.
What a blessed husband I am.
What a blessed labor
I am given.
Assisting my Mary,
helping her
raise her son,
somehow to become
the Messiah for our people—
the Savior of the world.

• Praise be to the Almighty.
  Praise be to our God.
  Praise be to Him for His Mercies.
  Praise be to Him for His Grace.
  Praise be to Him for His Love.
  All praise be to His holy Name.