Matthew 1:20 NIV: “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid…”
There is a central character that we don’t spend much time on when telling the Christmas story. That’s mainly because the scriptures give few details about him. In fact, the only time he’s really mentioned is at the beginning of Jesus’s life, leading us to assume He died early, before Jesus really started his ministry.
I have been thinking about Joseph a lot this week. I don’t think he gets nearly all the credit he deserves. Think about it—the girl he was engaged to winds up pregnant with someone else’s baby! Although he wants to get out of the engagement, an Angel shows up in his dreams and tells him to go ahead and get married and be a father to this baby, even if it isn’t his.
We glimpse a bit of Joseph’s character when we read that he immediately went and got married, probably months before the wedding had been planned. Mary moved into his home, and yet they didn’t sleep together until after Jesus was born.
Consider this: Joseph was dealing with Mary’s morning sickness, rubbing her swollen feet and propping her up with pillows to help the indigestion. He listened to her complain of aches and pain and dealt with her exhaustion when they traveled 90 miles down to Bethlehem in her 3rd trimester. He cared for Mary and the growing baby despite knowing he wasn’t the father.
He went through labor with her, endured all the visitors oohing and ahhing, and then had to flee to Egypt with Mary and the baby to avoid the mass infanticide happening in Isreal.
For all of his steady faithfulness and consistent ability to provide for his family, he disappears from the scriptures without even the smallest acknowledgment of a job well done.
This Christmas, I wonder if there is a Joseph in your life who needs to know that you see all the non-glamorous ways they show up. I, for one, am so grateful to have some Josephs in my life!
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