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a gentle, loving man.
strong artisan hands.
lives by the sweat of his brow.
a man given dimension by his wife and son.
living well over a thousand years before the invention of romantic love,
he was alone longer than most consider comfortable.
the young female, barely a woman,
to whom he finally became engaged
became pregnant.
Joseph had lived long enough that if he was going to have a child,
he would rather it be his own.
not a retaliatory type of man,
he not only didn't want to have her stoned,
he was working on hiding her
so she could have her child in private.
it was then that his life was turned inside-out.
have you ever had an angel show up in a dream?
Joseph did.
i bet he never doubted Mary again.
the angel said, "Joe, it may be hard to believe,
but God gave Mary the Baby.
She is still a virgin.
you, Joseph, are going to see to it that she stays that way
til the night He is born
and you name Him 'Jesus.'"

Joseph had a choice.
like all men, he could have said no.
Mary is honored for her obedience to God.
She of course deserves to be.
but Joseph's obedience is at least somewhat remarkable, too.
how often have YOU gone to a church that has more men than women?
women seem to have softer hearts.

but Joseph, this man's man who worked hard for a life,
who knew that raising God's Son
would not be normal,
said yes.
Joseph was a Jew.
the religious leaders of the day were bloodthirsty.
"offending God" by offending religious leaders
carried a death sentence.
grace existed from the first page of Genesis.
religion is blind to grace.
but Joseph and his young fiance said yes.

how do you suppose those dates went?
first, what could you do?
drive-ins were a few years away.
roller skating is not good for pregnant people.
Joseph's work took a long time.
he probably wasn't very wealthy.
oh, and then there is the baby.
talk about your elephant in the living room ...
mixed emotion hardly covers it.
expecting a baby is one of the most crushing
and beautiful
times of a life.
you create a nursery.
you feel it kick.
the Name thing was done.
they knew it was a boy.
how funny would that be?
Mary and Joe go to lunch.
Mary giggles and says, "He kicked."
everyone at the first Arby's says, "how do you know it's a 'he'?"
yes, Mary.
how DID you know that?

Joseph isn't heard from again.
i want to be a father like him.
i want to quietly influence my children to become
healers,
leaders,
rabble-rousers,
religion crushers,
triumphant lovers,
universal nurturers.
Joseph's joy was full.
the woman he chose to marry was a joy to every generation.
the Son he chose to nurture was literally perfect.
fathering is a spiritual thing,
not a physical feat.
at twelve, Jesus wowed the elders at the temple.
Joseph had experienced the joy of teaching Him.
Joseph teaches us that our children are on loan from God.
Joseph lived what John the Baptist said:
"Jesus must increase and i must decrease."
our children learn love by example.
Joseph taught Jesus to love Mary.
it stuck.

our human parents are where we get our first impressions of God.
i yearn to do as good a job as Joseph and Mary.
i hope to completely invest myself in my kids.
like Joseph, my kids are light years ahead of me.
i feel like an ape handling centuries-old china.
but like Joseph, i invest my love.
and like Joseph,
i don't care if my name is ever said again.
if my kids are loved and respected among their peers,
i have been a good father.
the truest parent is the one
who knows ALL children are on loan from God.