Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife but knew her not until she had borne a son, and he called His name Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25
While we tend to give a lot of attention to the role that Mary played in the Nativity story, Joseph’s role is almost as profound. We know that the parents of the Virgin Mary, Joachim and Anna, passed away shortly after her birth. In today’s society, there are a lot of single mothers who do an admirable job of raising children alone. At the time of Jesus, it was not only unheard of for mothers raising children on their own, unless their husband was deceased, but it was near impossible to do so. Because almost everyone owned animals, which were used as the primary means of transportation. So at a minimum, each family had to raise children, maintain a home and take care of large animals, and provide income for the family. Mary needed a “protector” and someone to provide the means for her to live. And God called Joseph to this task.
The Bible tells us that Joseph was a just man. In the Orthodox Tradition, he is held to have been an older man, who was widowed and had had children from a previous marriage (references to the “brothers and sisters” of Jesus reflect this, they were His half-brothers and half-sisters). When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant, and the child wasn’t his (and they weren’t even married yet), he didn’t want to bring disgrace upon himself by staying in the relationship, and he didn’t want to bring disgrace on Mary by making a huge scene, so he decided to divorce her quietly. In this midst of all of these genuine human feelings of sadness, perhaps distrust, disappointment, and confusion, Joseph was also visited by an angel who told him to take Mary as his wife, that the child she was carrying was of the Holy Spirit.
If Mary had to trust in the words of an angel, that she was going to bear the Son of God in her womb, then the trust of Joseph is a close second to the trust of Mary—he had to believe that his betrothed was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and would risk his reputation carrying for a pregnant woman he was not married to, who was carrying a child that was not his.
The role of Joseph is often understated. And though we portray Joseph beautifully in icons and in Christmas pageants, the real emotions he must have felt are never really talked about. His faith in God was pretty incredible to go along with what was happening in front of him.
There are times when God asks us to play the role of Joseph, to trust in things we do not understand. God has a plan for each of us, and that plan is for each of us to glorify Him and to attain salvation. The way that plan is actualized happens differently for each of us. I remember many years ago when a dear friend did not get into the college she was hoping to get into. She was devastated. She thought it was the worst thing that could have ever happened. She went to another, “lesser” school, worked hard, and then transferred into what was the best school in the country in her field—they gave her a scholarship, a job upon graduation, and now they let her work part time while she’s raising children. To this day, she will say that the best thing that happened to her was not getting into her first-choice college, even though on the day that she was rejected, it was a terrible setback. She has said had she gotten into her first choice of schools, she would not have been looking to transfer. Here is an example where God used something difficult to make something great happen. Had there not been that awful day she wouldn’t be who she is now. And had she not trusted in God, had she just quit on life, she wouldn’t be who she is now either.
A thankful heart is a trusting heart, even when it seems like God isn’t answering our prayers or when things aren’t going as we had hoped. I’m sure when Joseph was betrothed to Mary, he never dreamed his life would end up as it did. By taking a role in God’s plan for salvation, Joseph eventually found his own salvation. May we do the same.
Lord, help me to trust in You, even when things are going well. Help me to trust that You have a plan for my life. Help me to follow that plan as best I can, giving glory to You along the way. I also know that all of my setbacks are not necessarily part of Your plan, but part of our human condition and personal struggles. Help me to honor You in both the things I can and cannot control. Amen.
Trust in God and do your part to bring His plan of salvation to the world!
