May my words be in the
Name of the Holy & Undivided Trinity: + Father, Son, & Holy
Spirit.
Christmas
is almost upon us. It is a time when we rightly think of the
Christ-child and his mother, of shepherds and angels, of inn-keepers
and wise-men. But this morning I'd like to concentrate on another
important figure on that story – I'd like to focus on St Joseph,
and on the role he played in the greatest story ever told. So I'm
going to tell you a little story of my own, an imagining of what that
first Christmas was like for the man who would become the earthly
father of our Lord, as he might have told it in his own words:
I
confess that I was worried when the decree was issued for the census.
A trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was no easy thing at the best of
times, but in winter, and with a young girl, and she due to have a
baby at any time? The whole idea was troubling.
But
then, so much in my life had been troubling lately. It began when
they asked if I would marry Mary. I was a little shocked – I was an
old man, older than her father, and she was really just a child. But
her parents said she was a holy girl, one who lived a life of prayer
in the temple; but she was also very lovely, a true beauty – and
the young men couldn't keep away. They buzzed around her like flies
drawn to sweet dates. She needed the protection of a husband. And the
temple authorities also asked me to marry her. 'We know you are a
righteous man, Joseph,' they said. 'Do this for her; do this for us.'
Well,
what was a righteous man to do? Could he say no when even the priests
asked it of him? So we were betrothed. Legally she was my wife, but
she still lived with her parents. And then she came to me. She told
me she was with child by the Holy Spirit, that she had been visited
by an angel, and that the child was to be the promised Messiah.
Did
I believe her? Completely. Had not the prophet Isaiah foretold that a
virgin would bear a son? And who better to be the mother of the one
that God was sending to save Israel than this holy creature,? I did
not doubt her for a moment.
But
I did doubt myself. I thought that I was unworthy to play any part in
this. So I decided that I would set her aside – quietly, so as not
to cause her any trouble. Let people think that I was the father and
that I was abandoning a young girl to raise the child on her own.
What did I care what people thought of me, as long as no one thought
badly of Mary? But then the angel came to me, in a dream, and told me
not to be afraid. And when I awoke I knew that God wanted me to be
the one to protect this mother and her child. An old man seemed a
strange choice; but who was I to question God.
But
then came the census. The thought of the journey troubled me. It was
nearly 70 miles to Bethlehem – with me on foot and Mary on the
donkey it would be a long, slow journey; not that we could travel
fast, with Mary so close to her time. And as it turned out the roads
were so rough that it took longer than I expected - six days. I
worried about bandits – with so many travelling, they were bound to
be out looking for easy prey. Mary said not to worry; that God would
protect us. She was right, of course.
We
stopped early each night and I gathered wood for a fire – the
nights are cold at that time of year, even if the days are fairly
mild; and I put together a little shelter for Mary. I was always good
with my hands.
But
I was glad when we got in sight of Bethlehem. Mary was looking so
tired. I was tired. It had been a hard road and I am an old man. The
worst was over, I thought.
And
then Mary turned to me and said it was her time. What; now? I said,
foolishly. She just smiled at me. The inn was full, of course; with
so many arriving for the census it had to be. But the people there
were good and kind. They made sure there was room for us in the
stable. With plenty of clean straw it was probably more comfortable
that the inn itself; the bodies of the animals warmed it as well as
any fire; and with the baby soon to come, it was more private.
And
so that was where he was born. The easiest birth I've ever heard tell
of; a miracle in itself, for often the first born is hard on a woman,
especially when she is very young. But one moment I was chewing my
nails with worry; the next there he was. We wrapped him in his
swaddling bands and then, because there was no where else, I packed
the manger full of hay and laid him in it. Mary took me by the hand.
'This
is our son,' she whispered, her voice full of wonder.
'This
is our Messiah,' I whispered back. Silently we sank to our knees,
gazing at the child. The animals gazed at him too; and it seemed that
they, like us, worshipped him.
As
the night passed others came. Shepherds from the hills with tales of
the heavens bursting open to reveal heaven itself and choirs of
angels. Later still, wise men came, kings who had come to worship
another king, a greater king than themselves, a king sent by God to
all the world. When they had gone, I thought we would go home. But
that night as I slept, I had another dream. The angel warned me that
this new king's life was in danger, that a king of this world wanted
to take his life; he warned me to take them away, to keep them safe.
And so when I awoke I faced another journey, a longer one. But I did
not care. Old and tired as I was, God had chosen me to protect this
king, and to protect his mother. And I would do whatever I could to
do so, travel any distance. I was old, but I knew I could not fail;
it was as Mary said – God would protect us. And so I was not
afraid. I knew I need not fear or worry or let anything trouble me
again.
To
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, three persons
in one God, be praise and glory for-evermore - Amen.
