Day 6 : BACK TO ANONYMITY

So now Joseph is dropped from the narrative, fades back into almost complete anonymity. But his life and story are far from over! He is now raising JESUS?!? and other children as well. We are left to either forget about or ignore or speculate about his life forward from here; the daily mundaneness of life - completely out of the spotlight. This is the exact place that we spend most of our lives isn’t it? (Without the ‘raising Jesus’ part:))

 So, this brings us back to our original question, “Why is Joseph in this story?”

Why am I drawn to him?

 Maybe we see something in Joseph that is so very counter to most of what we are told we should see or want or aspire to?

We have to look for it; we have to use some sacred imagination and guesswork - precisely because he didn’t make the headlines and get the big write-up.

He lived a quiet, faithful, strong, kind, committed and loving life. He was faithful to love and listen to God his Father. He was faithful to persist in and do the work of love for his wife and “stepson”. He was faithful in caring for his “unusual” family...in complete anonymity!

 Maybe I’m so drawn to him because there is something deeply compelling about that kind of life. To make a difference in such a quiet and yet profound way. The ripples out from this Joseph-life are so much more significant than I had ever seen. It took pausing, paying attention, wondering, praying, imagining. Maybe I should do that more.

REFLECTION :

 Morning Pause: How can I enter this ordinary day with an awareness that God is acting and moving and living in and through me? Where can I look today to see his quiet presence?

Afternoon Pause: What am I noticing of God in and around me in the ordinariness of this day?

 Evening Pause: Reflect on this…

Maybe He wanted the father of his son to be on the outside?

Maybe He wanted the father of his son to be unsure?

Maybe He wanted the father of his son, in front of everyone to have his reputation come undone

Maybe he needed everyone to see that sometimes you give up your honor for the sake of mercy.

Maybe He chose you like He chose me, not for your power but for your humility

So everyone could see someone as lowly as you call Him their Baby too.

(Lyrics from Whose Baby is He? by Don Chaffer from the musical The Unusual Tale of Mary and Joseph’s Baby.)