Good Ol' Joe

I asked for stamps at the post office recently and was offered several designs, including the two new designs for Christmas. One is a cute Santa ornament in four different colors; the other is the traditional Madonna and Child portrait. I've never been especially fond of the traditional Christmas stamp, and this year I figured out why -- someone is missing in the portrait of the Holy Family. Where is Joseph?
James Dittes, a professor of theology at Yale Divinity School, urges us: "Think about the manger scenes you have observed through the years. Where is Joseph? Who is Joseph? What is Joseph doing? Well, he is the father who is not the father, the strong, silent partner who never speaks and never moves, the frozen power that lurks in the shadows, the man who protects the baby but never touches the baby, the brave rescuer, the diligent provider, the mystery man who fades away when Jesus turns twelve, never to be seen or mentioned or acknowledged again."
It is true that Joseph gets much less attention in art than Mary, but in the scriptures he still plays a major part. Without Joseph's participation, the plan God has for the redemptionof the world cannot unfold. And though less legend accumulates around Joseph, he is no less a role model for us than is his more famous wife.
Often overlooked is the remarkable mercy of the man Joseph even before he understands what is really happening. In one short sentence, we learn what kind of a person he was: "Joseph, being a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose (Mary) to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly." In Matthew's gospel, to be "righteous" means to be someone who knows and obeys God's law. In that law, a woman who became pregnant outside of the marriage covenant (as Joseph must have assumed Mary had) could have been put to death. Other men who felt they had been betrayed might have chosen that option. Joseph, however, does not . In fact, not only does Joseph reject the option of capital punishment; he does all he can to spare Mary unnecessary embarrassment. He acts to protect the one who appears to have betrayed him.
Much has been made of God's choice of Mary, a brave young peasant woman, to be Jesus' mother. But we will do well to remember that God chose Joseph also, and for good reason. This Christmas may Joseph's example remind us that true righteousness has nothing to do with rigidity or revenge. Rather, it has everything to do with loving all those with whom we share this small planet --even those we believe have sinned against us.