Merry Christmas everyone! It’s Christmas Eve here at the Eason Clan and the hustle and bustle is real: gifts being wrapped, last minute Christmas lights being set up, and practicing for our church Christmas Eve service.
It’s funny – Christmas Eve has always been my favourite time of the year. I think it’s because I am still a child at heart, and within I still hold the deep anticipation of what is coming on Christmas Day. I love having the fireplace going (propane…but at least there’s fire), and I really enjoy the beauty of a fresh snowfall – which, by the way, we just had 10 cm yesterday, and there is a winter storm coming for Christmas Day! Yahoo!
Like I said, inner child.
I wanted to share some biblical reflections with you before a nice little break over Christmas. I have been thinking about a man in the bible who, let’s be honest, gets overshadowed by his two family members – Mary and Jesus. Who am I referring to? Joseph, of course!
Joseph often is left in the background of Mary’s obedience and Jesus’ miraculous birth. Mary as a young, virgin woman is visited by Gabriel, becomes impregnated by the Holy Spirit, gives birth in a cave or stable (regardless a place for animals to be sheltered). And of course, we have the amazing story of God giving his one and only son, Jesus, to save the world in the greatest redemption story ever.
But what about Joseph?
We don’t know much about the man, besides what’s recorded in Matthew 1 and 2; Luke 2. We know that he was a descendant of King David, and that he was engaged to Mary. Biblical tradition states that Joseph was a carpenter or a stone mason, and Mark 6:3 states that Jesus was a carpenter. Following Jewish tradition, often the eldest son continued on the father’s profession.
Regardless of Joseph’s job, I have noticed one thing this Christmas season – man, this guy was obedient, devoted, and faithful.
In a culture today where masculinity is often downplayed, overshadowed, and not valued – we see a true example of a good husband and father in the Christmas Story. Track with me.
First off, Joseph had every right to break off the engagement with Mary when he found out that she was pregnant; in fact, that was the cultural norm. It was also acceptable in this time period for the punishment to be death by stoning, and the woman would be taken back to the door of the parents home for her death.
We know from scripture that Joseph did not want to shame her, so he was planning on breaking off the engagement in quietly. Yet, the Lord had different plans. God sent an angel in a dream to tell Joseph that it was, in fact, His doing that Mary was pregnant and that he was to name the boy Jesus.
What did Joseph do?
“When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.” Matthew 1:24
Obedience.
Shortly after this, we have the Christmas Story as we know it – shepherds, angels, wise men (who came after) – the whole shebang!
Now the story gets spicy.
We have some wise men en route, and after meeting with King Herod of Judea (a villain), they continue to follow the star to Jesus. After the wise men locate the family, they honour him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Sure enough, the Lord gave the wise men a dream and warned them not to go back to Herod.
Here comes the interesting part. God gives another dream to Joseph, warning him to flee to Egypt, as Herod is planning on killing Jesus. The Bible says that Joseph left that night for Egypt with Mary and Jesus, and stayed there till Herod died (which was anywhere from 2-4 years).
Obedience and Devotion.
Then one of the darkest moments during Herod’s reign happened, as he ordered for all baby boys under two years old, to be murdered throughout Bethlehem and the region.
After a period of time, as Joseph and his family waited in Egypt, the Lord gave another dream to Joseph – “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.” And Joseph did exactly that.
Obedience, Devotion, and Faithfulness.
Men, we need to be there for our families. We have to be present in our children’s lives, and we have to support and love our wives. After all, if it’s legacy you are after, look no further than Joseph.
The Eason Clan 