The Wilful Sunflower

Two nights ago, during cell group meeting, as usual we discussed pastor's Sunday sermon. I hadn't gone to church the previous weekend (surprised, anybody?) so I got to hear the summary of the sermon from what the others shared.

Apparently, pastor had been preaching about people's response to Jesus' birth. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was said to have given a "whole-hearted" response because she had been so obedient and submissive when the angel told her she would conceive a child; Joseph was described as being "half-hearted" because he originally wanted to divorce Mary quietly when he found out that she was pregnant, and because the pregnancy had nothing to do with him; the innkeeper was considered to have an "empty heart" coz he turned the couple away, saying there was no room in the inn.

Since I didn't hear the whole sermon, I can't comment on what pastor actually preached, but I seriously don't agree with these characterisations at all. I mean, come on, take Joseph, for example. Mary had an angel appear to her, but Joseph didn't -- not at first. Which normal man wouldn't get the shock of his life and be sceptical when his fiancee tries to convince him that she's pregnant, but that she's never cheated on him with anybody? Who'd ever heard of a virgin birth before?

Once the angel appeared to him in a dream and told him the same thing that Mary had been told, Joseph was all right. In fact, from what I can see, he was caring and protective of Mary. Plus, as the author Max Lucado says, Joseph endured nine months of cold showers so that Jesus would be born of a virgin! :P  (see here)

As for the innkeeper, aiyo, no room means no room lah! What did you want him to do -- conjure up something miraculously? Sounds like he did have compassion for the heavily pregnant Mary, though, as he allowed them to rest in the stable.

Mary was quite amazing in the way she dealt with the situation, but if you think about it, so was Joseph. Even though he didn't quite believe that she hadn't been playing around behind his back, he was still determined not to cause her embarrassment, and decided to divorce her quietly. I mean, the poor guy must've felt humiliated and hurt, okay. Most people would feel a desire to hit back -- can you imagine Joseph yelling, "I'm going to let everyone know just what kind of a woman you are!" -- but no, Joseph still put Mary's welfare first.

If I can't be like Mary and do that instant, "Yes, Lord, whatever You say, Lord," thing, then at least I hope I'll be like Joseph. I see Joseph as a good man, who had good intentions and would always try to do what he himself believed was right. He might be misguided, he might not always grasp exactly what God is doing in the situation, he might even be reading the situation all wrong, but he was, in the Bible's words, "a righteous man".

People make a big deal out of God's choosing Mary to bear baby Jesus, but I think they tend to miss the fact that God actually chose Joseph, too. Jesus was placed with Mary & Joseph as a couple. In effect, God chose a set of parents to bring Jesus up. It wasn't by accident that Mary just "happened" to be engaged to Joseph and Joseph just "happened" to be a righteous man, you know.

So I mean, give the fella a break. Dads, especially Asian dads, usually tend to be quieter and stay more in the background, compared to their wives who are often more more vocal (*ahem*) and visible in the "nurturer" and "caregiver" role. Joseph might not have broken out into song and said, "I'm so blessed," but how do you know he didn't think it?

Just coz Joseph stayed out of the limelight doesn't mean he was "half-hearted". If Mary was the "mother of God", Joseph was just as much the "father of God". You can't blame him for not being involved in the conception -- if he'd been involved, Jesus wouldn't be Jesus! In every other way, he played the role of father to Jesus. It's not fair to overlook him, just like it's not fair to overlook all the fathers who quietly make sacrifices for the sake of their families and work their butts off to be good providers. Bob once said to me that mothers tend to earn all the plaudits and are celebrated all the time, but fathers often toil without much recognition. I think that's true.

I have no idea where I was going with this...