I tore the above pictures from a catalog last summer.  I just don’t recall seeing Joseph with baby Jesus very much.  Nor are there many pictures of Joseph by himself. Sometimes I think he is the unappreciated major player in the Christmas narrative.  

Joseph’s presence and participation are critical to the story, yet we frequently look upon him as the guy who guided the donkey and procured the stable and that’s about it.   Yet I am coming to appreciate him more and more. Joseph is the guy who stabilized and legitimized Mary’s pregnancy in the eyes of family, friends and neighbors. He is the guy whose faith was so expansive that he trusted God’s angel’s words, even when it made made no sense.  He is the guy who protected Mary and the baby. He is the guy who sacrificed home and business when Mary and the baby needed to be protected by a journey into Egypt. Joseph made his wife and baby his number one priority.

He had one job: care for his family.  He did it well. So let’s stop a moment and praise God for Joseph, and ask God to help us be more like Joseph, faithful and focused.

ONE

That word and the idea of ONE  has resonated with my soul for a couple of months.  Someone asked me what is expected of members, and I had an answer, but it seemed rather wordy.  Of course, we are expected to be faithful with prayers, presence, gifts, service and faithful witness.  Yet how do we live that vow? The idea of ONE keeps coming to my mind.

We participate in at least ONE worship service, at least ONE small group experience and at least ONE mission.  Worship is weekly, the others may meet on other time structures. Worship is Sunday morning. Small groups are Sunday school, UMW circles, UMM, Bible studies, and so forth.  Missions are ways we reach out into the world.

In the coming weeks, we will think about how we commit our living to ONE task: following Christ in our living.

Faithfully,
Pastor Scarlett