Monday, December 18, 2006 at 1:01am
A man in full
As Christmas approaches, I find myself focused on Jesus' adoptive father, Joseph. He occupies my mind as I read articles written by adult children of fatherless homes (a distressing one appeared in this weekend's Washington Post), and I contemplate recent statistics revealing that two out of five children are born out of wedlock and thus unlikely to grow up with a father in their lives.
Through the years, I have grown passionate about the tragedy of fatherless homes in America. I grew up during the decades when the tornado of divorce and disposable dads first swept across the nation. My own home miraculously remained standing. I often wonder why I was so blessed.
Now a commodity notion of child conception is commonplace in the medical world, and women write narcissistic books about the unimportance of men in children's lives. My heart breaks, and I think about the humble father who took on a momentous role in human history. Joseph is spoken of only briefly in Matthew and Luke's gospels, but the little that is written reveals so much.
"Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly" (Matthew 1:19). Joseph would have been perfectly within the law to expose Mary to public indignation and stoning. He rejects this culturally accepted course, thereby showing love and honor toward Mary even when he does not know the divine nature of her conception. He is uncorrupted by the sort of pride and anger that easily could take hold of another man in such a situation.
He accompanies and protects Mary and her child through their darkest days. His character is most easily described as an honorable husband and father or simply an honorable man. Actors who portray Joseph tend to capture him beautifully. From Franco Zeffirelli's "Jesus of Nazareth" to the recent "The Nativity Story," Joseph's combination of humility and manliness shines through.
(Alas, actors rarely get the teenage Mary right. Keisha Castle-Hughes' morose Mary in "The Nativity Story" leaves the audience asking, "Why would God choose this kid?")
Pastors teaching the bible to young boys in communities destroyed by father absence can show young men role models in the Holy Family. For many children in America today, Mary's husband could be the only father whose story they will ever know. A spiritual rejuvenation is necessary to bring modern-day Joseph's back into children's lives and to help women recognize the even the most revered mother in history needed the support of a loving man by her side.
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Elise Ehrhard is a free-lance writer living in New England whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Chicago Tribune, The American Feminist and others. Her latest feature article, an in-depth profile of a nun who survived war and poverty, recently appeared in the Catholic women's magazine Canticle. E-mail her at {email eliseehrhard@yahoo.com}eliseehrhard@yahoo.com{/email}. © copyright 2006 by Elise Ehrhard
Through the years, I have grown passionate about the tragedy of fatherless homes in America. I grew up during the decades when the tornado of divorce and disposable dads first swept across the nation. My own home miraculously remained standing. I often wonder why I was so blessed.
Now a commodity notion of child conception is commonplace in the medical world, and women write narcissistic books about the unimportance of men in children's lives. My heart breaks, and I think about the humble father who took on a momentous role in human history. Joseph is spoken of only briefly in Matthew and Luke's gospels, but the little that is written reveals so much.
"Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly" (Matthew 1:19). Joseph would have been perfectly within the law to expose Mary to public indignation and stoning. He rejects this culturally accepted course, thereby showing love and honor toward Mary even when he does not know the divine nature of her conception. He is uncorrupted by the sort of pride and anger that easily could take hold of another man in such a situation.
He accompanies and protects Mary and her child through their darkest days. His character is most easily described as an honorable husband and father or simply an honorable man. Actors who portray Joseph tend to capture him beautifully. From Franco Zeffirelli's "Jesus of Nazareth" to the recent "The Nativity Story," Joseph's combination of humility and manliness shines through.
(Alas, actors rarely get the teenage Mary right. Keisha Castle-Hughes' morose Mary in "The Nativity Story" leaves the audience asking, "Why would God choose this kid?")
Pastors teaching the bible to young boys in communities destroyed by father absence can show young men role models in the Holy Family. For many children in America today, Mary's husband could be the only father whose story they will ever know. A spiritual rejuvenation is necessary to bring modern-day Joseph's back into children's lives and to help women recognize the even the most revered mother in history needed the support of a loving man by her side.
— — —
Elise Ehrhard is a free-lance writer living in New England whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Chicago Tribune, The American Feminist and others. Her latest feature article, an in-depth profile of a nun who survived war and poverty, recently appeared in the Catholic women's magazine Canticle. E-mail her at {email eliseehrhard@yahoo.com}eliseehrhard@yahoo.com{/email}. © copyright 2006 by Elise Ehrhard