Monday, December 5, 2016

The Joseph's who make Christmas possible



      When I walked into this month’s prayer meeting, little did I know that I would find another Joseph? And I had wanted to write about this for so long. But, maybe I needed to be inspired by another Joseph in order to adore the one who made Christmas possible. Yes, dad of Jesus, which the world never gave its due. Infact, it struck me profoundly last year when multiple times in the homilies, he wasn’t even considered to be Jesus’ dad. So, this one is to the millions of Joseph’s around the world who have never been recognized.
But, here is the story that inspired me to write this. 
        I saw Raj, right up near the altar at the prayer meeting. So, I wondered if Veena, his wife had returned because I knew that she had travelled to India to be with her father who had been diagnosed with brain tumor and was operated upon. And they have a wonderful daughter in Ivana. And Raj looked in his elements. Therefore, I thought everything must have been amazingly fine. Nevertheless, when the prayer session ended, I stopped by for a chat. And quickly I realized that Veena had not yet returned for more than 2 months now. So, how did Raj manage with Ivana? I knew he was a programmer who worked from home. I guess that made it very easy. Nope. It was tough. He had to ensure that his work didn’t suffer as he tried to ensure that Ivana’s hectic schedule was on the spot each and every day. And he had to make sure that his 7 yr old would not miss her mom in any way. Now, that’s tough at that age, especially, when one is talking about an Indian mom. Dad has no chance most of the times. But, what struck me was when he said that his daughter never complained. I agree that she is a sweet heart. But, I want to give it to Raj today. Its not possible to maintain that over 2 months. Especially, when one has not done it before. And when it has been an emergency and the child has not had any time to prepare mentally. That’s where the conversation turned to a very poignant moment. That through adversity, God had given an opportunity to Raj and he had taken it whole heartedly and done his best. It was GOD’s way of highlighting how wonderfully gifted father, Raj was. Not just to others, but to himself.  And when we brought this point up, we thought about someone else. The one and only Joseph. The one who made Christmas possible. And while we know how hard it was for Mary and she is the center for all Christians, we don’t know anything about Joseph. Except, that when the angel appeared to him and asked him to do exactly as told, without hesitation he just did it. While we know that Mary moved around on a mule, all we know of the carpenter Joseph was that he walked. And he walked quite some miles, sometimes even crossed countries just to ensure that Jesus and Mary were safe.  And then when the word was fulfilled, just disappeared into wilderness. Never someone who wanted any spotlight on himself. He was happy that Jesus and sometimes Mary had it on them. Its amazing that the Church has never given this amazing dad any recognition. But, maybe that's the Joseph, God wanted us to know and follow.
           Every wonderful dad I have known has been a Joseph including my very own. And I deeply wanted to ensure, for once this Christmas, I could bring it to everybody's attention. Because, without the Joseph's, Christmas is not possible.

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