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.
No comments:
Post a Comment