Wood carving of Saint Joseph.
Photograph by Karl Raymund Catabas via Unsplash
Joseph, backup quarterback
Mary appears more frequently and consistently throughout the gospel accounts. Her words on four occasions are recorded, including what has come to be known as the Magnificat, and all four gospel writers place her at or near the cross—a witness to Jesus’ crucifixion.
Joseph was instrumental. He had four dreams and did as he was instructed in them, first remaining with Mary after learning she was pregnant rather than quietly dismissing her as he had planned, second fleeing to Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous wrath, third, returning from Egypt after the death of Herod, and fourth, settling in Galilee after learning Archelaus, son of Herod, was ruling over Judea. Joseph was faithful, devoted even, but after playing his part he fades from the scene.
“Dads are kind of like the backup quarterback in the NFL,” Jim Gaffigan said. “You’re on the team, but you’re not the star…and on the rare occasion you’re brought into the game, people are nervous.” While an exaggeration, as a father, I have seen this play out. My family has certainly experienced this reality.
In the gospel narrative, Joseph is the backup quarterback. Mary is the star. And that is as it should be.
My church has been without a pastor since February when our beloved pastor of 31 years retired. For the better part of the past year, we have been piecing things together with guest pulpit supply preachers and members, including retired clergy and currently serving chaplains, taking turns preaching on Sundays. I even took a turn in October.
I was in a worship planning meeting in October when I learned that the Sunday we would focus on Joseph, a group of visiting jazz musicians would provide the music. They join us once a month, and they are kind enough to allow me to sit in with them on occasion and even to play my songs. They are so good at what they do that we only ever rehearse a song twice the morning of a service before playing it in worship.
Knowing they were coming, I offered to play one of several Christmas songs I have written over the years.
“Do you have a song about Joseph?” I was asked.
“No,” I said.
“Perhaps you will write one. Maybe it will come to you in a dream.”
Sure enough, I wrote “Joseph’s Lament” the next morning. It did not come to me in a dream but rather while walking the dog. It came to me whole—words and music—in under ten minutes. I wrote it on my phone, then made a rough recording when I got back home.
It is a song from Joseph’s perspective—Joseph the backup quarterback, who was faithful, devoted, and played his part well before he faded from the scene not long after the birth of Jesus.
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
Joseph’s Lament
Mary don’t weep for tomorrow
Though trouble is coming our way
Though the comforts of home be abandoned
Beside you I’ll forever stay
My hands are cracked and calloused
But my heart is hardened no more
For the love you carry within you
Is given for the whole world
I’m a man of angles and braces
In my shop I’ve built steady and sure
But this news about angels and spirits
It shook me straight to my core
But I will not faint or falter
I will stand with you come what may
For the love you carry within you
Will brighten the darkest of days
And when I am gone and forgotten
When my name is lost to the wind
When the things I have built lay in ruin
And the shadows of evening grow thin
There’s a love I will always remember
As deep as the ocean is blue
For the love you carry within you
Is the love that makes everything new
Yes, the love you carry within you
Is the love that makes everything new
Joseph's Lament
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