Each year I search for the perfect Christmas card. It’s a tough choice because I want to pick something that is going to stand out and actually be read -- not just quickly opened and tossed into the red basket with a Christmas tree painted on the side. Of course, each year it seems this becomes a little bit easier because fewer people send Christmas cards, making the competition less intense. This year, my wife Cheryl and I were looking over the selection in Barnes and Noble and the perfect card hit my eye! The picture on the front of the card was not the usual Madonna and Child, or Nativity scene, but rather a depiction of Joseph leading a donkey carrying an expecting Mary on the way to Bethlehem. Joseph is my favorite saint. Maybe it is because he is my namesake, but I hope it is more because I see in him the perfect role model for a Christian man. He was a quiet, hard working man with strong family values. As I reflected on my card selection which I chose only because it featured my favorite saint in a key role at Christmas, I realized that there was actually a deeper significance. Joseph, after all, was helping to bring Jesus to us. He protected Mary and provided for her, and for the new Baby. His was a low key, but extremely important role that helped make possible Jesus’ salvation mission. We too are challenged to be Joseph. By this, I mean we need to be present to Jesus and help bring him into the world today -- to our families, our friends, and those we encounter each day.
Every once in a while we get some sort of sign or affirmation that a personal revelation has occurred. This happened for me this year. I spent a Saturday morning writing out my Christmas cards, and it was while I was thinking of messages to write in individual cards that my reflection about the significance of St. Joseph on the card image took place. Then, I sealed the envelopes and headed for the Northport post office to send them off. I stood in line to buy stamps, patiently waiting as the clerk took passport photos of a family heading somewhere warm sometime soon, and for her to explain the fastest delivery for a package to the Midwest. It was my turn at the window and I asked for a couple of books of Christmas stamps -- “religious, please.” The clerk handed me the stamps and I paused as I looked at the image -- a picture of Joseph leading Mary on a donkey!
I feel fortunate to work in Catholic health care where my work very directly supports the role of the Church continuing to represent the healing presence of Jesus in our world today, just as he showed us over 2,000 years ago. Regardless of where we work, or what type of work we do, St. Joseph offers a true example of humbly serving so that a greater mission can succeed. That mission is one of Peace, Love, Forgiveness, and Healing. These gifts are needed today, as much as they were when Joseph led Mary on that donkey.
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