Joe was a no-show

Last night we decorated our tree and home for Christmas. Over the years, our decorations have gotten misplaced and broken, as is expected with a family our size and a house our size. Things just disappear.

One thing I found particularly interesting is that our nativity set is missing every character except Mary and baby Jesus.

I also think it's very appropriate, considering how Joseph sort of leaves the show after season 1.

One thing I've always wondered (and something we discussed in New Testament class) is what happens to Joseph??

My professor said that depending on who you talk to, there are those who think he died, those who think he opted out after a while because of social pressure, and there are those who just don't know.

The bible says that Jesus worked with his father as a carpenter, but other passages conflict.

For instance, when Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, they say "isn't this Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, brother of James?...."

In this time period, people would not have called him "son of Mary" if Joseph was in the picture.

There's another passage where Jesus tells the Pharisees that his father is his witness. And they say "Who is your father?"

In class, my professor said that they were implying that Jesus' earthly father was unknown or questionable. And thus implying that Jesus is illegitimate.

(If you read the next verse, however, Jesus totally owns them and says that his father is in Heaven and they don't know him.)

I love 2 things about what he says back to them.

1- He is defending himself and his authority as the son of God

and 2- He is defending his mother.

If there was debate over Jesus' real father, then Mary was most likely seen as a whore in her society. And in one passage, one phrase, Jesus tells them to shut up. I love it.

I've seen those shirts that jokingly say "Mary is my homegirl." But I can honestly say that she is MY homegirl. I have to give her so much credit. She put her life and reputation on the line for the opportunity to birth the son of God. She was a brave kid, who grew into a brave woman.

We don't see Joseph at the cross when Jesus dies, but we do see Mary (John 19:25).

Now, I know that doesn't mean Joseph was a necessarily a deadbeat dad, and I'm sure there's an explanation for his absence. We can exegesis the heck out of passages concerning Joseph, but as far as I'm concerned, Mary was a single mother.

So even though our nativity set is lacking, the feminist in me can smile at this.