Amy Kelley, Dir. of Outreach (Gethsemane)

Matthew 1:18-23

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly. 20 As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:

23 Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son,
        And they will call him, Emmanuel.

Reflection:
I am a remarried mother of three. This means that my children have a stepmother and a stepfather who are both incredible human beings. Learning how to co-parent took time and effort. The “STEPS & BIOS” (step-parents and biological parents) had to get to know each other in the process. We agreed on almost everything. If one of the kids got grounded at one house, they were grounded at both houses. If one house assigned curfew, the other had the same curfew. However, when there were times that we didn’t agree on an issue, the STEPS defaulted to the BIOS. (There were times when the dads didn’t see eye to eye with us moms, but that’s a story for another day. But we all know who would win those conversations). But I digress.

Well, let’s look at the Greatest of All Time Stepdad: Joseph!

Joseph was Jesus’ stepdad, the unsung hero of parenting and a man of integrity. He followed God with all his heart; he was faithful and honest. Joseph also obeyed the laws of the land, even if it meant it would break his heart. When he learned that Mary was pregnant, he knew that if he rushed to marry her the people of Nazareth would assume he had broken his commitment to God and the law. However, being man of integrity, he didn’t miss a beat. Joseph treated Mary with kindness and respect before the Holy Spirit revealed to him that this baby was the Son of God.

That didn’t stop when Joseph became the stepdad. This amazing stepdad, in the background of the Jesus story, worked hard to love and support his family. He raised Jesus as God would want him to: he took care of him, protected him, taught him how to be a man of honor. Joseph took on the role of stepdad as an honor. God didn’t just choose Mary to be the mother of Jesus. God chose Joseph to be the Greatest of All Time Stepdad!

Prayer:
Hey Heavenly Dad,
I am grateful for my biological family. But thank You for all of the STEPS in my life. There are not only real stepparents amongst me, but there are STEPS in my life who are molding and shaping me every day. Help me to not just coexist, but co-parent all of your children. I love you and praise you! Amen.