When you think about it, of all the characters in Christmas story, nobody gets the shaft more than Joseph. Jesus is the birthday boy and has the whole "long-awaited-Messiah" thing going for him, so naturally he gets most of the attention. Mary is the one giving birth to him in a dirty barn surrounded by horse poo, so we can all agree she earns her stripes with that performance. But after that, our supporting cast is rounded out by an angel, pagan stargazers from the East, a bunch of guys hanging out with sheep in a field, two old people, and a local ruler with a really, really bad case of Christmas humbug. We don't even get a quote out of Joseph. All things considered, the fact that that we don't hear more about the man who would one day help raise God Incarnate is stunning.

Consider the following:

When Mary tells him she's pregnant (and he's not the father), he doesn't leave her. He does this primarily because he dreams that an angel tells him everything is fine. And we've all been there before, right?
For nine months, Joseph bears the public shame of being betrothed to a woman who's already pregnant. Imagine if word got out that your husband was a pedophile 9 months before you got married, and you still agreed to marry him. This is the awkwardness and shame Joseph had to live with (unfairly, mind you ) for 9 months.
During this time, Joseph doesn't have sex with his wife, even after he marries her, until after Mary gives birth to the baby.
Joseph walks for five days from Bethlehem to Nazareth with a pregnant woman in tow aboard a stinky donkey. How has no one made a road trip movie about this yet?
Out of options and probably getting yelled at by his now very pregnant wife, Joseph delivers Mary's baby in the previously mentioned dirty barn surrounded by horse poo.
I've met men of few words in my life, but the next time we see Joseph, it's 12 years later and he still hasn't said anything. At this point I just want to hug the guy. If ever there was someone who needed a drink and a fishing trip, it was Joseph.

Seriously friends, this is the stuff comedy routines are made of.

Which is what makes me so curious about Joseph. He's the father of God, but not really, but sorta. What's he thinking? Feeling? What can we learn from Joseph, the man of few words and few appearances despite having such a crucial role?

As a man, I am reminded of a simple, timeless principle: show up for work. God called Joseph, and he answered. He doesn't get much glory, he doesn't get much honor, but he does the job God called him to. This is what "showing up' looks like in my life today. I am reminded to stop expecting everyone to notice how great I am and focus on the task at hand. And God, in his mercy, tends to work things out from there, always for my benefit and never for my harm.

I don't know what happened to Joseph, or why his story was lost to history. But someday, my story will probably be lost to history as well. And what will matter then will not be how great I was, how many giants I'd slain or how many wars I fought. What will matter is how I did my job as a husband. As a father. As an employee to provide for my family. As a friend to those who needed it. This, friends, is a legacy. As the Christmas season steamrolls on, let's keep in mind that our most precious gifts to those we love will not come in boxes or bags. They will not remember those gifts. But they will remember what you did and how you treated them.

Let's tell good stories together, Church.