Do the Right Thing

December 21, 2011
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A couple of years ago, Joseph went missing from the manger we set on the coffee table in the living room. When searching for him proved fruitless, I commandeered one of the shepherds to stand by Mary. No one else noticed Joseph’s absence, but I felt it keenly. For me, Joseph had become a role model for how to react to any unsettling, anxiety producing situation.

There is more to Joseph’s story, but the short version is he stood by the woman to whom he was engaged, though he was not the baby’s father. (OK–an angel told him to do it, but he was certainly free to say no.) Motivated by a strong sense of duty, Joseph overcame his dismay at the predicament and acted with compassion. Had he not married her, the mother-to-be could have been publicallyexecuted by stoning.

Did Joseph experience fear, anger, and disappointment as drama began to unfold? Of course, he did.

Did he duck and run? Of course, he could have, but he didn’t. Without flinching, he caught the curve ball coming his way from the high heavenly places. If God had a plan to repair and heal the world and if that plan included him, who was he to say no?

Mind you, Joseph was a carpenter, not a VIP. He never sought the spotlight. He never expected a pat on the back and actually never got one. What he did get was the opportunity to do the right thing. When it came time for him to act, he did not allow fear or anger to carry the day; rather, he rose to higher ground.

This December, I am wondering how different our city, our families, our work places, our neighborhoods might be this time next year if more of us followed Joseph’s lead.

Share with me…

  • What might happen if we set aside our anxieties and our anger over all the things that are going awry in our world today?
  • What if we decided to move to the higher ground, doing what we can to make things right instead of fussing about all that is wrong?
  • What might happen if we listened to our compassionate natures and stopped being so self-concerned?
  • What if more of us stepped out in faith, rather than remaining tucked safely away in the familiar?
  • What if we asked, where can I make a difference in someone’s life, in thecommunity of which I am a part?

Joseph was your basic hammer and saw kind of guy who simply stepped up and did the right thing. Through his courage and compassion and that of millions of others like him across the ages, broken things get repaired.

What can you do to follow in his footsteps today?

Rev. Joanna Adams