Joseph is the man!

I got to see the Nativity Story last night. It was not without its questionable moments – it seemed like the filmmakers did not believe that Mary was without sin – but it was certainly not lacking in truth, beauty, and, goodness.

There was one part in the movie that I honestly have never really considered in the way that the movie opened to me, and that is the faith of Joseph. My favorite part of the movie was seeing the reaction that the people of Nazareth had to Mary being pregnant out of wedlock. The part that I had never considered was that when Joseph decided to accept Mary, he was also accepting that people would think he was the father of the child and also guilty of premarital sex. We know that Joseph is only the adoptive father of Jesus, but the people of Nazareth didn’t. They went from thinking that Mary was unchaste to thinking that Joseph was too. Joseph had to give his “fiat” to that ridicule also. To me, this was beautiful. It showed Joseph’s great love for his wife, for Jesus, and above all for his God. This love and dedication of Joseph was very strong throughout the rest of the movie also. To me it is the organizing structure for telling the whole story, and I found it to be a very interesting and moving perspective.

I expected this movie to be very devoted to Mary and Jesus, and to portray them in the glory that they deserve. I was not expecting the same focus on Joseph, but I was very pleased with it. Seeing his example in this way is a great source of strength for myself, and I feel it would be for any husband and father.