Faith. Strength. Compassion.
Fourth Sunday in Advent
December 21, 2025 8:00 am
Prayer
Almighty God, we give you thanks for faith filled men and women who you have used throughout all generations to lead, guide, and protect those who are young and point them to You and Your love to them through Jesus. Give strength to those who are privileged to be an influence to the next generation, filling them with spiritual maturity and faith. And make the next generation open to the leading of faith filled people and hungry for life with you through Jesus. Amen.
Meditation
Many of us have nativity sets in our homes. These sets come in all shapes and sizes. Some are nearly life sized and sit outside prominent churches in our community. Others are so small that they can fit into the palm of your hand. Some are made of fine porcelain costing hundreds of dollars being hand made in Europe, while others are heavy plastic and meant for children. But no matter how elaborate or humble the nativity set may be, chances are there are at least three people in the picture. There is Jesus of course, lying in a manger. Closest to him is usually Mary, she is often kneeling or crouched down as if to see how her newborn baby is doing. And then there is Joseph. He is usually depicted either opposite Mary, on the other side of the manger, or sometimes standing behind her as if to keep watch, alluding to his role as protector of his family, especially Jesus.
Joseph plays a massive role in the early life of Jesus which is sometimes overlooked amongst the many other remarkable things we read about in the various accounts of Christmas. But as we look closer at Joseph, we see a man whose life and actions still speak to us today. Even many generations later, Joseph serves as an example of faith, strength, and compassion during incredibly trying times and is a person whose life, and most importantly faith, deserves to be both remembered and imitated.
As we look at the nativity sets around us over the next many days, we take special note this week of Joseph and how God used him to lead and safeguard his young family from danger all the while serving God during this most critical time in history.