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By Bishop Jovie Galaraga
(Imagine. If Joseph and Mary were like most of us today na hindi complete ang araw pag di makapag-Facebook, what would they write about, especially on Christmas time where they played starring roles? This fictional FB status of Jesus’ mother and stepfather aim to tickle your humor genes as you celebrate the ‘merriest’ month of every year. Life is a comedy, di ba?)
JOSEPH: WHY I DON’T LIKE CHRISTMAS VERY MUCH
“You come from a line of kings and royalty and you carry an illustrious name. Yahweh has destined you for something very special; He has a great purpose for you.”
As an apprentice in our family’s carpentry shop in our small town of Nazareth (population: 150-200), my father overfed me with pep talks like the above. Looking back now, I’ve the sneaking suspicion that Pastor Rick Warren may have gotten recordings of my father’s inspirational spiels and found their way into his hugely popular “Purpose-Driven Life” book.
“Remember,” my father would hasten to add, “your name starts with “J” – many of the Book’s great men had names that begin with “J.” Then, he would rattle off some of Israel’s revered patriarchs and heroes starting with my great, great (to the nth degree) grandfather Joseph (from whom I was named), Jacob, Joshua, Job, Jabez, Judah, Jonathan, Josiah, Jehoshapat and others.
I got so enamored by his “J” story that I didn’t bother to ask what about those with B (as in Binyamin of Israel’s P.M. Netanyahu), N (as in President Noynoy Aquino), or F (as in Ferdie Bravo, our gallant Focal Editor).
What my father was totally clueless about was, years later, his own daughter-in-law, Mary, would deliver to the world the greatest “J” of all, Jesus Christ.
But I treasured my father’s words and pondered them in my heart. Oftentimes, in my favorite spot at the Nazareth ridge overlooking the verdant Jezreel Valley, I would look up to heaven and silently nag Yahweh, “Lord my Lord, what is your purpose and destiny for me?”
Yet, I almost missed my appointment with Destiny when it came! Kasi hindi dumating tulad ng aking inasahan, gaya ng isang balikbayan box from an Israel OFW na alam mo na ang laman. Being a direct descendant of the line of David, the most prominent king of Israel, siyempre naman, I also dreamed of a momentous starring role in some center-of-history kind of phenomenon. Well, I guess I inherited the dreamer’s genes of my great grandpa Joseph, a.k.a. The Dreamer.
But Yahweh had other plans, na noong una ay di ko maunawaan, masyadong complicated. Biro ninyo, without my permission, He picked out a surprised Mary, my betrothed one, an ordinary but the loveliest sweet-16 girl in Nazareth for the celebrated super role as mother of the Savior.
At ako – I was consigned to be the righteous, obedient “father” to a son not my own and faithful supporting cast to my wife. (Well, to His credit, God sent an angel to explain the mysterious heavenly plan and to pacify me because I was about to junk Mary quietly, although buong Nazareth ay naghihintay na sa stomach progress ng aming grandeng kasalan. Matthew 1:18-24)
So there it was – my purpose and destiny – as portrayed by gospel writers Matthew and Luke, the perfect super alalay to my wife who from the Bethlehem miracle and for 2000 years now, was reluctantly pushed into history’s limelight as the Blessed One.
In fact, after we brought the baby Jesus to the Temple wrapped in clothes that I bought from a Jerusalem ukay-kay (used items) open market, nothing much was written about me. Mary was given all the media mileage and understandably so. That’s why some historians suspected that I may have died early. A big exaggeration. But I knew the right thing to do: Mary must increase, I must decrease.
So you see, my role became so different from what I humanly envisioned. But soon I understood fully that it was God’s chosen, perfect assignment for me which I fulfilled with utmost joy.
MY ONLY COMPLAINT TODAY IS – and this is why I don’t like Christmas very much – churches and greeting cards worldwide still use those ludicrous, emaciated and balding portraits of me beside my beautiful-beyond-description Mary, the total opposite of the real Joseph – dashing, dapper, debonair, crush ng bayan!
MARY: IF I HAD A CHOICE
Many times, during women’s potluck gatherings (meaning, KKB, kanya-kanyang baon) in the early church in Jerusalem, I had been asked almost interminably, “What if I had a choice?”
Looking back now, how I wish I had not opened my mouth so soon and responded to angel Gabriel too hastily with my very cute, “I am the Lord’s servant. Be it done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). But as you know I was young, too astounded and overwhelmed by the angel’s announcement, I had no time to sort out its deeper implications in my simple life.
But ano nga kaya kung sumagot ako ng ganito: “Toda raba angel Gabriel, I’m really grateful for being highly favored, but please pakisabi na lang po kay Yahweh, I’m already happy and contented as an ordinary girl getting ready for her extra-ordinary wedding, the most glorious event Jewish girls look forward to. Sorry, but di ko yata maintindihan at kayang gawin yang virgin birth miracle. But you can ask yung barkada ko – si Symplysia, mahilig yun sa mga misteryong bagay. She’s dying to get married and have a baby kaso nung nagbuhos ang langit ng beauty, katiting lang ang natira sa kanya, kaya, even if the whole Galilee population ay puro lalaki, any hope for marriage is deader than the Dead Sea!”
Can I let you in to a secret I had kept for 2000 years? Alam ninyo, I had always been fascinated with Barbie dolls. The first time I saw one in Nazareth Shopping Center, I began to dream that one day I’ll own one. But you know how expensive they were. So when we were betrothed, one of the first things Joseph and I agreed was to save so I can buy Barbie’s various models, at hindi sa Nazareth but in the big city, Jerusalem.
That’s why if I had a choice – and please sa atin-atin na lang ito – I really wanted a baby girl.
Mary Christmas na maluwalhati po sa inyong lahat.