Friday, Dec. 8, 2006 | I saw “The Nativity Story” this past weekend and it got me thinking.
Actually, to be fair, I didn’t see the movie, I saw the poster. Still, I think that’s the same thing since I already know the ending.
Since then, I’ve been thinking about Jesus’ stepfather, Joseph, and I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s been getting the shaft all these years.
Think about it: he did most of the day-to-day parenting of Jesus. It was he who taught the King of Kings how to be a carpenter. And I’m sure he also told the savior to make sure he had the donkey back by 10 p.m. because it was a Hebrew school night.
Yet, Joseph gets ignored. It’s God who gets all the credit, yet the Bible doesn’t mention exactly how much he did to raise his son.
I wouldn’t go as far to call the Almighty a deadbeat Dad but biblical researchers have yet to find a passage in the Bible that reads, “and, lo, the support check came and all was good.”
I’m sure it would have been useful, especially when they had to sleep in that manger.
It’s not easy being God. You have to listen to delusional folks praying to be hooked up with Britney Spears. Then there are those smart asses who keep asking, “Well, if you are so powerful, can you make a rock so big even YOU can’t lift it.”
A deity who can put up with that deserves to be revered but at the risk of being irreverent, I’d like to know: Is God so powerful, can’t he make an inn with enough rooms to house his only begotten son?
Also, since God is so loving, maybe he should give a shout out now and then to Joseph. After all, he’s the one who made sure there was food on the table and also taught Jesus learned a trade just in case he didn’t want to work for his real dad.
But it’s par for the course.
There are millions of step parents who step in to help kids that aren’t their own who don’t get any credit. Instead, they have to deal with media portrayals of them as “evil stepmothers” or taunts like “You’re not my real dad.”
They have it tough but it was even worse for Joseph, who not only had to deal with a crying baby, chatty animals, but also that darned little drummer boy.
Yeesh, I had a child earlier this year and it was pretty intense. I’m sure that if there had been a drummer in the delivery room, I would have lost it. Norah Jones would’ve been a better choice. That’s what my wife and I listened to.
But Joseph apparently is built of sterner stuff. Nowhere in the Bible does it say he lost it and screamed at the drummer or even the three wise men.
For that he deserves credit, but, more important, he deserves a holiday movie of his own. Maybe Brad Pitt could star. He knows what it’s like to take care of another man’s child.
David Moye is a La Mesa-based writer who, despite this cheeky column, truly does believe that God is so powerful that he indeed could make a rock so big that even he can’t lift it. He can be reached at moyemail@cox.net. Or, send a letter to the editor.