Modern Day Joseph

Greetings from the arctic circle...or at least that's what it feels like here in Big Sky country. 25 degrees below zero. That's right -25. Actually, we've warmed up quite a bit and are now hovering right around zero. Not really cold at all. I'm here visiting family for the holidays and was able to see my niece, age four, in the church Christmas pageant the other day. This is the church I grew up attending and I remember being in the pageants. I was always one of the angels. Never got to be Mary which is the choice role as she is clearly the star. Some might say Baby Jesus is the star, but since he is played by a doll in our church, it isn't really much of a part. This year we watched my niece file in with all the other kids and take her place at the front of the church. She looked adorable in her little wings and halo (she had to be an angel too!) and her red Christmas dress. Clearly she knew she was there to look good as she didn't actually do a lot of singing. She did wave furiously at her dad and grandpa who were both busy filming and she often turned around to look at the kids behind her. Sometimes she played with her skirt, doing her own little dance which seemed entirely unrelated to Away in a Manger. As cute as she was; however, she was not the stand out in this performance. That distinction goes to Joseph. Mary and Joseph, played by a couple of wee little ones, came on stage with another kid dressed in a donkey suit (he will most certainly be scarred for life) and placed the Baby Jesus (the aforementioned doll), swaddling clothes and all, in the manger. This task being accomplished, Mary sat down beside the manger. Joseph, in the form a true modern father, appeared terror-stricken and ran to his mother, abandoning Mary and Baby Jesus and leaving them to fend for themselves. Who can blame him really? A wife and baby are a big responsibility, especially in these tough economic times. As a carpenter, he probably hasn't had much work lately. Besides, there's that whole sticky paternity issue... I guess it's a good thing for Baby Jesus that Joseph wasn't a modern man.