Fatherhood at Christmas

In this time when over 70% of African American children, about 50% of Hispanic children, and 30% of causcasian children in America are born out of wedlock, it is always timely to talk about fatherhood since most of these children will be missing the influence of their biological father in their lives and many will never have a significant father influence. A fortunate few will be blessed with an adoptive father who accepts them as his own, which reminds me of Joseph.

J.I. Packer has written in his classic book Knowing God that if he had to sum up the gospel in 3 words he would choose 'adoption through propitiation'. It is our adoption by God into His family that gives us the hope of salvation. How appropriate that Jesus would be similarly accepted by Joseph by adoption into his family.

In the nativity story as told by Luke, we first are told about the annunciation and birth of John the Baptist, which preceeded Jesus' birth. When John was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth he was also given his name, as was the custom. The significance of this name-giving comes through in the story of John.

Fathers in our culture as well as in the Bible have always given their family name to their children. This is taken for granted, but in today's world of fatherless children it can no longer be taken for granted. Sometimes the father is not even known. By providing his name, however, the father takes responsibility for the child and claims the child. This was made more explicit at the circumcision of boys in Biblical times as the father also gave the child his full name and presented him to the Lord as his son.

For John, Zacharias had been stricken dumb at his annunciation due to his doubt and questioning of Gabriel, so he could not give John his name. So, the priests assumed that he would be named after his father and proceeded with this approach until interrupted by Elizabeth, objecting that his name was John. They would not accept this from the mother, however, as the father is the name-giver. They turned to Zacharias and he wrote, 'His name is John!' since he was unable to speak.

This makes the passage about Joseph in Matthew the more meaningful. Joseph had been ready to prepare a divorce from Mary, but an angel visited him to make it clear that he should take her as his wife because this child was of God, not of infidelity. And so in Matt. 1:21 the angel says 'and she will bear a son; and you (my emphasis) will call his name Jesus'; then again in 1:25, 'and she gave birth to a Son; and he (my emphasis) called His name Jesus'.

And so Joseph gave Him the name Jesus, which God had instructed but which required a father to give. So Jesus would be known in this life as the son of Joseph who had taken Him as his own and given Him a name. Father's are , among other things, name-givers. We, too, have been adopted and have been given the name 'sons of God' and 'Christian'. In our culture we tend to focus on Mary and overlook Joseph, as if he were irrelevant. God did not overlook him, but specifically sent an angel to him to make sure this special child had a father, a name-giver. In our day, fathers seem to be increasingly seen as irrelevant. Single mothers can choose in vitro fertilization and start a 'family' with no father at all, just a sperm donor who may even be anonymous. We do this at great peril. Even though Jesus had a divine Father, that Father made sure that He also had an adoptive father on this earth. We best not take that example lightly.