On NPR's annual Tinsel Tales today, I heard a Modern Day Mary & Joseph by Scott Simon. It was clever and heartwarming, of course, but it struck a deeper chord with me when I heard Simon's version of how "Joseph" comes to understand what this little baby, "Jesus," means:
"I think I finally understand," he said. "Why we're here. Why we've been given the gift of this child.
"It doesn't matter who the father is, does it? Every child born cries for our love and deserves our care. Every child who's hungry in Sudan or Louisiana or Indonesia. Every little girl who's abandoned by the roadside in China. Every little boy in Uganda who's dragged into somebody's army while he's still not as tall as the gun they put in his arms. Every teenager who never seems to take off their ear buds. Every little boy and girl anywhere who's threatened by a bomb, an epidemic, a bullet or a storm. I must love them as a father loves his child."
Mary and Joseph sat with their arms around each other and around their baby boy. [...] The star that had found them seemed to stay above them for a moment. While their child breathed softly and safely and peacefully in their arms, looking out at a world that seemed suddenly new.
For me, this says it all. I am not a religious person and I don't believe in God. But what Joseph describes in the story is how many mothers and fathers begin to view the world after having a child. It is a humbling reminder that our children aren't just ours. They belong to the world. They belong to all of us. Whatever our differences, political and idealogical, each of us should do our part to ensure that all children everywhere are warm and safe and peaceful.
Happy Holidays.
Listen to Modern Day Mary and Joseph on NPR.
Cross posted on MOMocrats.
