By The Way: Don’t forget about Joseph this Christmas

By Scott Raible on December 20, 2025.

During the Advent season, our attention is often drawn to Mary, the angels, and the shepherds. Yet it is surprisingly easy to forget Joseph-or to quietly write him out of the story altogether.

I once heard a pastor tell a story about a church nativity play that made this painfully clear. On the morning of the performance, the little boy who was supposed to play Joseph became ill. With no time to find a replacement, the leaders made a quick decision: they simply wrote Joseph out of the play. Mary stood alone at the manger.

The story went on without him.

As humorous as that story may sound, it reveals something true about how we often treat Joseph. He is silent in Scripture, has no angelic songs or prophetic speeches, and yet Matthew 1:18-25 shows us a man whose faithfulness changed history.

Joseph is called a righteous man. When he learns that Mary is pregnant, his response is marked by mercy. He plans to divorce her quietly, protecting her from shame. Joseph could have immediately believed Mary without hesitation, but Scripture suggests he struggled.

God met him in that struggle by speaking through a dream. This reminds us that faith sometimes grows through questions, not the absence of them. The angel in the dream tells him not to be afraid, that the child is from the Holy Spirit, and that this child will save His people from their sins.

Joseph could have dismissed the dream. He could have trusted his understanding instead of God’s word. But when Joseph wakes up, Scripture says he does exactly what the angel commanded. He receives what God speaks and responds with trust and obedience.

This moment connects with Acts 2:17, where God promises that in the last days He will pour out His Spirit, and people will dream dreams and see visions. Joseph reminds us that God speaks and that faithful people listen. But more than that, Joseph shows us that hearing God’s voice requires action.

Joseph’s obedience was quiet and costly. He quietly bore the doubt and suspicion of those around him, changed his own plans, and took responsibility for a child entrusted to him by God, though not his by birth. He named Jesus. He protected Mary. He had an integral part in raising the Savior of the world.

This Advent season, Joseph calls us to listen carefully and obey faithfully even when the path forward is costly and unclear.

Though Joseph is silent in the story, his life speaks loudly: a reminder that humble hearts and courageous obedience can make room for the miraculous.

Scott Raible is a lay minister serving at St Barnabas Church in Medicine Hat and at St Ambrose in Redcliff. Scott started Christian radio in Medicine Hat with Alive 99.5 and was an announcer and music director with 93.7 Praise FM. Scott can be reached at scottraible@gmail.com

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