An Advent Poem

Joseph

c. 2021 by Cyntthia S. Fischer

I. Together they sat on a stump. 

His head cupped in his hands. 

Her eyes swollen red with tears. 

“Say this again.” 

“It’s a boy. His name will be Jesus, the

 Son of God, to reign on David’s throne, forever. .  

“Mary, how can this be?

Who did this? You can tell me.”

“It is as I said.” 

II. The mosaic tree of life,

The work of three years,

Waited for this final day. 

His hands trembled when he  

Chiseled the last three stones to fit

This display of David’s royal family.

Kneeling, he placed them at  

The tip of the last branch. 

They fit without nudge or tap.

That last stone, the one, 

He found hidden in a heap of rubble. 

He had longed for that one stone.

III. He wrestled in his sleep.

Divorce her or believe her?

Then the vision came…

Of the tree, that final branch.

Mary’s child was that gem.

Placed next to his and to hers.

“Let it be done.” 

He believed and arose.

And found his betrothed. 

About the Poem

While Joseph is behind the scenes in the story of Jesus’ birth, his role is crucial in protecting pregnant Mary and later the entire family as they escape Herod’s edict to kill all the baby boys and flee to Egypt. Joseph reflects God’s Spirit in his life as he receives God’s revelations with humility, grace, and obedience. See Matthew 1 and Luke 1. 

In 2019, my husband and I visited Sepphoris, Israel, a village close to Nazareth, where stonemasons had designed beautifully tiled mosaic floors at the time of Christ. It is quite possible that Joseph was a stonemason or carpenter there.

In this three-part poem, I imagined:

I.  Mary tells Joseph of her pregnancy. 

II. Sometime after Joseph hears Mary’s story, but before he receives the dream to believe her, he Is completing a mosaic-tiled floor that resembles the family tree of King David of which Joseph belongs. 

III. His obedient response to the dream confirming Mary’s words. 

I included multiple references and metaphors relating to Jesus’ life and lineage as well.