Blue Collar Spirituality

Dec. 22

Read: Matthew 1:19-24, 2:13-15, 19-23

Blue Collar Spirituality

I have often thought of Joseph during the Christmas season. Truth be told, we don’t know all that much about the “father” of Christ. Most of the time he is mentioned in passing, or as an accessory to the story. Jospeh, in many ways, lives in the shadows of his wife and son.

One of the things we do know is that he was a carpenter…literally a “builder”. (The Greek term: Tekton) Matthew 13:55 says, “Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?” This is where we get this idea from. Evidently Jospeh was a decent carpenter, because people knew who he was and what he did for a living. There is something else though that stands out to me in this exchange. Joseph was not the sort of person that people expected “spiritual wisdom” and “teaching” to come from. Do you see how the people respond to Jesus in Matthew 13? They are blown away by his wisdom and teaching… they ask themselves “where did this come from?”. The crowd doesn’t expect “the carpenter” to have a son like that! Joseph appears to have been hardworking “normal” tradesmen - a blue collar guy - and people didn’t necessarily see him as a source of great faith or spirituality. Yet, when we read what little we have remaining about him, we realize that this man must have had a rich “blue collar” spirituality… one fed more by hard work, real world struggles, and genuine obedience than by theological exercises and the life of the aristocracy.

“…Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, (and) before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” (Matt 1:18,19) Imagine having your girl taken away by the Holy Spirit! Yet, Jospeh is described as a “just” man and instead of shaming Mary or fling off the handle, he sets a course to do what is actually kind and noble. This would have meant the loss of his love, Mary. He was willing to give her up. But the Lord had something else in mind. He sends Joseph an “angel in a dream”. (cf. Matt 1:20-22) Now I don’t normally think of carpenters as being the first on the list to pay a whole lot of attention to “angel dreams”… but Jospeh must be different. He trusts the Lord via this dream. He entrusts his love life and his marriage to the Lord. I wonder how his carpenter buddies responded? I can only imagine the job site t conversations that went on… “So let me get this straight… the Spirit of God got your wife pregnant!?!” I am sure he faced a certain amount of ridicule for trusting the Lord that way. I am sure there were plenty of “professional holy men” willing to tell him how he was wrong, or not thinking correctly… but Jospeh had a faith that was being tested by fire!

He would eventually have to up and move to Bethlehem and be there for a few years. This is not easy for a tradesmen who must build up a reputation surrounding his work. A carpenter needs a network of other trades people to thrive. I am sure he wondered why the Lord was letting this happen to him. Just as they are settling in, the Lord shows up in ANOTHER dream. This time he tells Jospeh that it is no longer safe for him in Bethlehem and that he must FLEE TO EGYPT. (Matt. 2:13-15) Egypt?!? Really? Imagine coming as an Israelite back to Egypt. Imagine setting up your business once again… I mean the Angel did not say how long they would be there. Joseph must have had a deep trust of the Lord’s protection as well as his provision. So they packed up and left to Egypt.

Jospeh would have yet another dream that told him when it was safe to leave Egypt. (cf. Matt 2:19-23) Joseph, Mary, and Jesus would return “home” to Nazareth. What did the next 20-30 years look like? We know that Joseph brings Mary and Jesus to the Temple, and that they attend the annual feast in Jerusalem together. (cf. Luke 2:42-51) Besides that, we don’t hear much. In fact, we don’t hear much about Jospeh after these early years of Jesus life. I imagine he spent the time loving his family, working with his sons, and waiting for the time when the Lord would fulfill the promise of Jesus saving his people from his dreams so long ago. Can you imagine waiting for 20 to 30 years for the promises of a dream? I am sure it was crazy. I am sure he wondered if it true… or if he had really had the dream at all. I think Jospeh had to navigate “normal dude” stuff just like you and I and he did it with Jesus by his side… literally having Jesus right next to him. This is Joseph…”dirty hands, clean money”… a carpenter who has dreams of angels and entrusts his love life, his marriage, his livelihood, his protection, and his reputation to the Lord. This is “blue collar” spirituality. This is praying with a hammer in one hand and a bible in the other. This is job site sort of faith… that loads up a donkey and heads to Egypt. And this is the sort of faith that God chose for Jesus to be raised in the midst of.

Jospeh gave up a lot for “his child”. I don’t think we even have recorded any words from Jospeh for us in the bible! What we have are his actions. There is a lot to entrust to the same “Baby Jesus” that came to Jospeh. This Christmas season I am sure that there are plenty of moments for us to hand over to the Lord our love lives, our marriages, our family relationships, and what people think of us. I think God is calling us to a “blue collar” sort of spirituality and faith… like Jospeh the carpenter. What if there is more spiritual depth to the people around us than we think. What if WE are experiencing more from the Lord than we realize? ( For example, how do you interact with your dreams? Would you listen to an angel that came and spoke to you that way? ) Go figure that God would entrust a carpenter from Nazareth with is “only begotten son”. That is the sort of faith God wanted his boy growing up in the middle of… a faith with a little dirt under the fingernails so to speak. The sort of callous hands that could navigate a barn and a wooden manger! More to come. Love you guys. - JDP