9th Day of Christmas: Learning from Joseph.
Today we explore how the archetypal meaning of Joseph's wise presence can help us meet the unfolding new year.
This post is part of our 12 Days of Christmas Contemplations 2024/25: “Into the depth. You can still join the journey by upgrading your subscription below. Because Christmas is when you make it :-)
Dear Fellow Traveller,
The past few days, I found myself part of a living nativity at home, playing Joseph. My daughter, Mary, rode on the "donkey" (my husband) toward Bethlehem. I carried her gently to the "straw" (our couch), brought her water, and helped her "birth" baby Jesus (a rotating selection of stuffed animals) into the world.
Our daughter can play this scene endlessly. She groans with the labor pains of Mary, rejoices when holding the newborn, and leans into Joseph—the steady, loving presence who cares for her every step of the way.
Isn’t it a shame that Joseph receives so little attention in the nativity?
Because his quiet presence offers a counterbalance to the noise of toxic masculinity. His embodied wisdom and care could transform our world and deepen our soul’s journey. He invites us to listen deeply, even to our dreams, to act wisely, even when the path ahead is uncertain, and to stay present, even amid chaos.
And so, in today’s contemplation on the 9th day of Christmas I want to invite you to ponder with me Joseph, this man in the background. The gentle mind, as JG Jung has it, or the “dreamer”, as Pope Francis puts it, or the wisdom with-in, as Hildegard has it. At the end, we will ask how this deeper understanding can help us meet the unfolding year. At the end, a blessing awaits you.
Come, let us together explore the eternal wisdom of Joseph.
Joseph, the gentle mind (CG. Jung)
The image of Joseph it not compatible with the millenia of mansplaining and is, rather, the antidote to the toxic masculinity which has surrounded us, and is again resurgent. Joseph would probably be called a snowflake in today’s terms.
The depth psychologist and pastor’s son CG Jung invites us into that gentle gaze of Joseph. Jung interprets the nativity scene in archetypal terms, which brings it into the story of each human soul. He sees Joseph as the mindful one, the one who stands for the masculine part (not in a gendered sense) of our soul life. His task is to support Mary, the soulful, on her way, not only to stand by her but to father and care for the new life Mary is carrying under her heart. And so, if we invite Joseph onto our inner stage, he symbolizes the ability we each have to structure, to foster and facilitate, to believe, and to support what Divine inspiration is trying to birth in us.
Joseph offers a very different image of the mind than the one we hold in our ivory towers. His mindfulness is not about cold rationality. It instead embodies care and understanding.
Don’t we all long for a father figure like Joseph? Some one who cares without overstepping? A man soft enough to tune into his dream life and strong enough to take it seriously and follow its voice? And a man grounded and willing enough to protect his young family - from both the judgement of society and from the mighty warriors on the streets?
Here is the invitation that Jung’s Joseph offers us: despite the odds, and despite the lack or the disappointment we might have experienced in our own life, Joseph is already present in us, available to us. We can find Joseph anew in ourselves, we carry his image in us, even if it might be buried by less gentle or even outright evil images.
Joseph, the “dreamer” (Pope Francis)
“I very much love the holy Joseph,” Pope Francis said in a speech, “because he is both a strong and a still man.” And then he tells his audience about the statue of the sleeping Joseph he has on his desk. Joseph cares about us “while he sleeps. … And thus when I have a problem I write it on a little paper and put it under Joseph so he will dream of it…”. (I suspect there is a large stash of notes under his Joseph...)
Joseph, who cares for our troubles in his sleep. What an antidote to the one we call a “dreamer.” Here is that third figure of the nativity without whom the nativity would not be whole. And he follows and fosters his dreams. He is the dreamer the world needs. Just like the man who gave that famous speech “I have a dream…”
Dreaming about a more humane future can be powerful. And tending to our dreams can be the path to the Divine child.
Joseph, the dreamer, reminds us of the potential in our own dreams—whether they are aspirations, intuitions, or indeed the images who visit us at night. Like Joseph, we can listen deeply, trust the wisdom emerging, and take the next step, even when the full path is unclear.
Joseph - wisdom within (Hildegard of Bingen)
We have seen before how Hildegard translates the nativity into our soul’s journey. While Mary represents the part of the soul that carries the Divine spark, Joseph appears as wisdom—the steady companion who does not flee, who remains present even in uncertainty.
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