The New Testament introduces us to a famous person who was adopted: Jesus.
In the book of Matthew, we learn that Jesus was informally adopted by his father, Joseph.
When Joseph learns that his fiancée, Mary, is pregnant, he knows he isn’t the biological father (Matthew 1:18-25). He decides to leave Mary quietly in order to avoid a public scandal.
Then an angel appears to Joseph and explains that the child Mary is carrying is God’s son—the One who will save his people from their sins. The angel instructs Joseph to name his son Yeshua (Jesus), meaning, “The Lord Saves.”
What a mixture of joy and fear Joseph must have felt when he learned he was going to steward God’s gift to the world by adopting God’s son!
“Joseph’s Lullaby,” sung by Michael Crawford, expresses what Joseph might have been feeling during those moments:
Mary, are you sleeping?
Mary, I’m afraid
Mary, can I live up to
The choice that God has made?Jesus, can You tell me,
Here upon my knee
What kind of father will I be?What can I give to You
You, made from miracles
That God has given me to keep?I can’t give much to You
You, made from miracles
But I can hold You as You sleepWhat can You learn from me
You, made from miracles
When I’ve so much to learn from You?What can a man like me
Offer the miracle
Who taught me miracles come trueTell me how to guide You
Tell me what to say
Tell me how to show You how
To show the world the wayHow to please the angels
Watching from above
When all I have to give You is loveBut if it’s love You need
You, made from miracles
Then take my hand and hold it tightAnd I will give You love
Sweet, little miracle
That God has given me tonightSweet, little miracle
Oh, what a miracle
That god has given us tonight
Joseph’s commitment to share Jesus with his birth father was truly a remarkable example for all of us who follow in Joseph’s footsteps.
As you prepare to celebrate Christmas, please remember the women and men who make the difficult decision to release their children into the arms of others, and remember those who graciously accept the responsibility of raising those children.
Most of all, remember to thank God for working through the lives of everyday people throughout history in order to demonstrate to us what it means to trust, and to love unconditionally.
I wish you a joyous Christmas!
Source for song lyrics:
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Mary and Jesus were never separated so it’s not really like adoption. It’s more like a step parent situation, step father adoption if you must call it adoption. To call God a birthfather is kind of insane. And it’s an open adoption, if you must say adoption. To top it all off, when Jesus flies off to Heaven he is reunited with God. So perhaps it’s a reunion story more than one of adoption OR it’s an open adoption step parent adoption story that ends in reunion where he moves back in with his birthfather. Does that make Mary a birthmother? Or is she only a birthmother when an adoptive mother is involved?