For Men Only: How Not to Ruin Christmas This Year

·18 min·1 clip

A former Army chaplain reveals how Joseph's hidden crisis offers men a blueprint to not ruin Christmas this year.

The episode is a sermon preached at St. Joseph's Episcopal Church, framed as advice for men on avoiding ruining Christmas by emulating Joseph. The host, a former Army chaplain, introduces the topic with two potential titles, settling on a focus for men. He discusses the source material for Matthew chapter one, suggesting Mary as the likely source for Joseph's story. The sermon emphasizes that more is known about Joseph and Mary's marriage than any other in the New Testament, despite limited details. The host admits personal difficulty relating to Joseph, preferring characters like Peter. He describes first-century engagement as a legal contract already signed, unlike modern engagements. Joseph discovers Mary's pregnancy, and the host imagines his internal rage, highlighting the temptation to make a public scene. He defines righteousness as wanting to do the right thing, not just performative acts. Joseph resists male fragility by contemplating his feelings privately. The sermon notes Joseph's mystical vision in a dream, where an angel calls him 'son of David,' reminding him of his identity. It contrasts this with modern distractions that block such experiences. The host urges men to be open to God's messages. Joseph's protection of his family is redefined beyond violent fantasies to practical acts like using wise men's wealth to escape Herod. The sermon mentions Joseph's marital discipline, waiting until after Jesus' birth. It concludes that Joseph's faithfulness brought Jesus into the world, and that the answer to troubles is a person, Jesus, not formulas or self-help.

As heard by us

A Christmas sermon reads Joseph's restraint as a lesson in righteousness, anger, and male fragility.

Joseph's Christmas story is read here as a lesson in restraint, righteousness, and the fragile pride that can wreck a holy moment. The sermon keeps Joseph's predicament in view: the temptation to make a public case, prove innocence, and divide the scene into victim and villain…

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Why you'd press play

When Christmas stirs your urge to make a public case, Joseph offers a quieter way through.

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