Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ Matthew 1:18-21

The best sermon I heard on this gospel text was given by unassuming deacon in my final year of seminary. I can not remember her name but I will never forget her. Actually, I think her name is Gladys. She was a conditional candidate for ordination. This means that she did not need to complete the full theological education like the rest of us because her priestly ministry was restricted to a specific community in an isolated region of Ontario, Canada. The area was only accessible by air or sea. Understandably, most of the priests from away found it hard to endure living in such an isolated place. Gladys is part of the community. She grew up there and had always served her parish as a lay person. She did everything; cleaned the church, set up the altar and said the morning prayers, attended to the sick and buried the dead. There was not much marriage going on there. All the young people have moved away to the city for better job opportunities. In many ways, she was more prepared for ordained ministry than the rest of us who spent many years studying theology.

We were asked to prepare a sermon based on the above text. There were four of us. It was not a competition but it did not stop our egos from wanting to be the best of the lot. This was not the case for Gladys. She always expressed that she felt insecure and small compared to the rest of us “intellectuals giants”. Nonetheless, she preached the best sermon. It was simple and beautifully crafted. I still remember it today and from my own sermon I can not remember one word. It doesn’t matter. It was most likely drivel next to this simple servant’s sermon. No attempt at false humility here; I am just stating a fact. Therefore, it is only fair to state that this reflection is inspired by her sermon.

She focused on the person of Joseph, someone whom I tend to overlook when reflecting on the Christmas story. There are so many strange and wonderful things going on; the virgin birth and Jesus, the angelic visitation. Joseph just appears as a humble Christmas ornament in the midst of all these things. Gladys saw it differently. She perceived the significant role of this simple man in the Christmas story.

In reality, Joseph was an exceptional man for his time. All signs showed that his betrothed was unfaithful. According to the societal norms, he had every right to lash out against her but instead he chose to act in compassion and mercy, an attitude we see manifested in Jesus’ life down the road. Of course, we know that an angel came to Mary’s rescue and Joseph realized that he was going to be part of something great and wonderful. However, this did not shelter him nor his family from being subject of gossip. First century Israel is not much different from our present times. People then loved a scandal as much as today and Mary’s pregnancy would not have gone unnoticed. Joseph must have endured a lot of things in his brief life. It never stopped him from protecting Mary from the harsh judgments of society and providing Jesus a safe place to grow up. Something which most of the parents and adults in the lives of our homeless children have failed to do. Nevertheless, it does not mean that our children did not have a person like Joseph in their lives.

In reality, this world would be a living hell if it was not for people like Joseph. They are always present in our lives but very often they are overlooked unless we allow people like Gladys to shed some light on them. Moreover, it is the nature of these servants not to attract attention to themselves. They prefer to serve in an unassuming manner. They do not do this to be humble or anything of that sort. This would be attracting attention indirectly. They are just practical saints. They see a need and they try their best to fulfill it. The best place to look for these saints is behind the scenes. It is easier to find them in the churches. In fact, our churches would not have endured all the difficulties and challenges through the ages if not for these servants. They keep things running. They are usually the ones who dress the altars to make them look beautiful and festive on Christmas Day. Usually in my life experience, these saints have almost always been women. They do not just set up the altars. They also bring the flowers to the sick and lonely people who are unable to participate. They are the ones who literally pray for everyone on the prayer list. In my experience, they have been my personal consultants sometimes they advised me even when I did not ask for it. I remember on one occasion after a long tedious sermon preached by a visiting missionary, one of these saints came up to me and said, “Stephen, when you become a priest, please don’t preach long sermons, don’t torture the poor people!” I am aware that it was an indirect criticism towards the priest. These quiet saints have strong opinions. Their quietness is not to be mistaken for passivity. They do not hesitate to make their voices heard. I heard her words. Ever since then, I was made sure that I followed her advice and she has helped me become a better priest.

The children and teens who respond in a positive manner to us in the streets are those who have been touched by a quiet saint previously in their lives. Usually, it is a grandmother but sometimes it is a neighbor or someone they met in the state orphanage. Most of the time, they are also women. It is the love and compassion of these quiet saints which opened the doors for us to minister to these children. We are just fortunate to reap the fruits of the seeds planted by these saints. Unfortunately, there are ones who never had anyone like that in their lives. They are the ones who struggle with violence and bitterness. However, these are a minority. I am not going to jump to the conclusion that there are many quiet saints in the world. I think that the broader picture proves this to be untrue. They are few and far between. Therefore, when we come across one in our lives or communities, we need to treasure them. They are the ones who pave the way for the rest of us to recognize love and compassion in this world.

In a way, I am where I am because of many conversations with these saints. One of these quiet saints once told me, “You will get your instructions from the Holy Spirit where to go and what to do.” She said this in regards to our ministry here the streets in 2012. She passed away before we could return to thank her for all she has done for us. Thankfully, I did write her a long letter which she received before she passed away. She was the Joseph of our lives. She did everything in her power to make sure we were able to do what we were called to do. Above all, she reminded us that only one voice matters in this life and we need to heed it. She did the same too and this is why she was a blessing to many. Perhaps there were some blessed by her life and never realized it. The problem is that they did not have a Gladys in their lives. She opened up my eyes to see the beauty in the person of Joseph. I am fortunate that I met Gladys. I think she is still serving in a community of neglected and abandoned people. I can not know for sure because no one writes anything about someone like her and other quiet saints. They are always in the background. However, without them, our lives will be a like an altar without any flowers and decorations. It would be plain and dull.

This Christmas I want to thank all these quiet servants who are happy to serve silently in the background. I want to acknowledge their love and dedication to the Living Christ. Our ministry would not be where it is today if it were not for these quiet saints.