Matthew learned two tough lessons about his identity in the space of just a few years. First, he learned that our church, St. Matthew’s in Charleston, was not named after him. Then five years later he learned that although his brother was born on the day we commemorate St. Bartholomew—a pretty big deal as far as saints go—he did not share a birthday with any saint or feast. “That’s not fair,” he declared, “I was born on St. Nobody’s Day!”
Well, actually, that’s just fine. Each of us, in fact, were called to be St. Nobody’s. We are the saints, the called out, set-apart, following-Christ people. In our baptisms we are called to minister among and to serve all, to labor for the kingdom, and to go about the business of daily living in a saintly way, with names known only to those few who live around us and to the God who lives for us.
The world forgets much better than it remembers, and what the world most often forgets is Who made it and just Who is in charge. The world never remembers those first awesome words “In the beginning, God . . .” but we do.
Today we remember Joseph, Guardian of Jesus. This message was adapted from “St. Nobody” written by Marguerite M. Rourk that first appeared in the December 2008 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine.
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