Joseph’s Granny Naomi
Naomi, wife of Matthan here. Who’s Matthan? Well, really, he comes in the Bible, you know! He’s Joseph’s Granddad. So, that’s right, I’m his Granny. Not that we’d seen much of Joseph when he was a boy or later. His father, Jacob was one of our sons, but he and his Dad just couldn’t get along. Family businesses are often a bit difficult. So he left Bethlehem and went to set up shop for himself as a carpenter in Nazareth, and Joseph was born there.
Then that census came along. I knew it would bring all sorts of children and cousins and remoter family to our door: after all you want to stay with family when you come into a strange place, don’t you? But I had rather forgotten about Joseph. It was so long since we had heard from that bit of the family: not since news came of Jacob’s death. I think Joseph had been a bit strange about it too, because he’d gone to the inn first of all: but of course they were full up. So he came to us.
I’ll never forget it. The house was full to bursting and of course we were having a great party - all these people we hadn’t seen for so long. Then there was a thump at the door and there was this young man I didn’t know - but I did, because I saw his father in his face. And behind him was a girl. His new bride he said, but I thought not so new, if she was as pregnant as all that. So they came in, and then Mary began to gasp with pain. The poor innocents, they didn’t know what was going on, but I did. Been there often enough myself, and been there for my daughters.
Well, there wasn’t room in the house, there just wasn’t and it was so noisy. So I took them to the stable underneath. It wasn’t the first time we’d had to have people stay there, and it was the best we could do. At least there was a little more privacy.
And all the time I was getting water heated and fetching towels and old linen I was hissing away at Joseph, so that he must have wondered what kind of a Granny I was: maybe he didn’t blame his father for going off. I asked why he had brought Mary. There was no need: only the men had to register. But he said that her own family didn’t really approve of him or of this baby (and I think it was the baby that was the problem, because I soon found out that it must have started before they were married, and that’s a bit of a scandal to respectable folk). So he thought it was best not to leave her. But really, walking all those miles, camping out at night, and in her condition! But he said this baby was special. Well, they all think that, don’t they: fathers I mean, and first-time fathers in particular.
But he was a lovely baby. It certainly made the night very special.