If we but had a fuller sense of what it is to be a man or a woman, we would find greater joy in it. If only we knew the gift of God, then, perhaps, we would respond in hope and joy. Men, for instance, would thrill to the drama already implied in the fact of their being men. Namely, that they are sent to be a father.

In my sights here is not gender dysphoria that can be caused, tragically, by the common understanding of masculinity and femininity that strips them of their grandeur. My focus rather is how even many who know—at least conceptually—that their sex is a gift, still struggle to recognize and embrace it in its true beauty.

The biblical accounts of Joseph of Egypt and Joseph of Nazareth concur in conveying a striking account of what it is to be a man: to be sent to be a father. It is not sufficient simply to say (though it says so much!) that being a man is always about being a father in some sense. Fatherhood is so dramatic, so profound, so dignified, that one must be sent to it. Sent by the One from whom all fatherhood stems.

Recall that after Joseph of Egypt was sold into slavery by his brothers, and rose to become Pharoah’s right hand man, it was to him that his brothers had to apply for assistance in the great famine. At the dramatic climax of the story, when at last he reveals himself to his brothers, he is at pains to help them see the truth of what has happened. What is the refrain of his account to them? “God sent me.” He says it three times in a row, culminating in:

So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Every man is sent. To be a father. Sometimes the sending is mysterious. Sometimes the form of fatherhood is unexpected. But the heart of the reality is the same. When Joseph sends his brothers back to his own father with an invitation, indeed a demand, to come to Egypt, he provides a reason. “There I will provide for you.”

Fatherhood is always a way of bringing about greater life by giving of self; by providing for others. Joseph of Egypt became a father to Pharaoh and a father to his own father. The path of fatherhood often runs not in a straight line. Perhaps this is part of how we realize that we are sent. There is more going on in our fatherhood than we have seen.

And behold, part of our fatherhood is learning, perhaps really learning for the first time, how to be a son; as Jacob, Joseph’s father, surely had to do in his going down to Egypt, led by his son, now his ‘father.’

Joseph of Nazareth, whose biological father was also named Jacob, was surely sent.

Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife… She will bear a son, and you shall call his name…

Yes, Joseph, do not fear. You are not worthy to be the husband of your wife. You are not worthy to be the father of the boy you will call ‘son.’ But you are sent. Your fatherhood will stem from husbandhood, as is always the case for humans. So, go and be both husband and father; be the man you are called to be. You will wonder how this could possibly be yours to do, and how you will do it.

Wonder you will. But do not fear. For you are sent. And by the power of your Father you will learn what it is to be his son–precisely by being a father, like Him. So, go, man. Go. ~ ~ ~

LATEST PODCAST: FR GREGORY PINE on DAD AS SPIRITUAL HEAD IN THE HOME. Being spiritual head is the most difficult, under-examined, and central aspect of a man’s place in the home. Join me and Fr. Pine in discussing the difference spiritual headship makes in our spiritual life; spiritual ramifications of complementarity; the graced exercise of authority; marriage as means of salvation; the feminine spiritual genius, and more!

Can still jump in and catchup in Man of the Household and Woman of the Household courses, special sessions for Lent.

Remember, now weekly installments of short READ-ALOUDS. Most recent: Long John Silver and Cpt Smollet: A Manly Encounter from Treasure Island. Listen at Youtube below or as a PODCAST HERE.

John Cuddeback

Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.