22 June 2026

Geraldine McCaughrean has written a beautiful book about Joseph’s relationship with Jesus. It’s called, ‘Father and Son’.  Joseph is mesmerised with the birth of Jesus and wonders what gift he can give the child. ‘Mine, but not mine,’ he whispers. ‘How am I supposed to stand in for your real Father? How is a simple man like me to bring up the Son of God?’

Joseph plays with the Christchild in the Galilean lake. ‘What games shall we play, boy, you and I? I mean, how can you rough-and-tumble with someone who pinned the ocean in place with a single, tack-headed moon?’

Joseph and Jesus climb to the top of a mountain. ‘How can I put a roof over your head, knowing it was you who glass-roofed the world and thatched the sky with clouds, and stitched the snow with threads of melting silver?’

‘I am a carpenter, child. By rights, you should learn my trade. But how can I teach you to plane a door knowing it was you who planed the plains, who carved the valleys and hewed the hills, the wind in your one hand and rain in the other? How?’

‘What shall I pass down to you, little one, apart from a world of Love?’ asks Joseph at the manger. ‘Not as much as the colour of my eyes. Not even my name. And yet, I’ve been thinking child …  My hands are strong, God knows. And everyone needs a pair of hands from time to time. So that’s what I’ll give you, son. That’s what I’ll be – God willing. A helping hand.’