21/12/2025
Here’s our Sunday Girl, Revd Ann Gibbs. This week her Reflection is called ‘An ordinary man’. The photos which accompany this week’s Reflection were sent in by reader Donald Graham, following a very special fundraising event which was held at Countisbury Church on Friday evening. Behind this event and embodied in these photos are the quiet but crucial efforts of many ‘ordinary’ people. Here’s to them! More on that n our next mag.
“The work of the Lord is done by ordinary people who work in an extraordinary way.”
(Gordon B. Hinckley)
At this time of year I really appreciate all those people who just get on and do all those little (and big) jobs that need doing but aren’t necessarily assigned to a particular person. I am saying here and now how grateful I am that people check things like candles in the church, flowers and service sheets. They would say it isn’t anything much but it makes all the difference to me. Often it is the unsung heroes that make all the difference. Ordinary people doing things that make life so much better for everyone else.
Joseph, husband to Mary, stands quietly at the edge of the Nativity story. He speaks no recorded words in the gospels, performs no dramatic miracles, and yet his presence is indispensable. In a story filled with angels, prophecies, and divine interventions, Joseph represents something profoundly human: steady faith lived out in ordinary actions. Faced with an extraordinary situation – the child conceived by the Holy Spirit, the weight of ancient promises, the danger of misunderstanding and rejection – Joseph does not seek recognition or explanation which in itself is extraordinary. Instead, he listens, trusts, and acts. His humility is shown not in grand gestures but in acceptance: accepting Mary, accepting uncertainty, accepting a role that would never place him at the centre of things. He becomes the guardian rather than the hero, the support rather than the one in the spotlight.
Joseph’s ordinariness is not a weakness but it is his strength. He is described as a carpenter, although he may have been a general builder as well, a working man who knows responsibility, routine, and fatigue. He provides shelter, finds safety in the flight to Egypt, and creates a home where Jesus can grow “in wisdom and stature.” The extraordinary comes into our world through Joseph’s ordinary faithfulness—through his willingness to do what needs to be done, day after day, without recognition.
In this way, Joseph mirrors the countless unnamed people who quietly hold communities together. Teachers, carers, builders, volunteers, parents, neighbours – those whose work rarely makes headlines but without whom life would unravel. Like Joseph, they show up, carry burdens, protect the vulnerable, and choose compassion when it would be easier to turn away. Their contribution may seem small, but it is fundamental.
The Nativity reminds us that God does not rely solely on the powerful or the celebrated. The divine story unfolds through ordinary people who say yes, who act justly, and who remain faithful in small, unseen ways. Joseph’s life affirms the beauty of everyday goodness and reminds us that humility and service can change the course of history.
In honouring Joseph, we also honour all those ordinary people whose quiet dedication shapes families, communities, and the future – often without applause, but never without meaning. Many of them will be quietly going about their business over the coming days, making sure no one has to be alone, feeding neighbours, serving their community (and giving a smile and a word of encouragement to tired clergy).
The major work of the world is not done by geniuses. It is done by ordinary people, with balance in their lives, who have learned to work in an extraordinary manner.
I wish you all a very wonderful and peaceful Christmas with every blessing for the New Year and thank you to all of you who may think you are ordinary, but are, in fact, extraordinary.
“Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet, and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support, and a guide in times of trouble. St. Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all.” (Pope Francis)
