Readings: Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24
Theme: Joseph, a very special Father
By Michael McCabe, SMA
The role of Mary in the unfolding of God’s plan of salvation is one of the great themes of the Advent season. In today’s Eucharist, however, it is the role of Joseph that takes centre stage. His yes to the message of the angel plays a vital role in the great drama of the incarnation, God’s coming to dwell with us. Unlike Mary’s yes, his yes is not uttered in words, but expressed in action. As today’s gospel reading from Matthew states, ‘he did what the angel of the Lord told him to do: he took his wife to his home’ (Mt 1:24).
St Matthew describes Joseph ‘as a man of honour’ (Mt 1:18), but, as the gospel reading shows, he is much more than that. He is a man of faith, obedience and courage. Unlike King Ahaz, in our first reading, who refuses to ask the Lord for a sign of the coming of the Messiah (Is 7:12), Joseph’s response is one of unhesitating obedience. Taking to heart the words of the angel not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, he commits himself unreservedly to doing what the Lord had asked of him. He brings Mary to his home and takes care of her and her precious child. I’m sure that, like Mary, this was a response he had to make over and over again, as the implications of the angel’s message became clearer to him.
I wish to highlight just a few moments that illustrate Joseph’s faith and courage While he would not have had to endure the vicious trolling of today’s social media, he must have had to put up with some ‘wagging tongues’ when he took Mary [already noticeably pregnant] home as his wife, instead of divorcing her as the Law of Moses required. Then, with Mary at an advanced stage or her pregnancy, he has to undertake the arduous journey from his home in Nazareth to Bethlehem for a census of the people (cf. Lk 2:1-5), And, in that overcrowded town, he has to search for a place for Mary to have her child safely delivered. Later, when King Herod plans to eliminate the possibility of a rival to his kingship, Joseph is the one who, in response an angel’s warning, has to flee by night with Mary and the baby Jesus to Egypt, where they remain until the death of Herod (cf. Mt 2:14-15). What a difficult and demanding time that must have been for him as head of the ‘holy family’. It is with good reason, then, that Joseph is regarded as the special patron of all those forced to leave their native lands because of war, hatred, persecution and poverty. We surely need his patronage in the turbulent and war-torn world of our time.
Another incident, mentioned in Luke’s Gospel, gives us an insight into the kind of anguish Joseph, as well as Mary, had to endure when Jesus was a young lad asserting his independence. The incident occurred during the Holy Family’s pilgrimage to Jerusalem when Jesus was just twelve years old. On this occasion, Jesus leaves his parents and remains behind in the Temple to converse with the doctors of the Law. After searching for him everywhere for three days, they eventually find him. On this occasion Mary speaks very sternly to her Son in words that reveal not only her own pain but that of Joseph as well: ‘Why have you done this to us; see how worried your father and I have been, looking for you’ (Lk 2:48). Jesus’ enigmatic reply can only have sharpened their pain. “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49). Luke tells that they ‘did not understand what he meant’ (Lk 2:50). We can presume that Joseph, like his wife Mary, accepts without understanding the strange ways of the Lord and ponders them in his heart.
To use the evocative image of Jan Dobraczyński, in his novel, The Shadow of the Father, Joseph is the earthly shadow of the heavenly Father. His life humanly embodied and reflected the tender love of God the Father for his beloved Son. We notice that Mary refers to Joseph simply as ‘your Father’ when she speaks to Jesus on finding him in the temple of Jerusalem. Though clearly not the biological father of Jesus, Joseph was nonetheless a true human father to him. To quote Pope Francis, ‘Fathers are made, not born. A man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world, but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child.’ Together with Mary, Joseph devoted his entire life to watching over, and caring for, Jesus. And in his essential role of ‘shadow father’ he never made himself the centre of things. His entire life was focused instead on carrying out his responsibility to protect and care for Jesus and Mary.
I conclude with Pope Francis’ prayer to St Joseph in his Apostolic Letter, With a Father’s Heart, to mark the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church:
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen.
Listen to an alternative audio by Tom Casey, SMA: