To read the texts click on the texts: 2 Sam 7:4-5,12-14,16; Rm4:13,16-18,22; Mt1:16,18-24
Devotion to St. Joseph became
popular from the 12th century onward and in the 15th Century the feast of St.
Joseph began to be celebrated on March 19 every year. Devotion to St. Joseph as
foster father of Jesus and husband of Mary grew tremendously in the 19th Century
and continues till this day.
This Gospel text for the feast of
today includes one verse of the genealogy, which specifies that Joseph was the
husband of Mary of whom Jesus was born. The verses that follow narrate the
story of his birth. Since Mary and Joseph were engaged, they were legally
considered husband and wife. Thus, infidelity in this case would also be
considered adultery. Their union could only be dissolved by divorce or death.
Though Joseph is righteous or just, he decides not to go by the letter of the
law and publicly disgrace Mary, but he chooses a quieter way of divorcing her.
God, however, has other plans for both Joseph and Mary and intervenes in a
dream. Joseph is addressed by the angel as “Son of David” reiterating, once
again after the genealogy, the Davidic origin of Jesus. He is asked to take
Mary as his wife and also informed that is the Spirit’s action that is
responsible for her pregnancy. He is told that he is to give the child the name
“Jesus". Jesus (Iesous) is the Greek form of "Joshua" which,
whether in the long form yehosua, ("Yahweh is salvation") or in one
of the short forms, yesua, ("Yahweh saves”), identifies the son, in the
womb of Mary, as the one who brings God’s promised eschatological salvation.
The angel explains what the name means by referring to Ps 130:8. The name
“Jesus” was a popular and common name in the first century. By the choice of such a name, Matthew shows
that the Savior receives a common human name, a sign that unites him with the
human beings of this world rather than separating him from them.
Matthew then inserts into the text
the first of ten formula or fulfillment quotations that are found in his
Gospel. This means that Matthew quotes a text from the Old Testament to show
that it was fulfilled in the life and mission of Jesus. Here, the text is from
Isa 7:14 which, in its original context, referred to the promise that Judah
would be delivered from the threat of the Syro-Ephraimitic War before the child
of a young woman, who was already pregnant, would reach the age of moral
discernment. The child would be given a symbolic name, a short Hebrew sentence
“God is with us” (Emmanu‘el) corresponding to other symbolic names in the
Isaiah story. Though this text was directed to Isaiah’s time, Matthew
understands it as text about Jesus, and fulfilled perfectly in him, here in his
birth and naming.
This birth narrative of Matthew
invites us to reflect on a number of points. Of these, two are
significant. First, many of us are often
caught in the dilemma of doing the right thing which might not always be the loving
thing. If we follow only the letter of
the law, we may be doing the right thing but not the most loving thing. However, if we focus every time on the most
loving thing, like Joseph, it is surely also the right thing. Though Joseph
could have done the right thing and shamed Mary by publicly divorcing her, he
decides to go beyond the letter of the law and do the loving thing, which in
his case was also the right thing.
Second, the story also shows us who
our God is. Our God is God with us. Our
God is one who always takes the initiative, who always invites, and who always
wants all of humanity to draw closer to him and to each other. This God does
not come in power, might, and glory, but as a helpless child. As a child, God
is vulnerable. He is fully human and in his humanity, is subject to all the
limitations that humanity imposes on us. Yet, he will do even that, if only
humans respond to the unconditional love that he shows.
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