St. Joseph, model of faith, hope and love
I.
Introduction: St.
Joseph is one of the very few Saints who has two feast days to honour him. The
scriptures do not say much about this silent saint. As a matter of fact, St.
Joseph does not speak in the scriptures. His voice is not heard. This is to be
expected because St. Joseph was a man of action more than words.
II.
Inspiration
from St. Joseph: As we celebrate a year dedicated to St.
Joseph we can draw inspiration from him in many areas of our own lives.
1)
Attentive
listening: Matthew
is the only one of the four Evangelists who places Joseph on the centre stage in
his Infancy Narrative. The angel appears to Joseph in a dream on four separate
occasions. (Mt 1:20-21; 2:13; 2:19-21; 2:22).
Before
(Mt 1:18-19) the first of these dreams (1:20-21) Joseph had already made up his
mind to follow the law because he was righteous. He became aware of the
pregnancy of Mary - to whom he was engaged or betrothed - and possibly
suspected her of adultery. The only logical explanation of the pregnancy was
that Mary was guilty of adultery. Joseph
had the choice to pursue a legal trial for adultery (Deut 22:23-27) or draw up
a bill of divorce. Joseph chose the latter option because he did not want to
publicly shame Mary and it would attract less attention.
Hearing
with the ears of our head and seeing with the eyes of our head is only one way
of hearing and seeing. True hearing and seeing require that we hear and see
also with the ears and eyes of our hearts.
2)
Trusting
God’s word: The angel explains that the child
conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:20) and Joseph must take his
pregnant betrothed as his wife. Not only is he to do that, he will also not
have the privilege as the foster father to name this child. This name has
already been chosen by God as communicated by the angel (1:21). His trust in
God’s word shows in his action.
When
things go the way we want, it is easy to believe and trust God’s word. However,
when God’s word calls us to act the opposite of the way want, it is not easy to
accept and follow.
3)
Action
more than words: Joseph’s trust in God’s word does not
end with his acceptance of Mary and Jesus as his wife and son respectively. In
the three dreams that follow the first (2:13; 2:19-20 and 2:22), he is asked to
perform actions which are extremely difficult. However, since it is God’s plan
and God’s hand is at work, Joseph acts in obedience.
In
the first of these dreams, Joseph is asked to go to Egypt hastily. He obeys. In
the second, when the family is in Egypt, he is asked to go to Israel (2:19-20).
Once again, he obeys. The choice of Nazareth and not Judea in Israel as the
place of residence of the family is also attributed to Joseph’s obedience
(2:22-23).
We
sometimes look for God only in miracles or extraordinary events. Yet, God keeps
revealing God’s power, might and love in the ordinary events of our lives. Like
Joseph we must open our hearts wide to see.
4)
Acting
without expectation: In most of our relationships with
others including members of our families, we act with some or other
expectation. Sometimes, we expect those to whom we have been generous and kind
to also be generous and kind to us in return. At others times, we expect a word
of gratitude and even praise for reaching out. At still other times, we expect
that those to whom we have reached out will not be ungrateful. With Joseph,
there were no expectations whatsoever. He did what had to done.
Each
of us is also called by God in our own way to be God’s instrument of love and
peace. God does not expect that we do extraordinary things to reveal this love.
If like Joseph we can reach out to another even in a small way, we will have
done well.
5)
Model
for workers and the sanctity of work: The
Gospel of Matthew tells us that Joseph was a carpenter (13:55). He does not
state whether Jesus followed his foster father in this trade. In his Gospel, he
refers to Jesus as “the carpenter’s son” (13:55). The Gospel of Mark, however,
informs us that Jesus did follow Joseph in this trade. When Jesus goes back to
his hometown, the townsfolk identity him as “the carpenter” (Mk 6:3).
The
celebration of the feast of St. Joseph, the worker on the first day of May each
year – when Workers Day or Labour Day is celebrated in many countries of the
world - is a celebration of the saint and his work ethic, but also a
celebration of the participation of humans in God’s work of creation. In this
Joseph becomes an inspiration and model to workers of the meaning of hard work
and earning one’s living through the sweat of one’s brow.
6)
Model
of discernment and faith: Obedience to God’s word
required a lot of discernment and faith from Joseph. He was aware that he would
not have been able to recognise immediately whether he was indeed doing God’s
will. The dreams could have been the result of his own imagination. It required
discernment to know that they were not. All decisions that he had to take - the
hastening to Egypt, remaining in Egypt when the threat to the child was still
alive, and the return to Nazareth - were life changing decisions. They would
affect not only his life, but also the life of his wife Mary and Jesus. This is
why he had to be convinced of that which he could not see and hope that his
actions were in accord with what God wanted him to do.
One
important rule of a good discernment is that we do not make decisions when we
are upset or even elated. This is because these decisions will be based only on
emotion and not discernment. We have to be at equanimity before we make
important decisions and in this regard, Joseph is a model to be imitated.
7)
Protector
of the family and of the world:
In his role as foster father of Jesus, Joseph was protector of his family. The
safety of his family was of prime importance to Joseph and he placed their
needs and safety above his own.
This
quality of Joseph can be extended to include his protection of the whole world.
As he kept the interests of his family uppermost, so he keeps the interests of
the world uppermost in his intercession for the world.
When
we are tempted to live self-centered and selfish lives, Joseph’s selflessness
comes as a breath of fresh air inviting us to be other-centered and to make a
difference to the lives of others.
III.
Conclusion:
In the play Hamlet, there is a scene in which Hamlet says to his friend Horatio
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your
philosophy” (Hamlet 1.5). One understanding of this is that while there are
many things that the human person does know, there are possibly more things
that we do not yet know.
One
such happening is the Covid-19 pandemic. While theories abound about the origin
of the virus and how best to respond to it, the fact is that we are still
groping in the dark. This is why like St. Joseph we are called to listen
attentively.
We
live in times where many of us would prefer to see before we believe. If we are
of this mind, then there is no need for faith. St. Joseph teaches us to believe
even without seeing. He also teaches us to believe even when we cannot see.
This is because like him, we too must realise that God’s will for the world
will always be better than what we want for ourselves. We must learn from St.
Joseph how to make our will subservient to God’s.
Our
actions in most cases, even the seemingly altruistic ones are often with our
eye on the reward. St
Joseph teaches us that we must learn to find the reward in the doing of the
action.
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