The scriptures for mass today honor Saint Joseph, the spouse of the Virgin Mary and the adoptive father of Jesus. Not very much is said about Saint Joseph in the scriptures, but then again we really do not need to know very much about him to understand why he is a saint. From what we do know of Saint Joseph, he was a God fearing, hardworking, thoughtful man. A man of integrity. A man of great faith and complete trust in God.
The way Saint Joseph intended to quietly divorce Mary when he did not understand how she was with child, shows that he treated people with respect even if he felt they were great sinners or even personally betrayed him. Saint Joseph still wanted to spare Mary’s life. (The penalty for an unmarried woman to be with child in their culture, was to be stoned to death.) Although Mary betrayed him (in his eyes at the time) Saint Joseph still treated her with dignity, love and respect. He is such a role model for all husbands and fathers in modern times that look to him for guidance and as the highest example of a holy father. A hero in faith for all fathers.
Saint Joseph was a saintly man already before he went to sleep that night, but what actually made him a saint is his total, complete, belief and trust in God. When the angel appeared to Saint Joseph in his sleep and explained to him that Mary’s unborn son was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that he would one day save his people from their sins, Saint Joseph did not hesitate for one minute. He woke up and did exactly what the angel of the Lord told him to do. He believed what the angel told him without a doubt. This decision is what made Saint Joseph a saint, because his decision affected Mary and Jesus’ life, and ours as well. We owe our own salvation in a large part, because of his decision.
The second reading today from the book of Romans, also portrays Abraham’s firm belief in God as an act of righteousness. Abraham absolutely believed what God told him. He believed that he would become the father of many nations. (Except for Sarah’s initial disbelief when she first heard the news.) That is why it was credited to Abraham as a righteous act. His decision to truly believe God, resulted in the consequence of becoming the father of many nations, including King David. God told King David that, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever” and so far it has! Saint Joseph was from the lineage of King David and when Jesus was born, he also came from his lineage. It is worth noting that Jesus descended from a murderer and an adulterer. God’s mercy is indeed profound. He truly wipes the slate clean and restores us to a life of holiness.
Psalm 89 today says, “the son of David will live forever” and sings of God’s kindness and faithfulness through all generations. God says, “He shall say of me, You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior.”
And in the second choice for the gospel reading today, that is exactly the answer Jesus gave to his parents. “Did you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” The gospel says “but they did not understand what he said to them”.
How many fathers today, understand their children? Especially teenagers. It might be a good thing for dads to realize today, that sometimes they may not understand or relate to the inner workings of their children’s mind and heart. But, that’s ok. As long as they continue to guide their children with love and respect, and expect them to be obedient to them like Jesus was with Saint Joseph, they will be ok. Their lives are also a mystery, but God has His own plans for their life as well.
Daily Mass Readings:
(2 Sm 7:4-5a,12-14a,16 / Ps 89:2-3,4-5,27,29 / Rm 4:13,16-18,22 / Mt 1:16,18-21,24a or Lk 2:41-51a)
