Joseph

“But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.'” Matthew 1:20-21

Today is the Feast of St. Jospeh, Guardian of Jesus and all-around good dude. Joseph, ready to quietly end his relationship with Mary due to her pregnancy, receives an angelic revelation. Her child will be the Savior of the people. He and Mary journey to Bethlehem for the census, and Jesus is born. Joseph keeps dreaming. He is warned to flee the wrath of Herod and journeys with his young family to Egypt. In another dream, he is told to go back home and settle in Nazareth in Galilee. He makes one more appearance as a distraught parent whose child has gone missing. Jesus tells his parents that he was in his Father’s house. Of course Joseph wasn’t Jesus’ father; he has known that all along. Yet still he stuck by Mary and Joseph. His strand of the story goes no further in the gospel accounts, but how different the story would have been without him!

We don’t know much about Jospeh. We do know that he trusted God when others would have been incredulous and in circumstances that were dangerous and difficult. During the years he had with Mary and Joseph, one imagines that he had moments of great joy and fulfillment, equal to that of any father. May we trust God as Joseph did; may we guard and steward the gift of Christ, that the gospel would continue to grow.

Be well, friends. You are loved.

God, we thank you for Jospeh, and for all who have stewarded the gift of the gospel. May we continue to dream your dream, the grand vision that was born to Mary in Bethlehem. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Image: St. Joseph the Carpenter, Georges de La Tour, circa 1642 (public domain).