March 19
Readings: 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a
Today’s readings mark the feast of St. Joseph.
Joseph is always an interesting character to consider and he appears in the gospels of Luke and Matthew (which we read today). While the two versions emphasize different things, there are some consistencies:
- He is engaged to Mary who is found “to be with child” and he remains with her anyway even though the law would give him a legal out. Her being with a child before they were married was a big scandal, and a man who knowingly stayed with her would be held in lower regard for sure.
- He has no speaking lines and disappears from the scene soon after his brief introduction.
- He bases his decisions on what he receives in dreams from God.
- Joseph is described as a carpenter from a small town that is mocked. In fact he himself might even be the brunt of jokes when people ask of Jesus, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”
- He works hard to keep his family safe from threats against their lives.
Every year as I think about Joseph during Lent, I learn some things from his life that have some pretty important spiritual significance (which changes each year when I read the story). For today I am thinking about:
- How Joseph chooses a more difficult path for himself even though an “out” is possible. He probably knew in his gut what he needed to do and just did it.
- How Joseph accepted his role in the wider drama and didn’t try to make it about himself.
- How Joseph trusts intuition, dreams and imagination and makes decisions based on this knowledge. This requires trust.
- How Joseph is a low/working class man from a place of no significance. In fact, his own station in life is one of little significance. And yet this does not determine his importance.
- How Joseph tries to take care of those he loved and keep them safe from harm
There is so much in the life of Joseph that we can probably relate to.
As we read his story today, maybe we can connect with our own invitation to play our parts in larger dramas that, perhaps, do not center us or our experience but invite us to amplify and support the voices and experiences of others. Maybe we can work to trust our own inklings and intuition. Maybe we can offer up whatever work we do as holy work – even if it goes unrecognized by the world. Maybe we can honor the many ways we work to keep others safe and well from the harms of this world. And maybe we can accept and trust that we, too, will disappear from stories and yet may have influenced them in ways we will never know.
9 Comments
Sarah Brownell
Hear, hear! Hands up for all the backup singers out there! Thanks Mike. I think it is important to remember that there are so many people behind the scenes in the stories we celebrate. There is a lot more good out there than we tend to recogonize because only a few people end up being spotlighted for it. I’m working on a project with IBERO American Development Corp on a project at their new N. Clinton Internation Plaza La Marketa market. IBERO’s leaders are truly inspirational, but I’ve also met so many unrecognized heroes working to make their neighborhoods better and lift people up.
Mike Boucher Author
thanks for highlighting a local example, Sarah! So many people behind the scenes for everything – including this blog!
Elecia Almekinder
Thank you, Joseph. Joseph adopted Jesus as his own. Dad’s who adopt children, especially male children, are truly blessings to children. In the Dad’s eyes, the child is not “someone else’s trouble.” Before I hear “Oh how blessed is your son that you took him in” one more time, the child is more a gift to the parent. The child is God’s gift to raise up with God’s help to be a light in the world. We parents aren’t always perfect at sharing God’s light, and sometimes the child’s light of God shines through the darkness to teach the parent.
Mike Boucher Author
Elecia, I really appreciate your elevating all those who adopt children and especially the Dads. And I agree that children are God’s gift to us. I suspect Joseph would resonate with your reflection and was taught much by Jesus.
Francene C McCarthy
I find it interesting that the Bible mentions Joseph so briefly when he had such an integral part in helping Mary bring Jesus into the world and then raising him. I see him as such a kind, loving, compassionate, nonjudgmental and patient man, a man that was a perfect partner to raise Jesus and a role model for fathers. Just my thoughts. ♥️ Fran
Mike Boucher Author
Thanks for this, Fran. It is curious…
Joan Chandler
I love the idea of the importance of people not seen. I often think of the many people responsible for making a church service possible although most of them are never recognized.
Mike Boucher Author
Yes, Joan! We could make a lit of all those who make everything possible every week – and it would be a long one! So many contributors…
Sharon H
“Maybe we can honor the many ways we work to keep others safe and well from the harms of this world. And maybe we can accept and trust that we, too, will disappear from stories and yet may have influenced them in ways we will never know.” Listening to our Lord’s utterances in prayer does take trust, but is so profound! Continuing to do this without making it about “me” is truly a challenge worth taking. Thanks, Mike for the continuing inspiration.
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