Joseph As A Role Model

“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”

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In Nomine +

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Joseph and Mary were, for lack of a more accurate word, engaged. Most scholars believe that Mary herself was around 15 years at the time. They didn’t even live together, and yet, all of a sudden, Mary finds herself pregnant. The story about that - the Angelus - we will sing together at the end of Mass. Much has been said about Mary and her faithfulness and bravery in saying those words - “Be it unto me according to Thy word”, but we hear precious little about Joseph, and so today we are given an opportunity to consider this carpenter.

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We know that he was a carpenter - indeed, one of the attributes he frequently is pictured with - just like at our own shrine at the back of church - is a carpenters’ square. Some people claim that he was among those learned in Jewish scripture, but the one thing this Gospel passage tells us is that he was “a righteous man”.

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He is celebrated as the patron saint of, amongst other things fathers, , workers, especially carpenters, expecting mothers, unborn children, attorneys and barristers, emigrants, travelers and house hunters.

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I wonder if we could actually put ourselves in St Joseph’s footsteps - He’s about to marry this woman, and all of a sudden she finds out that she’s pregnant. Pregnant by the Holy Spirit - who’d ever heard about such a thing?!? Soon she’ll claim that the dog ate her homework as well!

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This would have been a massive scandal, and utterly, utterly humiliating for Joseph - to have your young bride-to-be pregnant by someone else. However, he didn’t take Mary to court for full divorce proceedings and confiscate her dowry - we are told that he was righteous, and rather planned to file a quiet note of divorce in front of just a couple of witnesses, thereby not scandalising Mary in the way that he himself thought he was scandalised.

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Scandal at Christmas - don’t we all remember a lot of comedies on this specific theme - many of them involving a lot of running around on the stage and slamming doors! In this case, though, rather than having a door slammed shut, we see a door opened!

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Just as the angel Gabriel appeared to his fiancee, a nameless angel here appears to Joseph, and explains to him that Mary has not been unfaithful to him, that the child is from the holy spirit, and that this son is to be the new Emmanuel - God is with us.

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And then - as the Gospel tells us - “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife”.

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It is incredulous to us today! This 'righteous man' Joseph, however, risked all to do what he felt led to do - regardless of the consequences. And the result, we believe, is that Jesus of Nazareth grew up nurtured in a family, with brothers and sisters, in the synagogue, protected and loved by an adoring mother and stepfather - to fulfill his destiny on earth: to be in the truest sense the Son of God and the Perfect Man.

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The Bible generally does not give us a very good picture of fathers. Look at Herod, who slaughtered all the newborn male children out of fear; or Herod Antipas, who promised his daughter Salome anything, including the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter. Joseph could have become one of those fathers. He had every right to be upset, after all, Mary was carrying another man’s child. But he didn’t; even though Joseph was a ‘righteous man’, he chose another path.

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Joseph believed in what the angel told him, so that what the prophets had said would happen would be foretold.

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He ignored Jewish religious and cultural rules to do what was right, no matter what the consequences.

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He maintained his integrity under what could have been severe public ridicule. He became a model to young Jesus, of a living, protective father and was the best stepfather he could be, showing unconditional, patient love.

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Joseph helped raise Jesus to fulfill his destiny on earth. He showed him the kind of love that Jesus and God show us. He risked common opinion to do what was right, no matter what the consequences. And he had NO idea of what was going to happen to his little boy. Joseph was not the earthly father of Jesus, but showed to us what I believe to be a sense of complete trust in the Lord that I believe we are all called to.