Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
March 19, 2011
To see the readings, click here:
http://www.usccb.org/nab/031911.shtml
My apologies if there is anyone out there reading this, especially if you tried to read it before I got it posted. I started it last night but just couldn't seem to get anywhere on it. This morning I had to work and have just now returned home to turn my attention to this. Again, my apologies if you were unable to read it at your usual time.
If nothing else, you have to admire how well these readings hang together thematically. From the promise that David's heir will reign forever to Paul's teaching about that subject in his letter to the Romans to the fulfillment of it in Jesus, it just flows.
Which, I find, my meditaiton is not doing tonight. (That's how far I got on my first attempt at this posting.)
I feel like I ought to try harder to do right by Joseph. He is one of the characters who seems to get short shrift in the Bible. He may not have been Jesus' biological father, but he played the role of father in his upbringing. And we all know how important that role can be in one's formative years. I know this isn't the same thing, but I can think of several examples from my family and my husband's where someone has stepped into the role of father and made a huge, lasting difference in a young person's life.
The only grandfather I ever knew was actually a step-grandfather. As I understand it, my dad's real dad was a mean, cruel, bitter man. I often say, when I want to make a dramatic effect, that my grandmother stayed around through the beatings, but finally left him when he got her younger sister pregnant. Sadly, it is the absolute truth. After she left him, she left her young sons with her own father while she went out to try to find work and provide for them. He was also unkind and for reasons I don't know, favored a cousin over them in ways that were blatant and cruel. As my father told it, the first kindness he ever knew was when his mother married the man I knew as Gramps. He had no children of his own and seemed to be happy to assume the role for two scraggly, ill-cared for boys. He went on to welcome my mother into the family and dote on her when she moved here from Louisiana, and was as loving and generous as any grandfather. Because my dad was still off fighting in World War II when my oldest brother was born he and my mother lived with my dad's parents, and Gramps was the first male role model in my oldest brother's life. Even after Dad got home from the war, there remained an extraordinary bond between Gramps and my brother. I feel sure he would say today that Gramps had the biggest influence on his life of anyone.
I know that isn't quite like the situation with Joseph, but there is some commonality. I have to believe that the lessons learned from his earthly "father" helped shape Jesus into the man who was able to accept and fulfill the will of his Heavenly Father. And while the church spends a lot of time focusing on how how Mary accepted God's will for her, perhaps we should more often mention that Joseph, too, accepted the message of the angel on one telling and immediately went and obeyed. That was not an easy message, and I don't think anyone would blame him if he had balked. But he didn't -- he accepted and went on.
Holy Father of us all, thank you for choosing Joseph to be the earthly father to your Son. Thank you for the example he gave us, both of gracious acceptance of your will, and of being a loving father to the young man entrusted to him. Please help all of those who find themselves in difficult situations where they might be called upon to love another's child, or to serve the role of parent when it wasn't asked for and isn't easy. Please pour out a special blessing on those who fill the role of father, especially those who didn't seek it. In Jesus name, Amen.
