The Feast of St. Joseph
Written by Jeff Bisgrove
The Dream of St. Joseph by Anton Raphael Mengs
Matthew 1:24 "When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him…”
Have you ever worked so hard on something, only to have your work overlooked or disregarded by the very people for whom you were doing the work? I suspect every one of us has felt this at one time or another. If there is anything universal in people, it might just be their ability to ignore what someone tries to do for them. This was my first thought as I started writing this reflection on St Joseph, whose feast day is held every year on March 19. Everyone that has seen a Christmas play knows Joseph was Jesus’s earthly father. He is that guy standing by the donkey. Not Jesus’ “real” father - that was God. And try to find some airtime on Joseph in the Bible. Matthew mentions him a couple of times, as does Luke, but Mark and John just jump to “the main event.” It seems like Zechariah (John the Baptist’s dad) gets more recognition than Joseph (reference 1 below).
But after reflecting on Joseph and what (little) is written about him, I came across this painting by Anton Raphael Mengs - “The Dream of Joseph”. Here we see a man in rough clothes, with a tool in his hand, being told by an angel to do something. And it is clear from the entire picture, Joseph does not like what the angel is saying. He has his back to the direction the angel wants him to go, his face is worried, and his eyes look in the exact opposite direction the angel indicates, and yet, when he awoke from his sleep, Matthew tells us Joseph did exactly as the angel instructed, what God wanted him to do. He took Mary as his wife, even though she was pregnant with someone else's child - something no honorable Jewish man of the time would do. Later, he is told to go to Egypt with Mary and Jesus to escape what Herod will do to the children in the Bethlehem area. Egypt was the land of Jewish slavery; again not a place a Jewish man would willingly go. Then when he returned to Israel, he settled in Galilee, far away from the Bethlehem / Jerusalem area because the Herodian threat remained in that area. Joseph was leaving his land, his people, and the Temple (reference 2 below), all because God told him to go.
And what does this all mean to us today? Joseph heard from the word of God what God intended for him to do, not the interpretations of what he should do framed by humans. He did not do what the culture told him he should do. No Jewish man in the first century AD would take a pregnant women (by someone other than himself) in marriage, he would not forsake the Temple to go to Egypt, he would not leave his ancestral hometown to protect the woman and the child. But Joseph “took up his cross” and carried it, as God wanted and as Jesus would later command all his followers to do. Joseph “lost” his own life to protect the child.
The story of Joseph reminds me of a friend of mine in Guadalupe, AZ - he has many children that call him father, yet he is the biological father to none of them. He is spending his life to protect and grow into flourishing that which God has given him. It is not flashy nor is it getting him accolades in our world. But I do suspect that great is his reward in Heaven. For me, it is another reminder that seeking the face of God is hard today and the fruit of following God often comes long after we are gone. However, we should not do these good works only to receive the fruit, but rather because it is God’s will.
References
English Standard Version Bible gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
“The New Testament and the People of God” by NT Wright. This is a wonderful (and heavy) book that provides incredible insight into the life and beliefs of 1st-century AD Jews and (by extension) Christians. Chapter 3 is devoted to 1st century AD Jews. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting more insight into the cultural and practical milieu that Jesus walked in and about which our Gospel writers wrote. Too often we interpret things we read through our own eyes (our own culture, experiences, and hang-ups). NT Wright really gets you into the minds of the people who lived and breathed during the pivotal 1st century AD in Israel. And this in turn helps us see the scriptures in a new light.
Questions
What amazing act of God am I missing today because my eyes are on something the world thinks is flashy?
Who are the people doing things (or who have done things) for me that I did not see or honor?
How might God be nudging me into somewhere that I really do not want to go?
Collect
Lord God, You number our days and appoint our trials. Please help us see our days and our trials with Your eyes, as we seek to follow Your will in this turbulent world. Let us find You strong to anchor and direct us, and keep our focus on You instead of the fleeting and vaporous desires of the world around us. Help us be like Joseph, people that hear Your voice and seek Your will to the glory of Your name.
Collect for St. Joseph (BCP 2019, p.627)
O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the husband of his virgin mother: Give us the grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.