Joseph and the Angel of God

In the year 743 BCE, Judah, the kingdom of Ahaz, was preparing for the attack of Israel with its ally Syria.  Ahaz feared for his life and that the Davidic dynasty would come to an end with his demise.  So against God’s express will, he makes an alliance with Assyria to defeat the enemy to his north. 

When Isaiah comes to him, he warns Ahaz that this alliance is against God’s will.  He also tells Ahaz that God will give him a sign that all will be well if he simply asks for it.  However, Ahaz declines the invitation out of his fear for his life.  Isaiah persists and utters God’s promise anyway.  The maiden will give birth to a child.  The Davidic dynasty will continue.  God will be faithful to the promise made to David.  There would always be a king of the House of David on the throne of Judah.

When Matthew introduces his Gospel, he begins with the birth of Jesus.  Using Joseph as his point of reference, Matthew tells us that God’s promise to David is fulfilled in Jesus.  Joseph was of the tribe of Judah and the house of David.  God calls Joseph to assist him in fulfilling the promise made so long ago.

Like any call, any vocation, Joseph does not understand it at first.  Just as any man or woman has to discern God’s will for them in choosing a vocation, Joseph had to discern God’s will.  His betrothed is with child.  The child is not his.  Joseph is a just man and realizes that it would bring shame to his home to take a child which is not his.  So he decides to put Mary aside quietly so that the father of the child can claim it as his own. 

This is when God intervenes.  Joseph has proven to be a just man, so God reveals the secret to him and assures him that taking Mary as his wife will not bring him shame.  Indeed, he will be highly honored by God because, like Mary, he has chosen to obey God’s will.  Just as it takes the cooperation of a man and a woman to bring a child into this world, it took the cooperation of both Mary and Joseph to bring God’s Son into the world.  Together they stand as witnesses of faith.  Together they show us the path of right relationship with God.  They accept God’s call and are willing to do God’s will.

As we listen to the Scriptures today, it is important that we realize that all of us are called to do the same thing.  Just as Mary and Joseph were called to fulfill God’s promise, we too are called to make Jesus present in our world.  This is expressed so beautifully by St. Teresa of Avila who wrote: ““Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassionately on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

Joseph and Mary gave themselves over to the will of God, even allowing God to use their bodies and their whole lives to fulfill God’s promise.  Hard as it may be to believe, God asks the same of each of us.  Like Joseph, we will be blessed with great honor if we accept God’s will in our lives. 

The Eucharist gives us the strength to do God’s will in our lives.  Let us approach the table of the Lord to receive the sustenance that will see us through any difficulties we may encounter in our life’s journey. 

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator