What We Know about St. Joseph
Most of what we know about St. Joseph, Jesus' foster-father and Mary's husband, we know from Scripture.
We know that he was a skilled laborer. He was a carpenter, a stone-mason, a brick-layer, and whatever other skills it took to build a home and the furniture within it. We know this from the biblical word (tekton) used to describe his work. We also learn something of his work when some of the people of Nazareth, skeptical of Jesus, objected, "This this not the carpenter's son?" (Matthew 13:55).
We know that Joseph was of modest means. When he brought Jesus and Mary to the Temple for her purification celebration after childbirth, he brought for sacrifice two turtledoves or two young pigeons (Luke 2:24), an offering allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Leviticus 12:8).
Yet we know Joseph was of royal ancestry. Jesus' lineage shows that Joseph was descended from King David and other kings in Israel's history (Matthew 1:1-16; Luke 3:23-38). We also know this from the angel's words to Joseph, greeting him as "son of David." This royal title was later used of Jesus (Matthew 1:20).
We know that Joseph sought to unite the Law and compassion. Joseph realized that Mary had become pregnant after they had been betrothed, but not by himself. He also knew that the legal penalty for adultery could be stoning to death. So he decided to divorce her as quietly as possible so as not to expose her shame or cruelty. But an angel came to Joseph saying, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:19-20). Thus we know that Joseph could discern what was from the Lord and what was not. And when it was from God, he truly trusted and was willing to take great risks in his service.
After Jesus' birth, the angel returned to tell Joseph that the baby and the whole family were in danger. Joseph immediately left everything he owned, his extended family, and his friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby he was charged to protect and foster. He waited there without question, living in Egypt, until the angel informed him that it had become safe to return (Matthew 2:13-21).
Thus we know Joseph loved Jesus and Mary. He took these risks to protect them. And on his return, he settled in the obscure, modest village of Nazareth rather than in a larger, more lucrative area, to protect their lives (Matthew 2:22-23).
We know what fatherly anxiety he had on the occasion of Jesus' bar-mitzva, a Jewish religious ceremony for 12-year-old boys that marked a boy's reaching the age at which he was legally required to obey the Old Testament law. Joseph had taken Jesus and Mary to the Temple in Jerusalem for the ceremony (Luke 2:42). After a day's walk on the way home, Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus was missing. They returned to the city and searched desperately for their son. After three days they found him in the Temple, that is, safe in his Father's house (Luke 2:43-48).
Joseph loved Jesus and took him into his own family. We know this because the people of Nazareth said of Jesus, "Is this not the son of Joseph?" (Luke 4:22).
We know Joseph respected God. Every year he took Jesus and Mary to Jerusalem for Passover (Luke 2:41). Also the Bible refers to Joseph as "just" or "righteous" (Matthew 1:19). That term was used only of someone who consistently obeyed God's commands. None these trips would have been easy for a laborer of modest means.
Joseph is not mentioned in the accounts of Jesus' life after the ceremony in the Temple when Jesus was twelve. Tradition informs us that Joseph was many years older than Mary, and that he had died by the time of Jesus' public ministry. Tradition also tells us that Joseph died in Nazareth with Jesus and Mary close by him.
May that be the way we all leave this earth.
Comments
Post a Comment