Pastor of the Panhandle
Friday, March 19, 2004
Reflection #8: Solemnity of St. Joseph
JMJ
V: Our help is in the name of the Lord. / Adiutorium nostrum in nomine Domini.
R: Who made heaven and earth. / Qui fecit caelum et terram.
Scripture: Mt. 1:16-25
Jacob [was] the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah. Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.
Reflection:
Today the Universal Church celebrates the solemnity of her Patron, St. Joseph. It is by means of St. Joseph that Jesus is an heir of King David, thus bringing to fulfillment the prophecies of a descendant to occupy David’s throne with a firm and everlasting kingdom. St. Joseph, entrusted as he was to be the husband of Mary and a father to Jesus, is a fitting guardian of the household of God, which is the Church (cf. Lk. 12:42).
The Scriptural evidence does not tell us much about this blessed man. As the passage above states, we know he was a descendant of David. We know he was betrothed to Mary, when she was found pregnant with Jesus. The Scriptures also tell us he was a righteous man, even humble and sensitive enough to forego his right to divorce Mary publicly, choosing instead to do so quietly. Above all, he is shown as a man who is attentive to God and obedient to His Will. Though trusting in God, St. Joseph must certainly have had hurt feelings and confusion over the situation the angel told him to accept. Other than that, the gospels are silent about Joseph. We last hear of him when he and Mary search for the twelve-year old Jesus, finding him in the Temple. How much longer he lived past Jesus’ twelfth year of earthly life, we do not know.
But certainly, by age twelve, Jesus had already received many of the fatherly lessons Joseph had imparted. No doubt, Joseph taught our Lord to be attentive to God, and obedient to His Will. Joseph’s own example surely taught Jesus to accept sufferings, to embrace those things that would come, even if they would not be pleasant, and especially when, by right, he might have rejected them. Surely, he taught Jesus to hunger and thirst for righteousness, that characteristic Scripture so clearly attributes to Joseph. We can imagine Joseph modeled for Jesus a tender respect for women. And don’t we see the marks of that in Jesus’ ministry? And it is not a stretch that Joseph imparted knowledge of his trade and the dignity of labor to his Savior-Son.
But if we reflect further, the example of St. Joseph tells us something important about paternity. Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. But rightfully do we call him father nonetheless. Only out of deference to the Almighty Father do we add qualifying terms such as “foster,” or “legal,” or “guardian” to the term “father” as applied to Joseph. Joseph was certainly a true father of Jesus. Most men have the capability to father a child; but much more is required to be a father to a child. Joseph shows us this. And so, just as an adopted child often reserves the term “dad” for his adoptive father, so Joseph was blessed to hear that term from the lips of Jesus. And a final lesson from Joseph comes to light, something of dire importance for each disciple. Given what Jesus must have learned about the bonds of familial relationship not determined by blood alone, could His own relationship with Joseph have provided the foundation by which Jesus would make His own Mother, our Mother too? Indeed! Just as Jesus knew the paternity of St. Joseph, may we in turn know the Maternity of Holy Mary and the protection of that righteous man! St. Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer! Pray for us!
Responsory: (adapted from Morning Prayer, Lk. 12:42)
V. God made him the master of his household.
He gave him charge over all his possessions.
V. God made him the master of his household.
To give them their share of Food at the proper time.
V. God made him the master of his household.
Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory be.
Blessing:
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. / Dominus nos benedicat, et ab omni malo defendat, et ad vitam perducat aeternam. Amen.
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Reflection #7
JMJ
V: Our help is in the name of the Lord. / Adiutorium nostrum in nomine Domini.
R: Who made heaven and earth. / Qui fecit caelum et terram.
Scripture: John 4:5-10, 15-18, 25-26
[Jesus] came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." … The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." Jesus said to her, "Go call your husband and come back." The woman answered and said to him, "I do not have a husband." Jesus answered her, "You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband.' For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true." … The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking with you."
Reflection:
If your parish used the optional Scripture readings from this past Sunday, then you heard a longer portion of the gospel above. Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well is a beautiful account of God’s revelation, a great example of faith, a strong indication of the expanding limits of Jesus’ mission, and a symbolism for prayer. In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church references this gospel in explaining prayer as “the encounter of God’s thirst with ours” (cf. CCC #2560).
One of the lessons we learn here is that the encounter with God lays bare our sins. We cannot maintain a false self-image before the all-holy, all-knowing God! The Samaritan woman demonstrates this to us in the awkward interaction when Jesus commands her, “Go call your husband and come back.” God knows. And He knows whether what we have said is true (cf. Jn. 4:18).
But this revelation of our sinfulness before the all-holy God is not without hope! For the truth must be revealed if it is to be healed and transformed into glory. Consider what the Old Testament tells us about Moses’ encounters with God, when he himself was with the Lord for forty days and nights to receive the Law. His conversing with God and speaking to Him face to face transformed Moses’ appearance, such that the skin of his face reflected glory (cf. Ex. 34:29). Referring to this scene, St. Paul writes: “All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).
In our Lenten thirsting for prayer, be not afraid that the truth of our sinfulness must be admitted and confessed. It is not without hope! We are reminded that Jacob’s well was the place of courtship where Jacob first laid eyes upon and fell in love with Rachel (cf. Gen. 29). Jesus’ presence at the same well comforts us that God loves us and courts us. What must be laid bare in truth before Him is done so that we may receive his mercy and reconciliation!
Responsory: Psalm 42:2-3
V. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.
V. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
My being thirsts for God, the living God. When can I go and see the face of God?
V. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory be.
Blessing:
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. / Dominus nos benedicat, et ab omni malo defendat, et ad vitam perducat aeternam. Amen.
