Joseph the silent

 

Let us consider this honourable man; the step-father of Jesus on earth. Do you realise that in the whole Bible story of the nativity this man has not said a word? He is not recorded as having said anything. He just obeyed.

We read about him before the birth of Jesus when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and asked him to take Mary as his wife. (Matthew 1:18).

Imagine his dilemma. He was engaged to Mary when she found out she was due to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. At first he considered doing what many men with a pregnant girl friend whose baby is not theirs would have done - run a mile in the opposite direction.

Being an honourable man he decided to break the engagement privately so as not to disgrace her. Remember, in those days being pregnant without marriage was very serious indeed and people risked being stoned to death. So to spare her and the unborn child he decided to leave her quietly and privately.

Then the angel appeared to him in a dream; and based on that dream alone he decided to marry Mary and raise her son as if He were his own.

Joseph was an ordinary good Jew, obedient to the Jewish Law. But God intervened and shattered his life-expectations. He is called to a new level of obedience. That of God.

Joseph was there when Jesus was born in Bethlehem and we read about him when he took Jesus and Mary to Egypt to escape from Herod (Matthew 2:13) and then when they returned to Nazareth (Matthew 2:19).

He is also mentioned when the boy Jesus was twelve years old and found in the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:41).

So as Jesus' foster father he was there during His early years protecting Him from Herod and providing a loving family for the Son of God.

What a wonderful man he must have been. Working quietly in the background, without much recognition, doing God's will in raising His Son on earth.

So, what is his legacy to us? Obedience and trust.

Despite what his common sense told him to do, he did not walk away from Mary. He trusted and obeyed God and decided to stay with Mary. He decided to provide for her and a child who was not his. He taught the child carpentry and raised Him up as his own.

May his obedience and trust be an example to us all. Especially when we are called by God to obey what He commands.

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 This prayer to St Joseph is said to be over 1900 years old. It was found in the fiftieth year of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the 1500's it was sent by the Pope to Emperor Charles when he was going into battle. It is a novena to be prayed for nine consecutive mornings for anything you may desire. It has seldom been known to fail.

“O St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most Loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen.”

Fashionable Joe

 

Once upon a time there was a man called Joe. He had a very nice coat. It was a stylish fashionable item hand-made in Italy by a top fashion designer. He was proud of it. It was a gift from his father.

His brothers were very jealous of him. So one day, whilst out in the field looking after their sheep they kidnapped Joe and sold him to some passing traders on the way to Egypt. They soaked his coat in animal blood and told their dad that an animal had killed their brother.

In Egypt, Joe landed in prison on some made-up charge. Little did anyone know he had a special gift of interpreting dreams. One day the Pharaoh had a dream and Joe was asked to interpret it. 

You can read the rest of the story in  Genesis Chapter 37. I don't want to spoil the ending for you.

This set me thinking.

Sometimes in life we get into difficult situations and we wonder why it is happening to us. At first we might panic. We might ask why me. Get upset. Get angry. And go through all the various emotions outlined by psychologists explaining how people deal with a crisis.

Some amongst us might even blame God about our misfortunes. Perhaps we are reacting in a human natural way, perhaps not. The fact is that sometimes we do.

The thing is, I believe God allows some bad things to happen. He does not cause them. But He allows them to happen. Perhaps to nudge us in a certain direction. Perhaps to get us into a new situation in life. Perhaps so that we may meet new people and somehow influence them by our behaviour. Or they influence us maybe.

For reasons best known to Himself, God allows such bad situations according to His plan for us and for others.

Let me tell you a true story. Some years ago, a person I know very well got cancer. It was a shock that devastated the whole family, including himself. He went to hospital.

Whilst there, in the same ward as him, there was another man with exactly the same illness. He took it very badly, and so did his family. He always sat there in bed crying and wailing as if this was the end.

One day, after the visitors had left, the man I know very well got off his bed gingerly and sat next to the crying man with the same condition. In conversation, he said to him, "Don't worry. God will help you. All will be well!"

It was an odd thing to say, to come out in faith and say something like that to a man he hardly knew.

Both men were operated on. The operations were successful and both men survived. They became friends. The crying man, and his family, wanted to learn more and eventually he and his family became Christians.

I leave you to draw your own conclusions. Would the two men have ever met if they were not ill at the same time? Would a whole family have found God otherwise?

Something for all of us to remember when times are hard in our lives.