LUKE 2:15-20
WE TRY SO HARD TO MAKE CHRISTMAS LIKE IT USED TO BE. MOST OF US FIRST BECAME AWARE OF CHRISTMAS IN THE TRADITIONS OF OUR OWN FAMILIES. EACH YEAR AS CHILDREN WE WOULD REMEMBER THE LAST CHRISTMAS, AND WE GRADUALLY BEGAN TO NOTICE WHAT WAS DIFFERENT THIS YEAR, AND WHAT WAS THE SAME. WHEN I WAS LITTLE, WE USED A LOT OF TINSEL EVERY YEAR. WE DON'T ANYMORE IN MY HOUSE. BUT TINSEL WAS THIN STRIPS OF SOME KIND OF FLEXIBLE METAL, PROBABLY LEAD BASED, THAT WAS DRAPED OVER THE TREE AFTER ALL THE ORNAMENTS AND LIGHTS WERE HUNG. AFTER CHRISTMAS, MY MOTHER WOULD TAKE IT DOWN AND CAREFULLY PACK IT AWAY, AND WE WOULD BE PICKING UP STRAY PIECES OF TINSEL FOR A MONTH OR TWO. DESPITE ALL HER CARE, WE USUALLY HAD TO BUY MORE THE NEXT YEAR, BECAUSE SOMEHOW IT GOT TANGLED INTO A MESS WHILE HIDDEN AWAY.
ONE YEAR, WHEN I WAS ABOUT 10, MY MOTHER DECIDED WE WOULD NOT PUT TINSEL ON THE TREE. MY SISTER AND I WAILED AND MOANED AND FINALLY SHE RELENTED. SHE MADE US HANG THE TINSEL AND PUT IT AWAY, SO THE NEXT YEAR WE DIDN'T PROTEST AS MUCH.
WHEN JOAN AND I MARRIED AND HAD CHILDREN, WE BEGAN TO BLEND THE TRADITIONS OF OUR TWO FAMILIES, AND NOW WE SEE OUR MARRIED DAUGHTERS DOING THE SAME. THE AIM FOR ALL OF THIS EFFORT IS TO KEEP SOMETHING ABOUT THE SEASON, THE MORE, THE BETTER, CONSTANT DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS. WE LIKE THE WAY CHRISTMAS REMINDS US OF THE DAYS WHEN WE WERE LITTLE AND IT WAS A MAGICAL SEASON.
AND IT'S IRONIC; WE LOVE THE UNCHANGEABLE NATURE OF THE CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION. WE REVEL IN THE SAME OLD ORNAMENTS, THE SAME GIFT-OPENING TRADITIONS, THE SAME EGGNOG – ALL THOSE RITUALS – BUT WE ARE REALLY CELEBRATING THE MOMENT IN ALL OF HISTORY WHEN THINGS CHANGED FOREVER. GOD BROKE INTO TIME AND SPACE. GOD BECAME MAN, SO MAN COULD SHARE GOD'S LIFE. AND NOTHING WOULD EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.
THERE ARE LEGENDS SURROUNDING THE BIRTHS OF OTHER GREAT MEN AND WOMEN DOWN THROUGH THE AGES. THEIR BIRTHS ARE PROPHESIED, AS WAS CHRIST'S. SOMETIMES COMETS OR STRANGE STARS OR OTHER COSMIC PHENOMENA SIGNALED THE BIRTH, AS THE STAR DID CHRIST'S. NATURE BEHAVED IN UNUSUAL WAYS. AND IT WASN'T UNUSUAL FOR UNEARTHLY SPIRITS TO ANNOUNCE THE BIRTH OF THE GREAT ONE. BUT HERE IS WHERE JESUS' BIRTH CHANGED EVERYTHING. HEAVENLY BEINGS DID ANNOUNCE HIS BIRTH, BUT TO SHEPHERDS, NOT NOBLEMEN OR KINGS. SHEPHERDS. PROBABLY NOBODY CARED WHETHER THEY REGISTERED FOR THE CENSUS AT ALL, WHICH IS WHY THEY WERE OUT IN THE FIELDS. AFTER ALL, THEY MOVED AROUND A GREAT DEAL, THEY HAD NO MONEY OR PROPERTY SO COULDN'T BE TAXED; THEY WERE ALWAYS RITUALLY UNCLEAN, SINCE YOU REALLY COULDN'T KEEP THE LAW WHEN YOUR SCHEDULE DEPENDED ON SHEEP, AND WHEN YOU HAD TO GROOM THEM AND CLEAN THEM EVERY DAY. AND THE SHEPHERDS PROBABLY DIDN'T CARE ANYWAY. IF THEY THOUGHT ABOUT IT AT ALL, THEY FIGURED THEY DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE AT SALVATION, BECAUSE IF YOU BELIEVED THE PRIESTS AND THE PHARISEES, YOU HAD TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME DOING THE THINGS THAT MADE YOU HOLY, AND THE PROOF THAT YOU WERE LOVED BY GOD WAS THAT YOU WERE RICH AND LIVED IN A FINE HOUSE. AND THESE WERE THE FIRST WITNESSES OF THE MOST DISRUPTIVE CHANGE, THE GREATEST CHANGE, IN ALL OF HISTORY. THE WORLD HAD BEEN TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. THE POOR HAD THE GOOD NEWS PREACHED TO THEM.
AND THEY WENT DOWN TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES. AND AS THEY DREW NEAR LOVE ITSELF, LOVE CHANGED THEM; THEY KNELT BEFORE A BABY, A BABY WHO LOOKED LIKE ANY OTHER BABY, AND ALTHOUGH THEY WERE ROUGH AND UNEDUCATED, EVEN THEIR INSENSITIVE SOULS FELT THE BURNING PRESENCE OF GOD WHO BROKE INTO THE WORLD, THE FIRE AT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. THE UNIMAGINABLE PRESENCE THAT BROUGHT EVERYTHING INTO BEING, THAT HELD THE WORLD TOGETHER, WAS THERE IN THE BABY. LOVE WAS THERE.
AND THEY WERE CHANGED. ALL WE KNOW IS THAT THEY LEFT GLORIFYING GOD AND PRAISING HIM, AND THEY WERE SO CHANGED BY THEIR APPROACH TO LOVE IN PERSON THAT SOMEHOW THE WORDS THEY SPOKE TO OTHERS DID NOT BRING ABOUT RIDICULE, DID NOT FALL ON DEAF EARS, BUT ASTONISHED THOSE WHO LISTENED TO THEM. AND SOME OF THOSE WHO LISTENED, WHO HAD BEEN CHANGED BY THE SHEPHERDS' WORDS BECAUSE THEY TOO COULD SENSE THAT LOVE HAD DONE SOMETHING TO THESE MEN, AND WAITED TO DO SOMETHING TO THEM AS WELL. LOVE IS LIKE THE FLAME ON A CANDLE, WHICH CAN GIVE ITSELF AWAY INDEFINITELY, AND NEVER BE DIMINISHED.
SO TODAY I'M GOING TO GO HOME AND DIVE INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. THERE WILL BE GRANDCHILDREN WHO ARE WAITING ANXIOUSLY TO OPEN THEIR PRESENTS. AND I LOOK FORWARD AS WELL; EVERY NEW TIE WILL BE A SURPRISE. AND WE'LL SING A FEW OLD CAROLS, AND PLAY CHRISTMAS MUSIC ALL DAY, AND DRINK SOME EGGNOG AND EAT A VERY SPECIAL SUPPER, SOME DISHES WHICH ARE LIKE THOSE OF MY CHILDHOOD AND AND SOME LIKE THOSE OF JOAN'S, AND WE MIGHT REMINISCE ABOUT CHRISTMASES IN THE PAST AND TRY TO CONVEY OUR OWN WONDER TO OUR GRANDCHILDREN, WHO ARE STORING UP THEIR OWN MEMORIES.
BUT THE MOST WONDERFUL PART OF CHRISTMAS, THE PART THAT HAS BEEN CARRIED FORWARD FROM THAT MOMENT IN A LITTLE TOWN IN A FAR CORNER OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, WILL BE THAT MOMENT WHEN WE APPROACH BETHLEHEM, THE HOUSE OF BREAD, AND WE SEE AND TAKE INTO OURSELVES THE PERSON IN THE MANGER, LOVE WHO GIVES HIMSELF FOR FOOD IN THE FORM OF BREAD AND WINE. AND IF WE ONLY LET OUR SOULS SEE AND FEEL, WE WILL BE LIKE THOSE SHEPHERDS, WE WILL FEEL THE LOVE WHICH HAS BROKEN THROUGH OUR WORLD AND CHANGED IT FOREVER, AND GOD WILLING, WE WILL LET IT CHANGE US AND SET US ON FIRE.
CHRISTMAS, THE REAL UNCHANGEABLE PART OF CHRISTMAS, COMES EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEK, AT EVERY MASS, WHEN WE REMEMBER THAT MOMENT WHEN LOVE BROKE INTO THE WORLD, AND STILL DOES, AND STILL FEEDS US, AND STILL CHANGES US.
THE CHURCH IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS IS ILL. FEWER AND FEWER YOUNG COUPLES RECEIVE THE HOLY SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY TO BEGIN THEIR LIVES TOGETHER. IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT MUCH TO THEM. FEWER AND FEWER CATHOLICS BOTHER TO ATTEND SUNDAY MASS. FEWER AND FEWER YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN CATCH ON FIRE AND DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO GOD AND HIS CHURCH. AND CHURCHES ARE BOARDED UP, AND PARISHES ARE CONSOLIDATED, AND THE DECLINE CONTINUES. AND THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER – DRAW NEAR TO LOVE-- IT IS RIGHT HERE, JUST AS TRULY AS IT WAS IN BETHLEHEM. AND CATCH ON FIRE, AND TELL OTHERS, AND SPREAD THE FIRE ANEW, LIKE THOSE SHEPHERDS ON THE HILLSIDES ON THAT STARRY NIGHT WHEN THINGS CHANGED FOREVER.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas Vigil, 2009
MATTHEW 1:18-25
IF YOU READ THE ENTIRE NEW TESTAMENT, JOSEPH IS MENTIONED ONLY IN THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW AND LUKE. AND IT IS ONLY IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW THAT WE GET JUST A LITTLE HINT INTO WHAT KIND OF PERSON HE WAS. IT SAYS THAT HE IS A RIGHTEOUS MAN. HE IS OBEDIENT TO GOD AND THERE ARE FIVE TIMES GOD SPEAKS TO HIM THROUGH A MESSENGER – WHEN HE IS TOLD TO TAKE MARY INTO HIS HOME, WHEN HE IS COMMANDED TO TAKE MARY AND JESUS TO EGYPT; WHEN HE IS TOLD TO RETURN, AND WHEN HE IS TOLD TO RETURN BY A DIFFERENT ROUTE. AND THESE MESSAGES ALL COME IN DREAMS. WE HEAR ABOUT HIM ONCE MORE, IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE, WHEN HE AND MARY GO TO THE TEMPLE TO FIND THEIR 12 YEAR OLD SON WHO DECIDED TO STAY THERE RATHER THAN RETURN HOME WITH THEM. AFTER THAT, HE DROPS OUT OF THE PICTURE COMPLETELY, AND THE OTHER THINGS WE “KNOW” ABOUT JOSEPH, THAT HE WAS AN OLD MAN, THAT HE HAD SONS AND DAUGHTERS BY A PREVIOUS MARRIAGE, THAT HE WORKED AS A CARPENTER, THAT JOSEPH TAUGHT JESUS HIS TRADE, THAT JOSEPH DIED WHILE JESUS WAS STILL LIVING IN NAZARETH, BEFORE HIS MINISTRY – THOSE THINGS AREN'T IN THE BIBLE, BUT YOU CAN MAKE A CASE FOR THEM, I GUESS, FROM THE BIBLE AND FROM THINKING ABOUT THE WAY PEOPLE LIVED AT THAT TIME.
ON THE SURFACE, JOSEPH SEEMS TO BE A BIT PLAYER, AND ALONE AMONG THE MEMBERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY, WE DON'T KNOW ANY OF THE WORDS HE MIGHT HAVE SPOKEN.
AND YET, JOSEPH IS AN EXTREMELY COMMON NAME FOR CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM BOYS. AND YET, JOSEPH IS THE PATRON OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH. AND YET, THERE ARE CONGREGATIONS OF PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS WHO TAKE JOSEPH AS THEIR SPECIAL PATRON. AND YET AFTER JESUS AND MARY, THE THIRD MOST COMMON NAME GIVEN TO CHURCHES IS JOSEPH.
SO WHY IS THIS OBSCURE, HUMBLE MAN SO CELEBRATED? WHY IS HE A MAN WORTHY OF IMITATION? WHAT CAN JOSEPH TELL US, JOSEPH WHO NEVER SPEAKS?
JOSEPH IS RIGHTEOUS. THAT MIGHT BE TRANSLATED, “JUST”. TO BE RIGHTEOUS OR JUST MEANS THAT WE ARE EXTREMELY SENSITIVE TO WHAT IS RIGHT, AND WE VALUE THIS SO MUCH THAT WE WILL PUT ASIDE OTHER CONCERNS SO THAT JUSTICE IS SATISFIED. JOSEPH WAS RIGHTEOUS WHEN HE DECIDED TO QUIETLY DIVORCE MARY RATHER THAN DENOUNCE HER AND HAVE HER STONED. HE FELT THAT HE HAD BEEN SINNED AGAINST, AND AT THE SAME TIME, KNEW THAT THE PUNISHMENT WAS TOO SEVERE, EVEN THOUGH HE COULD HAVE DEMANDED IT. HE ACTED JUSTLY. WHEN THE ANGEL SPOKE TO JOSEPH, THIS HAD TO DO WITH GOD'S COMMAND. JOSEPH HAD GONE AS FAR AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE TO SATISFY JUSTICE.
THE TRIP TO BETHLEHEM TO REGISTER IN THE CENSUS WAS ALSO A REFLECTION OF JOSEPH'S RIGHTEOUSNESS. HE WAS WILLING TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO OBEY A COMMAND FROM THE EMPEROR; JOSEPH WOULD HAVE NEVER CHEATED ON HIS TAXES, AND PROBABLY WOULD NEVER EVEN HAVE RUN A STOPLIGHT.
JOSEPH RECOGNIZES THAT HE BELONGS TO GOD, THAT GOD HAS A RIGHT TO EVERYTHING HE HAS, AND WHEN GOD ASKS SOMETHING OF HIM, HE DOES NOT HESITATE, HE DOES NOT QUESTION. HE WALKS TO JERUSALEM, HE WALKS TO EGYPT.
JOSEPH LETS GOD LEAD HIM. GOD LEADS HIM IN THE OBVIOUS WAYS I MENTIONED, BUT JOSEPH SPENDS MOST OF HIS LIFE WORKING, KEEPING THE SABBATH HOLY, PUTTING ASIDE WHAT HE WANTS TO DO TO TO SERVE HIS WIFE AND SON. ALL FATHERS IN THIS CHURCH KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE A HUSBAND AND FATHER, AND WE ALL KNOW WE DON'T MEET THE MARK MOST OF THE TIME. JOSEPH DID MEET THE MARK. ALL HE CARED ABOUT, AFTER GOD, WAS THE WELFARE OF MARY AND JESUS. THAT WAS RESPONDING TO GOD'S LEADING; THAT WAS THE VOCATION GIVEN BY GOD.
SO JOSEPH, THE JUST MAN, LIVES A LIFE THAT ALL OF US CAN IMITATE – DOING EVERYTHING AS WELL AS WE CAN, LIVING A LIFE IN CONSTANT GRATITUDE FOR THE GOOD AND THE BAD, THE GREAT AND THE SMALL, KNOWING THAT WHATEVER WE HAVE IS GIVEN TO US BY GOD FOR HIS GOOD PURPOSES, AND KNOWING THAT WHAT GOOD THINGS WE ARE GIVEN FROM GOD ARE MAGNIFIED WHEN THEY ARE SHARED; AND BEING LED BY GOD IN THE ORDINARY AS WELL AS THE EXTRAORDINARY. AND JOSEPH SPENDS HIS LIFE GIVING HIMSELF AWAY.
WE HAVE NOTHING LEFT OF JOSEPH EXCEPT A FEW PASSAGES IN MATTHEW AND LUKE. AND IN THE CRÈCHE, OUR EYES ARE FIXED ON THE CHILD AND HIS MOTHER; JOSEPH STANDS IN THE BACKGROUND.
SO JOSEPH TEACHES US WITH HIS LIFE. BUT THERE IS MORE.
THERE ARE GREAT SAINTS LIKE THOMAS AQUINAS AND AUGUSTINE AND ALPHONSUS LIGOURI, WHO WROTE TIMELESS VOLUMES OF THEOLOGY, WHICH CONTINUE TO DEEPLY INFLUENCE OUR CATHOLIC FAITH EVEN TODAY. BUT JOSEPH TEACHES US INDIRECTLY, BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONE WHO TAUGHT JESUS TO READ. HE SHOWED JESUS HOW HE UNDERSTOOD THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. HE TAUGHT JESUS THAT EVERYONE WAS VALUABLE, EVEN THE ROMANS AND THE SAMARITANS. HE PROBABLY TAUGHT JESUS HIS COUNTER-CULTURAL APPROACH TO WOMEN, CONVERSING WITH THEM IN PUBLIC, SEEING THEM AS REAL PERSONS AND NOT PETS OR SLAVES. HOW COULD HE NOT, LIVING WITH MARY? HE TAUGHT JESUS TO TAKE PRIDE IN HIS WORK AND TO DO IT AS WELL AS POSSIBLE, NO MATTER HOW HUMBLE. AND HE WAS THE ONE WHO HELPED JESUS SEE GOD REFLECTED IN FIG TREES AND STORMS AT SEA AND SMALL BIRDS AND FIELDS OF FLOWERS. AND BECAUSE HE WAS SUCH A GOOD, LOVING, WISE AND GENEROUS FATHER, JESUS HAD EXPERIENCED FATHERHOOD AT IT'S BEST, AND COULD COMFORTABLY REFER TO HIS HEAVENLY FATHER WITH THE SAME NAME HE CALLED JOSEPH – ABBA, DADDY. AND HE TAUGHT HIS FOLLOWERS A NEW WAY TO THINK ABOUT GOD – AS FATHER.
AND JESUS PASSES ON MUCH OF WHAT JOSEPH TAUGHT HIM, AND JESUS EVEN SPEAKS WITH THE SAME ACCENTS AND RHYTHMS THAT YOU COULD HEAR IN JOSEPH'S VOICE. SONS IMITATE THEIR FATHERS.
SO JOSEPH TEACHES BY HIS LIFE, AND HE TEACHES BY WORDS, WORDS WE HEAR THROUGH JESUS' VOICE. AND JUST AS HE PROTECTS AND INSTRUCTS JESUS, HE CONTINUES BE OUR PROTECTOR AND TEACHER, BECAUSE WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST.
SO LET US RESOLVE THIS CHRISTMAS EVE TO LISTEN TO JOSEPH. AND LET US MOVE HIM FROM THE BACK OF THE MANGER SCENE TO A MORE PROMINENT POSITION IN OUR HEARTS.
IF YOU READ THE ENTIRE NEW TESTAMENT, JOSEPH IS MENTIONED ONLY IN THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW AND LUKE. AND IT IS ONLY IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW THAT WE GET JUST A LITTLE HINT INTO WHAT KIND OF PERSON HE WAS. IT SAYS THAT HE IS A RIGHTEOUS MAN. HE IS OBEDIENT TO GOD AND THERE ARE FIVE TIMES GOD SPEAKS TO HIM THROUGH A MESSENGER – WHEN HE IS TOLD TO TAKE MARY INTO HIS HOME, WHEN HE IS COMMANDED TO TAKE MARY AND JESUS TO EGYPT; WHEN HE IS TOLD TO RETURN, AND WHEN HE IS TOLD TO RETURN BY A DIFFERENT ROUTE. AND THESE MESSAGES ALL COME IN DREAMS. WE HEAR ABOUT HIM ONCE MORE, IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE, WHEN HE AND MARY GO TO THE TEMPLE TO FIND THEIR 12 YEAR OLD SON WHO DECIDED TO STAY THERE RATHER THAN RETURN HOME WITH THEM. AFTER THAT, HE DROPS OUT OF THE PICTURE COMPLETELY, AND THE OTHER THINGS WE “KNOW” ABOUT JOSEPH, THAT HE WAS AN OLD MAN, THAT HE HAD SONS AND DAUGHTERS BY A PREVIOUS MARRIAGE, THAT HE WORKED AS A CARPENTER, THAT JOSEPH TAUGHT JESUS HIS TRADE, THAT JOSEPH DIED WHILE JESUS WAS STILL LIVING IN NAZARETH, BEFORE HIS MINISTRY – THOSE THINGS AREN'T IN THE BIBLE, BUT YOU CAN MAKE A CASE FOR THEM, I GUESS, FROM THE BIBLE AND FROM THINKING ABOUT THE WAY PEOPLE LIVED AT THAT TIME.
ON THE SURFACE, JOSEPH SEEMS TO BE A BIT PLAYER, AND ALONE AMONG THE MEMBERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY, WE DON'T KNOW ANY OF THE WORDS HE MIGHT HAVE SPOKEN.
AND YET, JOSEPH IS AN EXTREMELY COMMON NAME FOR CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM BOYS. AND YET, JOSEPH IS THE PATRON OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH. AND YET, THERE ARE CONGREGATIONS OF PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS WHO TAKE JOSEPH AS THEIR SPECIAL PATRON. AND YET AFTER JESUS AND MARY, THE THIRD MOST COMMON NAME GIVEN TO CHURCHES IS JOSEPH.
SO WHY IS THIS OBSCURE, HUMBLE MAN SO CELEBRATED? WHY IS HE A MAN WORTHY OF IMITATION? WHAT CAN JOSEPH TELL US, JOSEPH WHO NEVER SPEAKS?
JOSEPH IS RIGHTEOUS. THAT MIGHT BE TRANSLATED, “JUST”. TO BE RIGHTEOUS OR JUST MEANS THAT WE ARE EXTREMELY SENSITIVE TO WHAT IS RIGHT, AND WE VALUE THIS SO MUCH THAT WE WILL PUT ASIDE OTHER CONCERNS SO THAT JUSTICE IS SATISFIED. JOSEPH WAS RIGHTEOUS WHEN HE DECIDED TO QUIETLY DIVORCE MARY RATHER THAN DENOUNCE HER AND HAVE HER STONED. HE FELT THAT HE HAD BEEN SINNED AGAINST, AND AT THE SAME TIME, KNEW THAT THE PUNISHMENT WAS TOO SEVERE, EVEN THOUGH HE COULD HAVE DEMANDED IT. HE ACTED JUSTLY. WHEN THE ANGEL SPOKE TO JOSEPH, THIS HAD TO DO WITH GOD'S COMMAND. JOSEPH HAD GONE AS FAR AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE TO SATISFY JUSTICE.
THE TRIP TO BETHLEHEM TO REGISTER IN THE CENSUS WAS ALSO A REFLECTION OF JOSEPH'S RIGHTEOUSNESS. HE WAS WILLING TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO OBEY A COMMAND FROM THE EMPEROR; JOSEPH WOULD HAVE NEVER CHEATED ON HIS TAXES, AND PROBABLY WOULD NEVER EVEN HAVE RUN A STOPLIGHT.
JOSEPH RECOGNIZES THAT HE BELONGS TO GOD, THAT GOD HAS A RIGHT TO EVERYTHING HE HAS, AND WHEN GOD ASKS SOMETHING OF HIM, HE DOES NOT HESITATE, HE DOES NOT QUESTION. HE WALKS TO JERUSALEM, HE WALKS TO EGYPT.
JOSEPH LETS GOD LEAD HIM. GOD LEADS HIM IN THE OBVIOUS WAYS I MENTIONED, BUT JOSEPH SPENDS MOST OF HIS LIFE WORKING, KEEPING THE SABBATH HOLY, PUTTING ASIDE WHAT HE WANTS TO DO TO TO SERVE HIS WIFE AND SON. ALL FATHERS IN THIS CHURCH KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE A HUSBAND AND FATHER, AND WE ALL KNOW WE DON'T MEET THE MARK MOST OF THE TIME. JOSEPH DID MEET THE MARK. ALL HE CARED ABOUT, AFTER GOD, WAS THE WELFARE OF MARY AND JESUS. THAT WAS RESPONDING TO GOD'S LEADING; THAT WAS THE VOCATION GIVEN BY GOD.
SO JOSEPH, THE JUST MAN, LIVES A LIFE THAT ALL OF US CAN IMITATE – DOING EVERYTHING AS WELL AS WE CAN, LIVING A LIFE IN CONSTANT GRATITUDE FOR THE GOOD AND THE BAD, THE GREAT AND THE SMALL, KNOWING THAT WHATEVER WE HAVE IS GIVEN TO US BY GOD FOR HIS GOOD PURPOSES, AND KNOWING THAT WHAT GOOD THINGS WE ARE GIVEN FROM GOD ARE MAGNIFIED WHEN THEY ARE SHARED; AND BEING LED BY GOD IN THE ORDINARY AS WELL AS THE EXTRAORDINARY. AND JOSEPH SPENDS HIS LIFE GIVING HIMSELF AWAY.
WE HAVE NOTHING LEFT OF JOSEPH EXCEPT A FEW PASSAGES IN MATTHEW AND LUKE. AND IN THE CRÈCHE, OUR EYES ARE FIXED ON THE CHILD AND HIS MOTHER; JOSEPH STANDS IN THE BACKGROUND.
SO JOSEPH TEACHES US WITH HIS LIFE. BUT THERE IS MORE.
THERE ARE GREAT SAINTS LIKE THOMAS AQUINAS AND AUGUSTINE AND ALPHONSUS LIGOURI, WHO WROTE TIMELESS VOLUMES OF THEOLOGY, WHICH CONTINUE TO DEEPLY INFLUENCE OUR CATHOLIC FAITH EVEN TODAY. BUT JOSEPH TEACHES US INDIRECTLY, BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONE WHO TAUGHT JESUS TO READ. HE SHOWED JESUS HOW HE UNDERSTOOD THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. HE TAUGHT JESUS THAT EVERYONE WAS VALUABLE, EVEN THE ROMANS AND THE SAMARITANS. HE PROBABLY TAUGHT JESUS HIS COUNTER-CULTURAL APPROACH TO WOMEN, CONVERSING WITH THEM IN PUBLIC, SEEING THEM AS REAL PERSONS AND NOT PETS OR SLAVES. HOW COULD HE NOT, LIVING WITH MARY? HE TAUGHT JESUS TO TAKE PRIDE IN HIS WORK AND TO DO IT AS WELL AS POSSIBLE, NO MATTER HOW HUMBLE. AND HE WAS THE ONE WHO HELPED JESUS SEE GOD REFLECTED IN FIG TREES AND STORMS AT SEA AND SMALL BIRDS AND FIELDS OF FLOWERS. AND BECAUSE HE WAS SUCH A GOOD, LOVING, WISE AND GENEROUS FATHER, JESUS HAD EXPERIENCED FATHERHOOD AT IT'S BEST, AND COULD COMFORTABLY REFER TO HIS HEAVENLY FATHER WITH THE SAME NAME HE CALLED JOSEPH – ABBA, DADDY. AND HE TAUGHT HIS FOLLOWERS A NEW WAY TO THINK ABOUT GOD – AS FATHER.
AND JESUS PASSES ON MUCH OF WHAT JOSEPH TAUGHT HIM, AND JESUS EVEN SPEAKS WITH THE SAME ACCENTS AND RHYTHMS THAT YOU COULD HEAR IN JOSEPH'S VOICE. SONS IMITATE THEIR FATHERS.
SO JOSEPH TEACHES BY HIS LIFE, AND HE TEACHES BY WORDS, WORDS WE HEAR THROUGH JESUS' VOICE. AND JUST AS HE PROTECTS AND INSTRUCTS JESUS, HE CONTINUES BE OUR PROTECTOR AND TEACHER, BECAUSE WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST.
SO LET US RESOLVE THIS CHRISTMAS EVE TO LISTEN TO JOSEPH. AND LET US MOVE HIM FROM THE BACK OF THE MANGER SCENE TO A MORE PROMINENT POSITION IN OUR HEARTS.
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