Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

FR MICHAEL BIBLICAL IMAGERY                                                                                                                                                                   (Fr Michael Boakye Yeboah: Vice Rector of St Gregory Seminary, Kumasi-Ghana)

ST. JOSEPH OF NAZARETH

On the solemnity of the Holy Family, I have decided to focus on St Joseph, simply because next week Sunday will be the Solemnity of Mary, the mother of God and I will write on her. As for the other member of the Holy Family, we reflect on him every day and so it is good for us to dedicate some thoughts on St Joseph.

            St. Joseph was a first century Jewish man of Nazareth and he is believed to have been from the prestigious Davidic family. All records point to the fact that he was a carpenter by trade. St Matthew tells us in Matthew 1:19 that he was an upright man. Apart from these records on St. Joseph it is very difficult to get enough information for a biographical piece on St. Joseph of Nazareth. At best a biographer can conclude that he was an unassuming man.

            Scripture scholars have written extensively on the silence of Mary but her husband was not only silent but mute. It is very difficult to find spoken words ascribed to St. Joseph in the canonical and extra canonical Gospels. Biographers over the centuries have found it very difficult to write on St. Joseph of Nazareth. One event that surprises many is when Jesus got lost and was found in the temple. Ideally, where Jesus was found and in the company that he was keeping, it could have been better for St. Joseph to address the elders and question his son but we are told it was Mary who spoke. That is very interesting considering Jewish culture and the place for a woman’s voice when men were gathered. St Paul will stress this point when he decreed that in a congregation of the “saints”, women were to remain silent (cf. 1 Cor 14:34-35). Wasn’t St. Joseph familiar with this Jewish culture? And if he was, why did he allow Mary to do all the talking?

            Some of these interesting findings on St. Joseph, have pushed me to be insightfully theological about St. Joseph. My first observation has to do with why St. Joseph decided to reside in Nazareth instead of Bethlehem his ancestral home. Nazareth had a bad reputation so it was strange for an upright man like St. Joseph to choose to live in such a town in the midst of those “characters” who lived there. But theologically St. Joseph became a prefiguration of his son, who though God humbled himself to take the form of a slave. St. Joseph though from the prestigious David family of Bethlehem, choose to lower himself to live among the “cursed” people of Nazareth. On Nazareth, I have chosen my words carefully; I write in line with the words of Nathaniel: “can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:45-46). St. Joseph like his son (Jesus) directs us on the path of humility and detachment.

            My second observation on the life of St. Joseph has to do with his muteness. His muteness I would like to think was to allow Mary and Jesus to take the centre stage instead of him. His only role in the life of Mary and Jesus was to serve as a guardian. It is the duty of a watchman to take orders and not to pontificate. Today St. Joseph continues to keep his place as the patron saint of the universal church. Please don’t mistake his muteness with foolishness. He just performed his duty assigned to him by God. Many saints have chosen this path of St. Joseph, though the world calls them clowns of God but remember certain things look foolish in the eyes of men but divine in the eyes of God (cf. 1 Cor. 2:14). At times in life it is proper for one to remain silent and follow the path of God.

            Thirdly, I appreciate how Joseph listened to God’s voice to accept Mary as his wife. Some men are going through a lot of marital issues. One of the noisy issues in town has to do with paternity tests. It is difficult to accept a pregnancy that is not yours and St. Joseph demonstrated that when he found out that Mary was pregnant. But at times when the “mistake” has been done it could be noble for the Christian husband to follow the path of St. Joseph and take care of the baby. Two wrongs, our elders say, does not make a right.

            My last observation has to do with the uprightness of St Joseph. He was not only upright but also a calm and patient man. The instruction given to him by the Angel was not very clear to him but as an upright man he remained calm and patient to allow God’s plans to unfold. Psychologically, it is not always easy to be in that state of life but the end is always glorious. There may have been other upright men at the time of St. Joseph, but St. Joseph’s name has entered the annals of history because he embraced the will of God and allowed it to rule his life. Waiting for God’s will to unfold in your life can be psychologically stressful but when God’s plans materialize one’s joy will be without bounds. We need good men as husbands and fathers. May St Joseph intercede for all husbands and fathers. OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP PRAY FOR US.