Word to the Wise
Thursday, March 19, 2015 - March 19 - St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
[2 Sam 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; Matt 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Luke 2:41-51a,1166]"Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them.
St. Joseph is patron of so many different places and activities that it is difficult to keep track of them all. He doesn't have a "speaking part" in the gospel stories about him in Matthew and Luke, but his "voice" is certainly heard. A visit to the enormous St. Joseph Oratory in Montreal would provide more than enough testimony to the devotion he inspires.
The Gospel of Matthew is at pains to show that Joseph acts in accord with God's promise and plan of salvation. The Gospel of Luke emphasizes the strong and pious Jewish identity of Jesus' parents and their role as parents. Perhaps we could say that Joseph is shown more as "dad" in Luke's account.
Taking both gospels into account, I am moved more toward calling St. Joseph the patron saint of "ambiguity." He had to deal with the social consequences of Mary's "unexpected" pregnancy. He had to accept a vision that would make him part of a much larger plan than Nazareth could contain. He had to hear Jesus speak of a "Father" different from the "father" who saved his life by fleeing to Egypt, who brought him to the temple to be presented, and who, with Mary, searched frantically for him. The Gospel of Matthew refers to him as a "righteous man," and to that I say AMEN.