Word to the Wise
Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - 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]Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it 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." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. [Matthew]
The liturgical calendar is ever a source for puzzlement. The feast of St. Joseph, with the gospel passage about the angel's "annunciation" about Mary's pregnancy to him in a dream precedes the feast of the "annunciation" when Mary learns of her pregnancy! Both feasts occur in Lent when the focus is on the end of Jesus' life rather than the beginning. The chronology is a little strange, but with the gospel account of the transfiguration on this past Sunday still lingering in mind, there is an important common theme - Jesus is both God and human and yet he is willingly heading for Jerusalem to fulfill his mission. Joseph and Mary are reminders to us of Jesus' humanity. The alternative gospel passage from the Gospel According to Luke about Jesus being "lost" in the temple refers to the anxiety any set of parents might have over a lost child. But Jesus also reminds them of his mission and we are told they didn't understand what he was talking about!
All of this helps us to keep the big picture in mind. Lent is part of a bigger story of the life of Jesus, from beginning to end. Having emphasized the beginning with Christmas/Epiphany, we are now paying attention to the ending with the cross and resurrection ahead of us. "Ordinary Time" offers us the "in-between" reflections on the ministry of Jesus. Joseph and Mary remind us that we are doing all of this in response to God's call. AMEN