How would you like to “walk a mile” in St. Joseph’s sandals?

Joseph of Nazareth:     a kind and gentle man… an honest fellow… a competent craftsman: Joe the Carpenter.

But — like Mary… Zechariah… Elizabeth… and John the Baptizer —Joseph was ALSO one of the chosen ones whose participation was CRITICAL to the safe and loving childhood of Jesus:  JESUS…who was to become the Messiah.

Joseph was a man who carried on the deep faith of his ancestors, who observed the many Jewish tradi­tions that connected him with the sacred history of his people.

It wouldn’t surprise any of us if occasionally Joseph might have felt a little dismay… a little discomfort at having been the one God chose to help parent this little child born of Mary.

As we look back NOW, of course, we know that the role Joseph had to play was CRITICAL … through Jesus’ childhood… adolescence… into adulthood.  We know NOW that Joseph was a special person… set aside … chosen by God to do a job that was committed to him alone … and to no other.

And that’s the way it is for each of US.     We, too, are special… set aside… God’s chosen ones. And it might be good — now and then — to think of Joseph as a model… as we try to live up to God’s awesome expectations of US.

Henry Nouwen, the great spiritual writer, talks about what it means to KNOW that I am “chosen”… to KNOW that I am “special”… that God has assigned some work to ME that he’s not assigned to any other person.

Nouwen says, “When I write that we are God’s chosen ones,  I mean that we have been seen by God FROM ALL ETERNITY as ‘unique’… ‘special’… ‘precious’ beings.”

So long before JOSEPH was born — “from all eternity” — Joseph existed in God’s heart. And long before any of US were born… WE existed in God’s heart.

Long before our parents noticed how cute we were…   long before our teach­ers saw signs of our special gifts …  long before any of that… we were already “chosen” … just as St. Joseph had been chosen.

Just as the eyes of God had seen JOSEPH as pre­cious… as infinitely necessary to do what God needed to have done… so God sees US in that same way.  God chooses us with perfect awareness of the special qualities that only each of us possesses.

Think about this the next time you’re in a room full of volunteers… or at a meeting with a group of people who are trying to do something good. Look around the room, and ask yourself, “Why US, Lord? Why ME?”

Think about the temptation to be “uncertain”… the temptation to “lack confidence”… in YOURSELF… and in “those around you.”  That’s when you have to look around the room and say: “Lord… if you’ve brought us together, you must have a job for us to do that we are extremely qualified for. So I put all my faith and all my trust in your assignment of this work to us.”

Think about JOSEPH’S “temptations of uncertainty”…   HIS lack of confidence, that — had he “succumbed” to it — he might have screwed up the whole deal.

Sometimes… we’re taunted by those dark voices telling us,  “You’re not so special! Who do you think you are? But we must preserve our special-ness in spite of those voices. This is a tough job… a lifelong battle.

We must REMEMBER that — (in God’s eyes) —  WE ARE PRECIOUS… and we have been given a special job to do.

Each of us has been chosen to do some definite service, which God has not committed to any other person.

THINK about Joseph… when the job “God has assigned to YOU”  seems a little overwhelming.

~Deacon Denny Williams
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

Today, I would like us to focus on Saint Joseph and get to know him better as the man of God that he is. 

Matthew and Luke, the two Evangelists who speak most of Joseph, tell us very little, yet enough for us to appreciate what sort of father he was, and the mission entrusted to him by God. We know that  Joseph was a carpenter, betrothed to Mary. Saint Matthew refers to him as a “just man”, obedient to  God’s will as revealed to him in the Law and through the four dreams which he had. After a long and tiring journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, Joseph beheld the birth of the Messiah in a stable, since  “there was no place for them” in the inn. He witnessed and was present at the adoration of the shepherds on Christmas night and of the Magi when they came. 

Saint Joseph was a tender and loving father. The greatness of Saint Joseph is that he was the spouse of Mary and the foster-father of Jesus. In this way, he placed himself at the service of the entire plan of salvation. Joseph concretely expressed his fatherhood by making his life a sacrificial service to the  Holy Family. In the Holy Family, he turned his human vocation of domestic love into a superhuman oblation of himself, his heart, and all his abilities, a love placed at the service of the Messiah who was growing to maturity in his home. Joseph saw Jesus grow daily in wisdom and in years, and Jesus saw  Joseph grow in his sacrifice of self which deepened each and every day. 

Saint Joseph was also an obedient and accepting father. Joseph was deeply troubled by Mary’s mysterious pregnancy. He was unwilling to put her to shame, so resolved to dismiss her quietly But, as he considered this, God revealed his saving plan to Joseph in a dream. In a dream! I suppose that makes sense for the typical “guy way of discernment”. Got a problem? Take a nap! I think Saint Joseph and I are going to get along just fine this year Saint Joseph’s trust in God was authentic; his naps were not an escape from difficulty, but an authentic realization that there are moments in our life which we must leave to God. He deeply desired to do God’s will and trusted that God would show him the way. In every situation, Joseph trusted firmly in God, waited patiently for Him to show him the way, and obeyed promptly when the way was clear.

Often in life, things happen whose meaning we do not understand. Our first reaction is frequently one of disappointment and rebellion. Joseph set aside his own ideas in order to accept the course of events and, mysterious as they seemed, to embrace them, take responsibility for them, and make them part of his own history. Pope Francis tells us that “unless we are reconciled with our own history, we will be unable  to take a single step forward, for we will always remain hostage to our expectations and the  disappointments that follow.” The spiritual path that Joseph traces for us is not one that explains but accepts. Only as a result of this acceptance—not a passive resignation, but a courage and firm proactivity—can we begin to glimpse a broader history, a deeper meaning to how God is working in our lives. 

Each of us can discover in Joseph—the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet, and hidden presence—an intercessor, support, and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. 

Pope Francis has given the Church this prayer as we get to know Saint Joseph better this year: 

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer, 

Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

To you God entrusted his only Son; 

in you Mary placed her trust; 

with you Christ became man. 

Blessed Joseph, to us too, 

show yourself a father 

and guide us in the path of life. 

Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage, 

and defend us from every evil. Amen.