Tuesday 19 March 2024
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife. (v. 24)
Background
Today the Church marks the feast day of St Joseph. He is someone we know surprisingly little about, and he doesn’t speak in any of the gospel narratives.
He is often pictured as an old man, and many believe that he had died before Jesus began his ministry. One of the sources of this theory was a document called 'The Protoevangelium of James'. It was written some 200 years after Christ. It tells of the miraculous birth of Mary and, when she reached marriageable age, how widowers were invited to come to the Temple for God to choose one to marry her and protect her virginity. Each man took a staff, and when Joseph selected his, it says a dove flew out from it.
According to this view, the siblings of Jesus of which the gospels speak, were actually Joseph’s children from a previous marriage. This document is also used to suggest Mary remained a virgin all her life which has led some in the Church to believe God sees sex as something unclean. While we shouldn’t dismiss Church tradition out of hand, none of this is written in our Bible text.
What we do have in our reading today is the portrayal of Joseph as a decent and righteous man. In an age where men could treat women as possessions, and when he would have had the legal right to publicly denounce what he believed to be Mary’s unfaithfulness, Joseph sought to show compassion towards her in the way he would end the betrothal. Following the visit of the angel, Joseph had the courage to stand alongside Mary.
God’s intervention in the story is discreet, with an angel appearing in a dream. As with so much of the infancy narratives of both Matthew and Luke, there aren’t any fireworks, but instead God enters the world quietly and unseen by many.
Whatever happened to Jospeh after Jesus had grown up, and whatever the truth about Jesus’ siblings, in Joseph we have an example of a devoted father-figure who wasn’t restricted to only those he was related to by blood.
To Ponder:
- Do the traditions of the Church beyond our Bible have a bearing on our own faith? In what ways are they a help, and in what ways a hinderance?
- What experiences have we had of others treating us as family though we are not related? How has their example affected the way we treat others?
Prayer
God our Father, may we learn the faithfulness of Joseph, and seek to see the humanity of all whom we meet. Give us courage when following your call is costly. Amen.
Bible Study author: the Revd Will Fletcher