Happy St. Joseph Day. The sleeper holiday of the Church calendar…compared to its loud cousin of two days ago!
I have a great love for St. Joseph. I would like to be just like him. Scripture records no words from Joe. Although his life has lots of dramatic twists and turns, we hear no “Woe is me or what the…” He is silent. No words fall from his lips. In the face of an engagement that went from two to three…he tries to be practical, reasonable, even nice. But he listens to God’s message in a dream and takes Mary into his home. In the face of swords drawn by Herod’s troops, again he follows God’s lead and goes to Egypt. And again, Joseph returns to Nazareth by the same messenger.
With seemingly no panic, anxiety, or worry, Joseph showed discernment and trust. Discernment…in absence of all the facts, Joseph’s judgement is delayed, until he hears from God…gains spiritual understanding and guidance. Trust: waiting for and hearing the direction of God…Joseph follows. He takes Mary (and Jesus) as his own, He protects them on the journey…no matter where.
I want to be like Joseph. If we keep silent, we just might. Shhhhhhh.
