SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
First Reading - 2 Samuel 7:4-5,12-14,16
Second Reading - Romans 4:13,16-18,22
Gospel - Matthew 1:16,18-21,24
God's promise or plan never fails. The readings of the day invite us to trust in the promises of God like Abraham and St. Joseph and we will witness the fulfillment of God's promises in our lives. The special importance of the readings for this feast of St Joseph is that they link Jesus to the promises made to the Old Testament people of God.
The first reading gives us the promises which God made to David through his prophet Nathan. David had a great desire to build a temple for the Lord to place the ark therein. At first, Nathan was pleased with the proposal of David. However, through Nathan God replied that, on the contrary, He himself would build a House for David, a House that would endure for ever and raise a son who would enjoy His special favour. Through this prophecy, God promises perpetuity of Davidic dynasty in Israel and points to the future Davidic Messiah who would enjoy God's favour. This prophecy comes to its fulfilment in Jesus through Joseph.
In the second reading, Paul sets Abraham as an example of tenacious faith. The tenacity of his faith is seen in his belief, when things were impossible from human perspective regarding the birth of his son to him as God had promised, he showed a great faith in the promise of God and this is called by Paul as righteous faith. As a result of his tenacious faith, Abraham becomes the father of a great nation. He places his hope against hope which is the suited example of tenacious faith. It's because of the faith, Abraham could witness the fulfillment of the promises God made to him.
The gospel reading narrates the dilemma of Joseph regarding acceptance of Mary as his wife. The dilemma might have arisen probably due to two conditions: firstly, humanly speaking, the disturbance of Joseph was caused because Mary had got pregnant and it might have given him an experience of betrayal on the part of Mary; secondly, as some Church fathers suggest that he thought himself unworthy to become the father of the Son of God. And for that reason, he might be pondering to release Mary from her betrothal. The message from the angle becomes a turning point for him, he believes in the message and accepts Mary and the child. The acceptance of Mary and Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Nathan as Jesus, the Messiah, is inducted into the House of David by adoption. Only a father names a son, so when Joseph names Jesus, that becomes a formula of adoption.
Dear friends, the feast of today reminds us that St. Joseph played a significant role in the salvation history. When we look at the salvation history closely, we find that it's through St. Joseph, the prophecy of Davidic Messiah is realised as he adopts him and inducts him into the lineage of David. This reminds us that God's promise or plan always finds its fulfilment. God promised Davidic Messiah to David and that is actualised in Jesus through Joseph. God has a plan for each one of us, God's plan will certainly come its fulfilment. To see it, we need tenacious faith like Abraham and St. Joseph, who believed in God and witnessed God's fulfilment of promises. We will also be able to see God's plan active and vibrant in our lives with our confidence and trust in God.
Joseph was the just man (Matthew. 1:19). In the Biblical sense, a just man is one who faithfully does his duties to God, to lawful authorities, and to his fellow human beings. We are called to remain faithful to our duties to God, to our society, and to our fellow brothers and sisters. The feast invites us to become a just or righteous people of God like St. Joseph.
Let's pray that we may grow in faith to see God's working hand in our lives and May God transform us daily with our life of faithfulness to become righteous and just like St. Joseph.
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