20/03/2023

Joseph, the man Jesus called father on earth, is very much the forgotten man in the history of salvation. All that we know about him is the essential role that he played as "father" in the first years of the incarnate Son. We do not even know when he died nor do we know the members of his family. That he had one is known only by default. "Your mother and brethren are without" is answered by Jesus with an exhortation to his disciples that stresses that we have to ignore everything in our lives that is not "with him".

This is another example of Jesus' hard sayings that apparently contradict "my yolk is easy and my burden is light". It also raises questions about " honour thy father and thy mother". The New Testament is not a "Western" where the "goody" is at first beaten by the "baddy" but finally rides off into the sunset. The New Testament is where we find the authentic history of God on earth. Jesus' body is the result of the Holy Spirit's action in Mary. This is the reality that Jesus lays before us.

Joseph was the first of us to come face to face with this reality. He must have, at first, been dumbstruck and filled with rage. "The Lord is with thee" is also the inspiration for the man Joseph who had the greatest responsibility ever given to any one of us. Responsibility and joy for the child who ran to him and called him "dad" was God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit the Evergreater creator of our spiritual and material Universe.

Dear Lord my heart is open to you to receive the grace I need to sustain my life on earth and my commitment to living in your footsteps. May I bring no harm to anyone this day and let me keep on learning that it is possible for me to do your will on earth. May Mary, Theotokos, whose domestic life was supported by St Joseph join her heavenly prayers with his and all the saints and with those of the Church on earth and in Purgatory.