Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son, and he named him Jesus.
Joseph is a righteous man. Can you imagine learning that the person you were engaged to were pregnant, the excuse 'I'm with child by the Holy Spirit..." You would be skeptical and betrayed. In the custom of the day, being engaged was in all manner of speaking - being married, yet you had not formalized the ceremony. Joseph could have badmouthed Mary's name around town, smearing her reputation, but being a good hearted forgiving person by his core nature, Joseph decided to end it quietly and have mercy on Mary. That is a testament to Joseph.
When Joseph does learn from an angel of the Lord that Mary is indeed carrying the Messiah in her womb, he doesn't panic or say 'Get me out of this deal, this is too much for me...' instead he 'awoke from sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded.'
Joseph is an example we as Christians and human beings should strive to follow. Faithful, merciful, hardworking and slow to anger.
The selection of Joseph, what we know of him is slight, except he is a righteous man, a carpenter and descends from the royal line of King David. So you have a man of Royal lineage, who also works in a humble, yet necessary position of building houses and building things. God sent His only son, Jesus to build a new foundation, to lay a cornerstone for salvation and peace. Joseph's diligent work as a builder/carpenter, a good person to care for the young Jesus. We must work with humility, compassion, faith and diligence to build a foundation to Christ and to teach others the Way to his Truth.
Joseph is the patron saint of workers, carpenters, The Universal Church...I also think Joseph should be an example of our duty to tend our neighbor and to care for widows and orphans.
It saddens me to think that there are so many children at Christmas in the foster care system, without families, from broken homes...Joseph willing gave up his ability to walk away from a child that is not his by DNA, instead loving Jesus as his own and caring for his wife Mary with a compassionate and kind heart. So as Christ has adopted us as His own, Joseph adopted Jesus into his family. God calls us to foster love and tend his flock.
This Christmas let Joseph be a guide of living faithful in the joy of Christ Jesus.
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