Mass readings for the 4th Sunday of Advent:
Isaiah 7.10-14 Psalm 24.1-6 Romans 1.1-7 Matthew 1.18-24
I’ve always found St. Joseph a very compelling figure. This, despite his silence – we never hear him in the scriptures, unlike Mary who speaks so many memorable words to us, some of which now figure in our worship as beloved canticles. No, Joseph is a silent figure. And while he may not speak, he most definitely listens, discerns and acts. But first, he is a man of faith.
I initially, to be inclusive, as they say, wrote “person of faith” but as I consider the terrible damage that has been done to men in recent decades, in terms of their being denigrated for their masculinity, and made the scapegoat for society’s ills.
I can’t imagine what it has been like to grow up a boy into manhood as part of the millennial and then Gen-Z generations. I imagine it’s also been quite confusing for girls and young women too, who have been told to find the gelded male attractive, even as the more confident, capable and ambitious young man remains the real attraction.
I know that “boys will be boys” has been used too often to dismiss bad behaviour, but as any mother who’s raised sons will know, it is nonetheless profoundly true. Which means, it’s not an observation to serve as an excuse, but information to tell us all that we must treat boys as boys if we are to succeed in making them into good men. We’re looking to draw out the best qualities of the masculine, to form these as strengths, to teach how aggression can be transformed into productive ambition, but also how the instinct to violence can be focussed into a vocation of protection of the vulnerable, the safeguarding of community. Male leadership does not mean tyranny in family life, but rather guided by the Holy Spirit, it becomes care, compassion, and concern that leads families and communities through the challenges of this world toward the kingdom of God.
And we see in St. Joseph an excellent example of how faith forms the man of discernment, thought and action that we are so much in need of today.
In that first reading we heard, from the prophet Isaiah, we have an example of a man, indeed a king, who refused God’s guiding and formative word. The true king, as with any good man, leads well only insofar as he follows God’s guidance, responds in obedience to the Lord’s commands. But here we have King Ahaz refusing God –The Lord spoke to Ahaz, “ask for a sign, and I’ll give it to you” – that is, it will be a sign for the whole nation of Judea, that will tell all of you that I am with you, and you’ve nothing to fear. And Ahaz replied, “I will not put the Lord to the test…” And that was disbelief in God; a lack of faith in him – it’s the classic sin of Adam and Eve, to not trust God.
The kingdom of Judea was facing an invasion by two neighbouring kingdoms. They had first asked Ahaz to join them in an alliance against the Assyrian Empire, and Ahaz, rather wisely, decided not risk Judea in such a war. However, these two other kingdoms were now going to conquer Judea, and incorporate it, using its resources to then challenge the Assyrians.
Ahaz has the difficult choice of facing the invasion alone with his army, but with God, and that’s what the prophet Isaiah tells him to do. Or, he can call on the Assyrians to rescue him and Judea. But to do so will have a price, the Assyrians don’t send their army out for nothing, they don’t do favours without calling them in. Yet Ahaz falters, and relies on foreigners, and not upon God.
And the deal, as it turns out, is that Judea, and Jerusalem, must now accept and worship the gods of the Assyrians. Judea is saved from conquest, but falls into idolatry, which to the horror of many, included such practices as child sacrifice!
I daresay, there are all sorts of parallels we could draw between the civilization we call the West and that story of Judea’s seeming rescue that led to its eventual total destruction.
Joseph is set in contrast to the faithless Ahaz in our readings. We know Joseph to be a righteous man – the gospel passage today says so; but he is more than simply a righteous man. We need to remember that the first to read, or to hear Matthew’s gospel would have been Jews, that word “righteous” carries with it certain definite connotations with respect to him being a man who keeps the law. But that can mean being a Pharisee who is a strict legalist, who leaves little room for compassion. That is, Joseph has some choices to make even within that law. Learning that Mary is pregnant while they are betrothed, and him not being the father, he has the right to expose her to the judgment of the community.
And before we rush to our own judgment about that provision of the law, we need to remember how sensitive the issue of paternity was among ancient people. How shall we put this, the regulation of this was essential to community cohesion. And I don’t think we have difficulty in understanding how sexual infidelity would undermine a small, tight-knit community that was built on kinship. It’s not strictly a private matter; it has consequences for others. Mary, in this situation could be punished through being ostracized, shunned, and forced to leave Nazareth and go off into an uncertain future. She could be stoned to death. And from the perspective of the law, this is all deserved for what she has apparently done.
However, Joseph, as a righteous man, pursues mercy even as he might be deeply offended by what seems to have happened. Of course, Joseph would have known Mary and her family as themselves being righteous people. So, I’m sure he has found her news of this pregnancy quite baffling.
What we see then in Joseph’s righteousness is true discernment, he seeks to keep the law and so protect the community, but with understanding and compassion. He doesn’t know at one point just what’s happened, but he has a sense of who Mary is, and that this is more a tragedy that has befallen her than her sin convicting her. And so, in forgiveness, in mercy, he seeks to make for her a better future, one not tainted by public scandal as he looks to make this a matter of personal, private embarrassment.
So, we know, God has chosen the right man. And it’s not just because he is of the house of David by lineage, but rather he exemplifies David and Solomon at their best as men relying upon the divine virtues of wisdom, justice, but also mercy.
And when God clarifies matters for Joseph, albeit in a dream, we don’t see Joseph looking for further signs, another message. Having been formed in true, divine righteousness, he knows an angel’s message when he hears it, even if he’s never received one before. And then, he is all action, as we see in this gospel passage, as we will see throughout the story of the nativity and childhood of our Lord as Joseph in obedience, but surely also love, guides and protects his family, and so, ensures the future of Israel and all humanity. He does his work which we know includes providing for Mary and Jesus, but also packing up the household and moving them away to safety when necessary. Mary does her work, the particular care of our Lord in his physical needs of food, and warmth, and comfort. And there is no scandal in it; that she does not go out to work, that she does not saddle the donkey and pack up the household in the coming emergencies, that she does not lead them through the wilderness, negotiate the borders, make the necessary contacts and find the places of shelter, take up whatever work, wherever they are, to keep food on the table and roof over their heads. That’s for Joseph to do, and he does it exceedingly well, keeping them safe, and drawing upon them no attention from the agents of King Herod.
I’m glad to see signs that the time of discouraging boys and young men is coming to an end; but that must then be supplanted in our society by encouragement to the kind of righteousness we see in St. Joseph; that our young men become, not servants of the worldly order, for so they have been in to their detriment, but rather men of God, with a vocation to serve in virtue and in faith Christ.
Amen.