In an ordinary circumstance, only an unusual man would accept a woman, who is already pregnant, to be his wife. It was not even clear if Mary and Joseph underwent the process of courtship, and it was not said how the two of them became sweethearts. What we know is that an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to take Mary as his wife, which he obediently did, though, with an initial doubt and denial on his part. But the important thing is the fact that he took her as his wife and lived his life as her husband and protector.
What if Joseph had a pride which is unbreakable? What if he valued his macho image more than to accept and face all the malicious rumors that he might be facing with Mary by his side? What if he did not have that faith that can move mountains? Up until now our salvation is just a part of a dream, which we do not know if ever will really come true. So, it is not only Mary who cooperated with God’s plan to save us, but Joseph as well. He was, indeed, just a simple carpenter but he was a part of God’s plan.
One thing very remarkable in the life of St. Joseph is that he was a man of deep faith and trust in God’s will. He never objected to anything that God asked him to do, not because there was always the presence of an angel in every instance when God would ask him to do something, but because it is innate in him to be simply faithful and pure of heart and in his intentions. How I wish the likes of St. Joseph still abound in our world today, where corruption and deceit reigns everywhere. Even the sanctity of a relationship of man and woman in Holy Matrimony is always compromised because faithfulness is becoming a rare bird in our world today.
Now, we can just count so easily through our fingers the faithful man and woman around us. I am not writing this topic to catch the attention of anybody, but we do not need to open wide our eyes to be able to realize that faithfulness has gone into thin air and is lost forever. I wonder what kind of justification is acceptable for this kind of social cancer that has invaded the sacredness of many families throughout the entire world. Distance and being away from our loved ones can be our reasons, but they are unacceptable reasons if viewed in our Christian perspective. In the Christian viewpoint, and if patterned to the life of St. Joseph, these two negative things can become our source of strength if we know the real essence of what sacrifice and self-giving is all about.
St. Joseph understood and had accepted the nature of sacrifice, not as part of his being a lowly carpenter and an ordinary man, but he embraced sacrifice for the Madonna and Child as an ordinary man with extraordinary faith and obedience to God’s will. He is the foster-father of the Messiah, and I am sure that, as a true man and true God, Jesus naturally imitated some of the qualities of his earthly father, Joseph. The qualities of Jesus were not infused in Him solely because he was God, but he might have adapted some of them from his earthly father, especially his ability to suffer and his unwavering faith, which is so much like St. Joseph.
My dear friends, this is the greatest challenge that our world is facing nowadays because we have entered a generation that is so much alienated from pain, suffering and faithfulness. These elements are slowly becoming things that are unthinkable to exist in our modern world. True we are in a modern world but, as the world advances in terms of science and technology, our morality is being dragged closer and closer to extinction.
My dear friends, faithfulness is a Godly thing and an incredibly beautiful thing to cultivate in our lives. God is ever faithful to His covenant with us on the contrary of our perennial unfaithfulness to Him. It never ceases to be an important aspect of our life, especially in terms of our relationships. Faithfulness is destined to be perfected, as love is potentially a perfect thing. However, the defect in love and faithfulness lies not on the quality of love but on the lovers themselves. Faith and love are perfect, but lovers can be so imperfect and unfaithful.
As we try to renew our faith and trust in God during this season of waiting, let us also try to make some sacrifices and learn from the life of St. Joseph. Even as a lowly carpenter, Joseph was part of God’s plan. Yes, we are all part of God’s redeeming plan, irrespective of whether we are faithful or not. But, being aware of our limited nature, then, we must learn and try our best to open ourselves to His graces and learn the virtue of obedience to His will.
St. Joseph, pray for us!