Saturday, March 19, 2022
What lessons are there to learn, on this Saint Joseph’s Day, from Jesus’s life with Joseph and Mary in Nazareth?
An excerpt from Luke 2:41-52 (NRSV)
Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.
Reflection Dillon Shipman,
The Church of St Elisabeth:
Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.
What lessons are there to learn, on this Saint Joseph’s Day, from Jesus’s life with Joseph and Mary in Nazareth?
We aren’t given much detail about Jesus’ life growing up with his parents and family in Nazareth. In fact, for being the earthly father of our Savior, we don’t know much about St. Joseph. After all, this is a man who utters not a single word throughout all of our holy scriptures! For years, I wished to know much more about Joseph and what his life was like as a husband, a father, a worker. But, I have come to be comforted by the fact that the person that Jesus came to be in his adult ministry tells us what we need to know about his parents and his upbringing: He was loved deeply and shaped by the tender care of a family who led him to seek justice for a hurting world around him.
Joseph could have walked away at any time – when Mary announced she was pregnant with a child that was not biologically his, when she gave birth to Jesus in a stable, when the trials of raising a family became too difficult. Instead, Joseph chose to stay and he chose to love. He believed when it seemed impossible, he trusted when it didn’t make sense, he was willing to navigate through change when the fear of what was on the other side of the change could have paralyzed him. This is a man who was profound in his simplicity. He didn’t need dialogue in the bible to leave a lasting impact on the faith of his family, and on the faith of the church throughout history. His quiet actions showed the way. Blessed Joseph, may we learn to be more like you.
Photograph from the Chapel at The Church of St. Elisabeth
For further study and prayer, the readings assigned for today are:
Psalm 63:1-8; Isaiah 5:1-7; Luke 6:43-45
MUSIC
“How Lovely Is Your Dwelling”
arr. Ronald Nelson,
sung by Cameo Humes
How lovely is your dwelling,
O Lord of heaven and earth!
My soul athirst is longing to
come to the house of God.