Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
The whole genealogy that Matthew enumerated above was the genealogy of Joseph and not of Mary. This was because inheritance was paternal in that culture and it was through Joseph that Jesus would be a descendant of David. That the promise of God did not require strict genetic descent was evident, since "those of faith who are the sons of Abraham" (see Galatians 3:7). The fatherhood of Abraham depended on faith in God and so too did that of Joseph. Not that the whole lineage was composed only of those who were perfect examples of faith. Yet those who in some measure inherited the promise did demonstrate profound faith.
Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
Joseph who would accept a role as the earthly father of Jesus was a man of faith. He was tempted at times to doubt, not God, nor even Mary, but himself. Next to Mary even a righteous man might be acutely aware of his flaws. And in the mission of raising up a miraculous child such as Jesus those flaws might be even greater liabilities than in a normal situation. So he probably thought when he decided to divorce Mary, in order not to bring shame upon her or the child. But the angel appeared to him and reminded him that this was about something bigger than himself. The angel did not address him as the son of Jacob, though he was. Rather, he reminded him that he was also a son of David. This probably confirmed, if he hadn't realized it, that this pertained to the coming of the messiah. But what he almost certainly hadn't fully realized until that point was that it was through him that Jesus would inherit the messianic promise. He need not fear because it was not all about his efforts. It was rather through the Holy Spirit that these things had been orchestrated and came about.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.
Joseph was also the one who would give Jesus his name, which meant "God saves". It was appropriate for one of those in the genealogy to which the promise was entrusted to welcome the advent of the promise realized in person by identifying him with a name appropriate to who he was.
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
When commanded, Joseph always responded with prompt obedience. He took Mary into his home and kept her and the child Jesus under his care. When ordered, he fled to Egypt until it was safe once more for the family to return. It is interesting that after Jesus was found in the temple it was Mary who attempted to scold Jesus for his apparent lack of concern. Perhaps Joseph's heart was too tender to say what ought to be said based on the appearance of what happened. Though probably, Mary said that not for herself, or due to lack of faith, but to offer comfort to Joseph who had no doubt at least briefly entertained such thoughts. In other words, they were a real family, all trying to put the concerns of the others before their own.
I have made you father of many nations.
May we all, by the grace and prayers of the Holy Family, gain even a modicum of their selfless love. By the prayers of Saint Joseph may we learn to promptly obey when God asks something of us. May he help us to trust that, for us too, the Holy Spirit is guiding all things.
No comments:
Post a Comment