she was found with child through the Holy Spirit
It was discovered that Mary came to be with child through supernatural circumstances. Whatever may be said of Joseph's response, one thing is clear: he didn't plan for this. He understood that Mary was special, that he had a mission to watch over her and protect her throughout her life. But the element of the supernatural had probably not entered into his calculations. He saw himself as up to the task when it seemed to be a merely human task. But now it seemed to be much more.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Joseph was probably already concerned about the way an imperfect man such as himself could bring shame to his immaculate bride. It was precisely because he was righteous that he had an appropriate sense of his own weakness. And it wasn't as though he needed the definition of the Immaculate Conception handed to him in order to understand that Mary was special. But he probably still saw his mission to her in terms of his superficial value as a Jewish man, and what he could offer her on that basis. He thought of the ways in which he might have been interchangeable with a thousand other men, and so could conceive of filling that role himself. But when it was revealed the way that God was at work in the life of Mary it became clear to Joseph that more was needed. What she needed was not something that any decent man whosoever could provide. Instead, she needed the one specifically anointed and chosen by God for the task. The destiny of the child demanded it.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“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.
Holy fear made Joseph rightly doubt his own capacity. But the angel conveyed the fact that it was not merely what Joseph was in himself that mattered. What mattered was that he was in fact not an accidental addition to the story. He was chosen as a specific and necessary part of the plan. He was the son of David the great king, through whom Jesus himself would be a part of the royal lineage. It was precisely because of Joseph that Jesus was the heir to the promise made to David in our first reading:
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Of course just hearing that he was part of the plan still gave Joseph no sense of how a relatively ordinary man such as himself could somehow play that role. Thus the angel reminded him that it was in fact the Holy Spirit that was directing the show. Joseph knew well enough that he did not have the necessary competence in supernatural matters to make good decisions for the Holy Family or even to provide them sufficient protection from the forces arrayed against them. But he didn't need that competence. He needed instead to rely on the Holy Spirit who was already at work and would continue to work, not only in the lives of Mary and Jesus, but also in the life of Joseph himself.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.
Thus Joseph was commanded to do something that only he could do. He was told to name the child, claiming him as his son, but also and at the same time as his savior. Joseph, for his part, did not argue the point or hesitate as he wavered between possibly choices. Rather, when he awoke, he obeyed. Such was the character of Joseph. He didn't always know the right way immediately. But when he learned it, he always gave immediate assent of faith. He was, in this sense, like Abraham, a father in faith. Thus, the following passage is also true of Joseph. Let us honor him with the words of Paul:
I have made you father of many nations.
He is our father in the sight of God,
in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead
and calls into being what does not exist.
Damascus Worship Featuring Aaron Richards - Hail Joseph
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