Foster Father of our Lord Jesus
Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Patron of the Universal Church
Introduction
Today’s gospel calls Joseph “a just man.” It is a title that the scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments give to people who try to live according to God’s plans. Indeed, he played an important role in God’s plan of salvation; God entrusted our Saviour, Jesus, to his care. He experienced that his important role brought him many difficulties, but he stood the test and served God well, as a man of faith, generous, and indeed “just.”
1 Reading: 2 Sm 7:4-5A, 12-14A, 16
The LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David,
‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
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.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.'”
Responsorial Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 AND 29
R. (37) The son of David will live for ever.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness,
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. The son of David will live forever.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.”
R. The son of David will live forever.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my saviour.’
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.”
R. The son of David will live forever.
2 Reading: Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22
Brothers and sisters:
It was not through the law
that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants
that he would inherit the world,
but through the righteousness that comes from faith.
For this reason, it depends on faith,
so that it may be a gift,
and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants,
not to those who only adhere to the law
but to those who follow the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of all of us, as it is written,
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.
He believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become the father of many nations,
according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
Verse before the Gospel: Ps 84:5
Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord;
they never cease to praise you.
Gospel: Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24A
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
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.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
Or Luke 2:41-51A
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them.
Commentary:
The uprightness of Joseph consisted in doing the right thing without humiliating anyone else in the process. Thus when he heard of Mary being pregnant before they could live together, he decided to do the right thing—to divorce Mary, but secretly so that her name would not be discredited. And when God revealed to him the truth of her pregnancy, Joseph did not think twice to change his decision and wholeheartedly collaborate with God’s plan. Authentic righteousness of a true man of God! Though Jesus did not carry the biological genes of Joseph, he would have learned a lot from watching Joseph as to how to respect the dignity of persons even when they are sinners and how to conform to God’s will with one’s total being. He was indeed the most worthy husband to Mary, the Mother of God, and the most worthy foster father to Jesus, the Son of God.
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The evangelist Matthew relates the annunciation to Joseph, as Luke related that of Mary’s. The bitter surprise of the legal father of Jesus was set-aside at the news that the angel gives about his wife Mary. Since then, this simple and just man will have to perform a delicate task that begins with the imposition of the name of Jesus (God saves) to the son of Mary. His silence and fidelity to the mission is an example that we should also follow. Jesus will be proud of this father and will not ashamed to be called the “carpenter’s son”.
Blessing
May the Lord make us his good and faithful servants, trustworthy and just. Let his blessing come down on us and accompany us on the road of life: the blessing of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!