Readings Between the Lines

Reflections

St. Joseph: A true father of faith

Readings Between the Lines

Father Glenn LeCompte

Last month I explored Matthew’s presentation of Joseph in 1:1-25; this month I intend to analyze Matthew’s depiction of Joseph in the evangelist’s second chapter, as well as Luke’s portrayal of Joseph.

After the episode of Jesus’ birth in Matthew 1:18-25, Joseph next appears in a passage (2:13-15) sandwiched between the narrative of the Magi’s visit (2:1-12) and that of Herod’s massacre of the “Holy Innocents” (2:1618). As in the case when he received a divine revelation to complete his marriage contract with Mary and adopt the child she would bear, Joseph is instructed by means of a dream to take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt to avoid Herod’s treachery. Why should Joseph take his family to Egypt in particular? First, Matthew wishes to compare Jesus to Moses, who as an infant likewise escaped possible death during the Egyptian Pharaoh’s genocidal campaign against Hebrew baby boys (Exodus 1:15-2:10). Having Joseph take the family to Egypt helps to parallel the escapes of both infants, Jesus and Moses. Joseph, who is intent on fulfilling God’s will, obediently acts in accord with the instruction given him in the dream revelation.

Ironically, while Egypt was a place where Joseph’s and Jesus’ ancestors were nearly annihilated, it is a place where the Holy Family finds safety. In 2:15, Matthew gives us a particular reason as to why the Holy Family is sent to Egypt. Throughout his Gospel, Matthew strives to demonstrate that Jesus fulfills the teaching of the prophets. By associating what Jesus does, says and experiences with prophetic teaching, Matthew aims to emphasize that Jesus authentically fulfills God’s will. Instructed again by means of a dream, following Herod’s death, Joseph leads his wife and adoptive son from Egypt back to Palestine, a journey which parallels that of the Israelites released from captivity in Egypt. By means of this journey, Jesus, Joseph and Mary will fulfill Hosea 11:1, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” On the one hand, Matthew depicts Jesus as an image of the renewed people of Israel, the Israel which will be truly obedient to God, as the original Israel was expected to be. On the other hand, the passage notes that the one called from Egypt is God’s “son.” Matthew’s major portrayal of Jesus is as son: Son of God and Son of Man. Because Jesus is an infant, he cannot undertake this important journey on his own. Therefore, Joseph plays an important role in the implementation of God’s will, by being the one who makes the journey happen. In 2:22-23, Matthew tells us that Joseph, moved by fear of Herod’s son, Archelaus, who ruled in Judea after his father’s death, consciously decides not to go back to Bethlehem, but to Nazareth, which is approximately 98 miles to the north of Bethlehem. The reason given is that a prophecy might be fulfilled which says, “He shall be called a Nazorean” (2:23). Nowhere in the Old Testament is such a statement found. However, Matthew could be obliquely referring to Isaiah 11:1, “and from his (Jesse’s) roots a shoot (in Hebrew, nēzer) shall sprout.” In his opening genealogy, Matthew portrays Jesus as a “shoot from Jesse’s family tree.” Using the exact same verbs in narrating the instructions made to Joseph in a dream and his subsequent action in response to it (Matthew 2:20-21), Matthew depicts Joseph as obedient to God’s will.

In Luke Chapters 1-2, the evangelist shines the spotlight on Mary, and mentions Joseph in relation to her. As he introduces Mary as a young woman from Nazareth who receives a divine message from an angel, Luke refers to Joseph as Mary’s “betrothed” and as being “from the house of David” (1:26-27). This is important, because the angel will reveal to Mary that the son she will bear will accede to the throne of “his father David.” While some commentators would take the foregoing statement to mean that Mary was of Davidic descent, this is probably not what Luke intends. Luke’s description of Joseph’s Davidic descent in 1:27 is echoed in 2:4 as Joseph takes Mary, who is with child, to Bethlehem, the “City of David,” to register for an imperial census. Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Luke never narrates the actual enrollment of Joseph, Mary and Jesus, but the fact that they go to Bethlehem for that purpose a

Reflections

indicates that Joseph claims Mary and her child as family. Joseph is mentioned again when the shepherds find him with Mary, and the child lying in a manger (2:16).

Indeed, when Joseph and Mary bring the infant Jesus to the Temple to be presented to the Lord, Luke refers to Joseph as “his (Jesus’) father,” who along with the child’s mother, is amazed at Simeon’s prophecy about the child (2:22 -35). Indeed, as Jesus grows up he becomes publicly known, especially by his native townspeople as “Joseph’s son” (4:22). The Holy Family leaves Bethlehem and settles in Nazareth, which Luke claims is Joseph’s and Mary’s hometown (2:39-40). This happens after they have fulfilled “all the prescriptions of the Law” (such as having Jesus circumcised and presenting him to the Lord). Fast forward 12 years, and Jesus’ “parents” take young Jesus with them to Jerusalem for the Passover, whereupon they lose him, but find him in the Temple questioning the elders” (2:41-50). Expressing their astonishment that Jesus should put them through the anxiety of believing they lost him, he indicates that they should have known they could find him, “in my Father’s house,” a statement they fail to understand. By ensuring that his family abides by the Law’s prescriptions and observes the Passover, Joseph appears to be a man devoted to Jewish piety–a trait which he positively models for his adoptive son. Should Joseph truly be surprised, that with the solid upbringing of faith Joseph has been providing for Jesus that they could find him in “his Father’s house”? As Luke closes his infancy narrative, he says that Jesus lived with Joseph and Mary, was obedient to them and, consequently, he grew in wisdom, age and grace (2:51-52). This is in part due to Joseph’s good religious parenting of Jesus, a parenting that is prompted by

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divine grace, to which Joseph renders himself open due to his fear of the Lord.

Obedient to the Lord, Joseph proves himself to be an agent through which God can work to accomplish his purpose. Joseph is also a man who provides a foundation of faith for his family, a foundation that helps Jesus to discover his true identity and mission. BC

Reflection Questions

v How has obedience to God’s will led to blessing in your life? v How can Joseph, who trusts in God even as his family faces perilous situations, be an example for us to follow? v In what ways can Joseph serve as a role model for Christian fathers?

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