Joseph is kind of a forgotten figure in the history of salvation. This was sort of planned so that God can be seen as the true Father of Jesus throughout the Gospel. Joseph is not mentioned often in the Gospel. There are very few Christmas carols about Joseph.
The Gospel does say very clearly that Joseph was just. Just – short word with a big meaning. Joseph had justice and righteousness in his heart and lived them in his daily life. It was a heartfelt justice tempered by common sense and compassion – not a cold, rigid justice. No was Joseph’s justice a resting lazily in a minimal completion of the law. We see that in every moment of personal crisis or difficulty in the life of the Holy Family, Joseph was open to faith and to being guided by faith. He was faithful to his mission as husband and father. Overall, he was obedient to God’s plan for salvation. He recognized and accepted his role in that plan. He was always attentive to God’s action in his life and the wisdom he received from his religious traditions and the indications from angels. In Joseph we see faith and traditions (or law) put into action. He made sure to follow all the religious practices of his times: marriage customs, prayers, civil law and obligations, presentation of the baby Jesus in the temple, and pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the holy days each year.
We are living in a time where the role of being a father is being replaced by several social forces, especially the school. Today the image of a father has been reduced to being a provider of money. Divorce is easy and being a father becomes child support payments and visits for a few hours on the weekend.
Joseph shows us a new kind of justice. The joy of faithfully living out God’s salvation plan. Living each day attentive to God’s call in our lives.
Paul reminds us:
It was not through the law
that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants
but through the righteousness that comes from faith.
Image: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-joseph-182