BEING MORE LIKE JOSEPH: JUST AND RIGHTEOUS

In our parish Bible Study sessions, we are delving into the Gospel of Matthew, the source of this Liturgical Year’s Sunday Gospel passages. Guided by Scripture scholar Rev. Donald Senior’s twelve lectures, we are exploring this Gospel. In these lectures, Fr. Senior guides us through the Gospel and its Notes in the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), found on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website. Below is the portion of the Gospel of Matthew Introduction containing explanations of Matthew 1: 18-24, the Gospel of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A. Use these links and those below to assist you in deepening your understanding of this Gospel passage.

I encourage you to use this method as you live each day of the Liturgical Year. The USCCB has made it easy for us to use our cellphones, computers and tablets to join English-speaking Catholics all over the world in a daily reading of the Bible. Bookmark this link or use it offer to receive free emails of the daily Scripture passages.

INTRODUCTION

“The gospel begins with a narrative prologue (Mt 1:1–2:23), the first part of which is a genealogy of Jesus starting with Abraham, the father of Israel (Mt 1:1–17). Yet at the beginning of that genealogy Jesus is designated as ‘the son of David, the son of Abraham’ (Mt 1:1). The kingly ancestor who lived about a thousand years after Abraham is named first, for this is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the royal anointed one (Mt 1:16). In the first of the episodes of the infancy narrative that follow the genealogy, the mystery of Jesus’ person is declared. He is conceived of a virgin by the power of the Spirit of God (Mt 1:18–25). The first of the gospel’s fulfillment citations, whose purpose it is to show that he was the one to whom the prophecies of Israel were pointing, occurs here (Mt 1:23): he shall be named Emmanuel, for in him God is with us.” From Introduction, Matthew, New American Bible, Revised Edition

Each of the links in the text below takes you to a place in the text where you will find an asterisk (*). Click on it to go to the footnote.

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.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.  Matthew 1:18-24

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JOSEPH AND WE, THE PRESENT-DAY JOSEPHS

So, we see that Matthew is connecting the Genesis story of the patriarch Joseph and his family (a story very familiar to the Jewish people in his First Century Christian community) to Matthew’s New Testament story of St. Joseph. Is this a new connection for you or have you heard this before? (Matthew prefaces this section with a Genealogy of Jesus.)

How are your life (and mine) similar to the lives of these two Josephs. Both of them were just and righteous persons. Both endured many trials and tribulations, even as we do. All the while, God was gracing them – and they let themselves be open to these graces. Sure, they took some wrong turns during their lives, but having gained a reputation of being just and righteous, they must have found their way back to God.

The stories of these two Josephs reveal that both the actions of God, and one’s own changing character and personhood, work together for our own and others’ welfare.

Christmas will happen in our life today with that same working together of ourselves and God’s Spirit:  God will do His part, and we, if we choose, can do our part – even when it costs us dearly. That brings us one step closer to realizing the fullness of our own being that God intends for us and made us capable of becoming. Advent is a time to reflect on how, during the past year, we have grown into being more of a person of good character, one who is just and righteous.

Make some time in these last days of the year to think about the lives and traits of these two Josephs. What do I have to do to be more just, more righteous? And how can I help those around me to be more respectful of those around them who are just and righteous? And, hopefully, they will want to emulate them.

Sister Loretta