Though the feast of St. Joseph has passed and it is already Palm Sunday to begin Holy Week, it is nevertheless fitting to reflect on the exemplary faithfulness of this holy man. In fact. the faithfulness of Joseph enabled him to be obedient to the will of God for him - accepting pregnant Mary as his wife and raising Jesus with her. It has turned out that this was not just the will of God for St. Joseph but, after all, to save us through the body and blood, as well as his soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is also the ultimate fulfillment on the everlasting Davidic kingdom, as the King of all kings, our Lord Jesus Christ, draws the lineage of David, though Joseph, based on Matthew 1:1-16 (and also through Mary - based on the Protoevangelium of James).
March 19 is the solemn feasts of St. Joseph, the
faithful husband of St. Mary. This is
also known as La Festa del Tavola di San
Giuseppe (The feast of St. Joseph Table) in Sicily and wherever Sicilian
Catholics are.
Just as the Jewish Purim
festival is enjoyed with abundant food, La
Tavola di San Giuseppe is adorned with bountiful food. In fact, food is not the only common element
between Purim and La Tavola di San
Giuseppe, as there is a sense of thanksgiving to God in both of these
fiestas. Purim rejoices over God’s
protection of the Jewish people from Haman’s evil plot to exterminate all Jews
from the Achaemenid (Persian ) Empire without the knowledge of its king, Xerxes I, based on the Book of Esther. It was through Queen Esther’s intercession
that God works His way to save the Jews and to defeat Haman. La
Tavola di San Giuseppe celebrates God’s saving grace for people in Sicily
from famine by bringing a great harvest through the intercession of St. Joseph
– though this folk devotion is not based on the scriptures.
Just as what is Esther to the Jews during the time
of Persian King Xerxes I, St. Joseph served as a powerful vehicle to gain God’s
saving favor for the Sicilians during a difficult time of famine. Thus, La
Tavola di San Giuseppe is more like Thanksgiving to God, as well as, St.
Joseph, for a great harvest that saved people of Sicily from starvation.
Because it is to honor God, La Tavola di
San Giuseppe is three-tiered to signify the Holy Trinity. Not to mention,
this formula of the table allow for more foods to be put on.
From the Sicilian folk devotion of La Tavola di San Giuseppe, we know that
we can count on St. Joseph’s intercession when we are in need of food to
survive. It is not to be confused what St. Joseph can do on our behalf with
what God can do for us. St. Joseph is an
intercessor, who is like a catalyst, facilitating the effects of God’s grace on
us. Perhaps, a reason why St. Joseph is such a great intercessor for God’s
grace to work on our needs, as reflected in La
Tavola di San Giuseppe, is found in his exemplary faithfulness to God. Certainly, the Scripture readings for the
solemnity of St. Joseph (2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29; Romans 4:13,
16-18, 22; Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a) can support this line of thought.
The Gospel reading (Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a)
reminds that it was rather a rocky path for Joseph to receive her as his
wife. In fact, the Protoevangelium of
James (9-24) tells not only that Joseph really struggled and suffered in order
to accept Mary as his wife because it was God’s will but also that he continued
to struggle with Mary, having and raising Jesus. Because love (agape) enables us to bear suffering for
a long time (macrothumei) for another
person (1 Corinthians 13:4), Joseph is truly a man of agape. Joseph’s ability to remain macrothumei for Mary is attributed to his absolute faithfulness to
God – his obedience to God’s will, given how the Gospel reading describe Joseph
as a man of faith. In other words, Joseph’s faithfulness made him not only fit
to serve as an effective intercessor to bring God’s grace to people of Sicily,
saving them from famine, as reflected in La
Tavola di San Giuseppe, but also macrothumei
to show his agape for Mary and Jesus,
accepting it is God’s will for him to be the husband of Mary and to father
Jesus. Now, with this exegesis of the Gospel reading text, it is helpful to see
why Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 is chosen as the Second reading for the solemnity of
St. Joseph. The second reading explains that Joseph’s obedience to the will of
God for him was not influenced by the law but purely out of his faith (pistis), which means “trust”. Joseph is an exemplary man of faith because
of his absolute trust in God. This is the bottom line of who Joseph is. That is
why he not only accepted Mary as his wife – even though he was troubled enough
to have thought of secretly canceling his nuptial agreement with her – as God’s
will for him, though a literal interpretation of the law made it “illegal”, as
well as “mortal sin” for Mary to be with Joseph, having been pregnant before
marriage.
Imagine, if Joseph had been a
man of legalistic mentality, like the Pharisees. Then, he would have so upset
with Mary being pregnant before marriage and cut his relation from her for
good. In fact, Joseph was a man of faith, and his faithfulness – his trust in
God – kept him free from the poison of legalism. That is why Joseph welcomed
Mary as his wife with his agape,
accepting it all as God’s will. Joseph,
indeed, is a man who reminds that faithfulness keep ego in check. Because of
his faithfulness, he was able to have kept his ego from influencing on his
decision-making about what to do with Mary, who was already pregnant. Not to
mention, as Luke 1:26-38 describe, it was also God’s will for Mary that she was
made pregnant with Jesus before her marriage to Joseph. Therefore, Joseph’s
acceptance of Mary as his beloved wife (Matthew 1:18-25) really means God’s
will to save us through Jesus. Not only Mary but also Joseph to cooperate the
will of God that Jesus was born and raised to grown in wisdom and strength to
embark on his salvific mission. This is evident by juxtaposing Matthew 1:18-25
to Luke 1:26-38, the former is about Joseph’s faithfulness to God and His will,
while the latter is about Mary’s.
Because of his unshakable faithfulness, as reflected
in the second reading for his solemnity (Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22), he was able
to accept and remain absolutely obedient to God’s will to save us, as described
in the Gospel reading for his solemnity (Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a). This also means to fulfill the prophetic word
of God to David, spoken to Nathan, as described in the first reading for the
solemnity of St. Joseph (2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16). In this prophesy, echoed by the responsorial
Psalm for the solemnity (Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 ), God is promising David that
his heir, sprung up from his loins and whom God raises, is the one to make his
kingdom everlasting is, indeed, the Son of God, who is brought to this world
through Mary and raised on earth through agape
of not only Mary but Joseph. Of course, the kingdom, referred here, is not the
historical kingdom that David built but the Kingdom that Jesus, who bears the
Davidic lineage (Matthew 1:1-16), brings. In fact, salvation is the ongoing
process that leads us to this Kingdom that Jesus brings, and Joseph has been a
very important instrument for this for his faithfulness.
Given the significance of St. Joseph, for what his exemplary
faithfulness enables, for our needs, La
Tavola di San Giuseppe reflects only its tip of iceberg. As we continue to pray for his intercession,
while modeling his faithfulness for ours, not only we enjoy the benefits of God’s merciful grace but also we grow further in faith,
becoming better practitioner and bearer of agape,
as well as macrothumei. This way, we
can better observe Jesus’ Mandatum Novum:
Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis
invicem sicut dilexi vos (John 13:34). This is the commandment of love is indispensable for the everlasting Kingdom that the hair of David, Jesus, brings to save us. The faithfulness of Joseph, his foster father, has its special role in this grand salvific scheme of God.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
No comments:
Post a Comment