St. Joseph – Quiet Man of Humility and Loving Service, Our Lenten Model

The Scripture readings for the feast of St. Joseph (March 19), the provider and chaste husband of Mary, remind us not only Joseph’s Davidic royal lineage but of his humility. The first reading (2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16) , in connection to Jesus’ Abrahamic and Davidic genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17, reminds that Joseph, like Abraham and David, faithfully served God for His grand scheme to build His house, where His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, is its head. This grand scheme is, of course, for our salvation, to redeem the humanity, which had been lost with the Original Sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), and it began to be evident with God’s initial covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15. The narrative of 2 Samuel 7, from which the first reading is drawn, describes God’s covenant with David through prophet Nathan, carrying the spirit of His initial covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15. The house of Abraham and the house of David were built, based on Abraham’s and David’s covenants with God, leading up to the House of God. And, Joseph was the last one on the lineage to let Christ, the Son of God, to establish the House of God on earth as it is in heaven, together with Mary, the Virgin Theotokos.

As the Gospel reading for this feast, Matthew 1: 1:16, 18-21, 24a, describes, it was through the matrimony of Joseph with Mary that Christ was able to grow up in the house of Joseph. He was a loving provider for his household, though the Scripture itself does not give the details about how loving and generous he was in taking care of his family.

Though he shared the Davidic royal blood, Joseph was not wealthy. Rather, he was, what we call today, “working poor”.  Had he been a wealthy just because of his royal lineage, then, Mary would not have had to give birth to Jesus in such a poor condition of an animal stable. Had the innkeeper, whom Joseph And Mary asked for a room for Mary to give birth (Luke2:4-7), acknowledged Joseph’s Davidic lineage, he would have given them a very special room. Joseph kept his royal privilege silent and did his best to care for Mary’s labor and delivery in the poverty at the stable. 

Joseph could have “shown off” his Davidic royal lineage in Judea. He could have boasted about being the protector of the new Ark of the Covenant, Mary, who was carrying God in her womb and gave birth to Jesus, God in the human flesh. But, Joseph kept his privilege and service quiet because of his humility. 

Joseph must have known that he came to the world to serve, not to take credit for what he had done. Just as Abraham’s acts were all in his service for God, and just as David’s acts were also all in his service for God, as reflected in the first reading, everything Joseph did was to serve God, together with his wife, Mary.

As the Gospel reading indicates, however, Joseph might not have been able to serve God as Abraham and David did, unless he changed his plan to secretly divorce Mary for her out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Joseph learned through the same Archangel, Gabriel, who also announced Mary’s virgin pregnancy before the consummation of her marriage with Joseph, that Mary’s surprise pregnancy was made by the power  of the Holy Spirit, according to God’s plan to bring His house through the Son, whom Mary became pregnant with.  Just as Mary accepted her unplanned pregnancy and her role as the Theotokos (Luke 1:38), Joseph accepted Mary as his  role as the earthly provider for both Mary the Theotokos and Jesus the Son of God by marrying to him, surrendering his own intention of divorce to God’s will (Matthew 1:24). 

When we provide service to someone, we want to be acknowledged. However, the fact that there is not much written about Joseph and that not even a word spoken by him is written in the canonical Scriptures indicate that Joseph did not care if he would have a special acknowledgement by us for making sure that God’s covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7 would be fulfilled through his service to God as the chaste and loving husband to Mary and stepfather to her Son, Jesus.

Joseph’s humility, quietly manifested in his loving and caring service to his household, the Holy Family, is also a great reflection of Jesus’ teaching in the Ash Wednesday Gospel reading (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18), as well.  As we continue on with our Lenten journey, let us be like Joseph, a humble and quiet servant of God, for the house of God.

Also, St. Joseph, for his humility, reflects the spirit of this famous saying of Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, “hombres para los demas”(men for others), as the ultimate purpose of the Jesuit education. So, during this Lent, let us strive to become “hombres para los demas como San Jose”(men for others like St.Joseph)!

Remember, we know Joseph as St. Joseph, only in the context of the Holy Family, the prototype of the House of God, for which he existed.