Christ the Cornerstone
Joseph accepts God’s invitation to be guardian of our Savior
The Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Mt 1:18-24) tells the story of Joseph’s hesitation to take Mary as his wife because, as “a righteous man,” he did not want to “expose her to shame” (Mt 1:19). An 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” (Mt 1:20-21).
The angel then quoted from the prophet Isaiah saying: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us’ ” (Mt 1:23,
Is 7:14). St. Matthew tells us that “when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home” (Mt 1:24).
As Pope St. John Paul II wrote in “Custos Redemptoris,” Joseph was chosen by God to be the guardian of our Redeemer, the Word Incarnate. Although St. Matthew says that the angel “commanded” (Mt 1:24)
Joseph to accept this awesome responsibility, no one forced him to do this; he was given a free choice. He could have decided to marry someone else and live a “normal” life as a carpenter in the town of Nazareth. Instead, because he was a God-fearing, humble man who sought to do God’s will, Joseph said “yes” to a vocation that he could not possibly understand.
Joseph brought Mary and her unborn child into his home, and he promised to care for them in good times and hard times, in spite of his understandable personal doubts and fears.
We know that Joseph’s commitment was tested—first by the census requirement that forced him to travel with his pregnant wife on an arduous journey to Bethlehem, where he had to suffer the indignity of sheltering them in a stable. Then, after the child was born, having been warned by an angel in another dream, Joseph fled King Herod’s murderous wrath and lived with Mary and Jesus as refugees in Egypt.
When it was safe to return to Nazareth, Joseph brought his family home. They lived there in relative peace and security under Joseph’s protection and care, and the last we learn of him is when Jesus was 12 years old and feared lost on the family’s return from their pilgrimage to Jerusalem (Lk 2:41-52).
St. Luke tells us that when Mary and Joseph discovered their missing child in the temple he was “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions” (Lk 2:46). Imagine how Joseph must have felt when Jesus, his adopted son, responded to his mother’s urgent question, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you” (Lk 2:48) with a simple declaration of his independence: “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49). St. Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph did not understand what Jesus was saying to them, but, as they always did, they accepted what they did not understand, and they trusted in the Spirit of God who guided them in carrying out the divine will.
St. Luke concludes this amazing story about the Holy Family by telling us that Jesus did not insist on his independence. “He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them” (Lk 2:51).
We know that Mary treasured all these things in her heart, but we don’t know how Joseph responded to the demands of helping Jesus grow “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Lk 2:52). We can only assume that he accepted in faith the things he didn’t understand, and that he remained faithful to his utterly unique vocation until the day he died.
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in northern Indiana contains a beautiful and inspiring portrait of St. Joseph on his deathbed in the company of Jesus and Mary. Their love and compassion for this good and holy man stands out for all to see. He has done what the Lord commanded. He has taken his wife and her son into his home, and he has loved them, protected them, and accompanied them on many difficult journeys.
Let’s ask St. Joseph to walk with us during the final days of our Advent journey. Let’s look to him as an example of what to do whenever we are confronted with challenges we do not understand.
St. Joseph, pray for us. Help us celebrate Christ’s birth with reverence and great joy! †