St. Joseph seems to be regularly regarded as the historical third wheel to Mary and Jesus, making guest appearances on funeral holy cards and eternally smelling of lilies. Bo-ring.
Indeed, Joseph may be the most underrated saint (besides Magnus of Füssen, patron saint against caterpillars). Rather than a replaceable figure God threw into the Messianic scheme last minute, Joseph, too, was in the plans all along. Not just any man can raise the Son of God (talk about giving up your alpha-male role). Not just any man can be entrusted with finding a spouse for me, which is no mean task.
Here are four mini-meditations on this lion of a saint (though he is embarrassed, I’m sure, to hear me call him that).
The First Viaticum: Tradition tells us St. Joseph died before Jesus’ public ministry. Many paintings depict Christ and Mary at Joseph’s deathbed. My favorites are ones in which Christ’s cheek is pressed against that of his foster father. It evokes an intimacy reminiscent of Holy Communion, called, at death, Viaticum.
The Lover: “The boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.” Luke (2:44-45)
The angst with which St. Joseph and Mary sought the young, lost Christ reflects the lover in the Song of Songs. It reveals the depth with which Joseph loved Christ, as a father but also, in his chastity and devotion, as a kind of spouse of Christ.
“On my bed at night I sought him
whom my heart loves –
I sought him but I did not find him.I will rise then and go about the city;
in the streets and crossings I will seek
Him whom my heart loves.
I sought him but I did not find him.The watchmen came upon me
as they made their rounds of the city:
Have you seen him whom my heart loves?”
(Song of Songs 3:1-3)
Credit goes to musician Danielle Rose, whose song lyrics in The Finding draw this connection.
The Dreamer: As Joseph, son of Jacob, interpreted dreams for Pharaoh, St. Joseph was a man of dreams. He heeded the message to wed Mary in spite of circumstances that must have been confusing and even disappointing at first. He fled to Egypt with a newborn, ‘having been warned in a dream’.
St. Joseph provided for his family by putting himself at the service of the Lord Jesus, and obediently heeding the will of God the Father. He was so good at it he could do it with his eyes closed!
The Father: “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him…” (Luke 15:20). This line refers to the loving father who awaited his prodigal son’s return. However, I think it must have resonated in St. Josephs heart as well. His foster son was not a sinner. His foster son was God. I imagine Joseph laboring alongside Jesus in the carpentry shop, watching the young hands work on a piece of wood, wondering at the message Gabriel gave Mary. Could this child really be the son of God? He is so small. So docile.
Before the Centurion muttered, ‘Surely, this man was the Son of God,’ before Peter declared, ‘God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified,’ before Paul proclaimed, ‘Jesus Christ is Lord,’ Joseph believed. In faith, he caught sight of Christ from a long way off.
