Skt. Joseph's Day, 19th March

Who was Joseph?

By Christian Bruckloher

We meet many people in the Bible. Firstly, Jesus and his mother Mary. Perhaps some can also recall a handful of disciples, like the four Evangelists, or some of the villains, like Pontius Pilate, Judas or Barabbas. But we don’t know much about Joseph, Jesus’ foster father.

For many, Joseph is simply a question of logic. There’s Mary, Jesus’ mother, so there must also be a father. But this is where it all becomes a little strange, because the father of Jesus is the Holy Spirit.

Mary’s ”happy circumstances” were no doubt strange for Joseph. Nevertheless, this is precisely where Joseph shows us what is special about him, when, in spite of Mary’s relationship with the Holy Spirit, he keeps Mary as his betrothed, believes her and is willing to be Jesus’ earthly father.

Yet, Joseph is also more than this. He is, in fact, noble. His lineage is from King David and King Solomon and, last but not least, even Abraham himself, who, in his own time, was ready to offer his own son Isaac.

It is written in the Gospel of Matthew: “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.” (Matt. 1, 17) It is important here to pay attention to the numbers: there are in all 3 x 14 generations. Both numbers are special numbers. They are also used in God’s Holy Trinity and the 14 Stations of the Cross, known as the Via Dolorosa in Latin.

Furthermore, we know that Joseph had a dream where he saw an angel. The angel told him that he had to flee to Egypt with Jesus and Mary, until King Herod was no longer a threat. This tells us that Joseph was the one who led the family, both when they had to go to Bethlehem for the census and when they had to flee to Egypt for their safety.

We meet Joseph on two more occasions in Scripture: he was at the Temple in Jerusalem together with Mary, when, according to tradition, they brought Jesus to the Temple forty days after his birth. Twelve years later, he is again with Mary in Jerusalem looking for Jesus, who had decided to stay behind to be in “His Father’s house”.

In Nazareth people wondered where Jesus got his wisdom from, when they heard him talk about God’s kingdom in his parables. People asked, ”Isn’t he just the carpenter’s son?” (Matt. 13.55)

Joseph is the ‘silent man’ of Scripture. The Gospel does not record a single word from him. Yet his silence and humility are the foundation of his greatness.

Our school and our kindergarten are both named after Joseph. When he was made a saint, he also became the patron saint of children, teachers and indeed the whole church.

Throughout the ages, St Joseph, more than any other saint, has shown himself to be particularly effective when answering people’s prayers.

“Some Saints are privileged to extend to us their patronage with particular efficacy in certain needs, but not in others; but our holy patron St. Joseph has the power to assist us in all cases, in every necessity, in every undertaking.” St. Thomas Aquinas

We celebrate the feast of St Joseph on 19 March by placing white lilies at his statue. White lilies symbolise purity and love.