Advent,4th S.Dec.19,10

When one glances through the pages of history, some personages appear startlingly upright and courageous. St. Thomas More is one of such illustrious persons who illumine the pages of history. Winston Churchill remarked that he was the defender of all that was finest in the medieval outlook. Samuel Johnson saw him as a person of the greatest virtue that England had ever produced. That shimmer of greatness is seen in the last letter he wrote to his beloved daughter before his execution, telling her that the Lord would hold him up in the stormy seas of torture and pain. Just before his execution, he called himself the King’s good servant but God’s first. We know that it was his faith in the Lord that gave him such strength and helped him to look at the pain the world would give as nothing compared with the glory of eternal salvation. It is our faith in God that gives us courage to face the problems and challenges of daily lives.

Today’s Gospel presents before us in the person of Joseph such a person of great faith, courage and boldness.
On the last three Sundays, the Gospel passages presented before us Zechariah, Blessed Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, great persons chosen by God for their special roles in the history of our salvation. Today, we meet St. Joseph, a person of no less importance. The account of the birth of Jesus that we heard just now centers mostly around St. Joseph and the decisive actions he took at a critical time in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus. From the few words in this account of the nativity from the Gospel, we get an inkling into the integrity, steadfastness and deep faith of Joseph.

We can only imagine the thoughts and feelings that crossed the mind of St. Joseph when he found that Mary was pregnant before they were married. All his expectations and dreams of a new life with Mary disappeared suddenly. How could he accept Mary as his wife when she became pregnant before marriage? The traditional society in which Joseph lived would never allow him to receive her. She would be punished according to the Mosaic Law. He knew that his public rejection of Mary would result in her death. We can never imagine the depth and the poignancy of the mental agony he underwent when he came to know that Mary was pregnant. A young virgin he loved and cherished with such great fondness as a partner in his life until his death would become a laughing stock in the public eye and would meet the contempt of his friends and relatives.
The Gospel uses a word to describe the integrity and the greatness of Joseph’s personality: dikaios= innocent, just, equitable, impartial. He was not going to be to be in any way swayed just by the literal weight of the Law. He was determined to examine all the aspects of the situation. As a man of God, he knew that something great was happening in his life. There was no reason to distrust Mary whom he knew so well. He was open to God in his heart and soul.
It was when he was passing through such turbulent storms in his heart that he received the message of God not to be afraid to receive Mary as his wife. He was addressed as the descendant of David and then the angel gave him the authority to name the child, Jesus.
Joseph thus became the protector of Jesus and the lawful husband of Mary. He was willing to face all the challenges and hardships involved in his role as the father of Jesus.

The life of Joseph is a strong reminder to each one of us to reflect on our life as the protector of our faith. We often fail in our life as Christians when our faith is challenged or questioned. We squirm and wriggle and withdraw into our private world without taking courage to witness to our faith when it is challenged or derided in the public forums.

We fail in our duty to nurture the faith of our children. When they stop practicing their faith, we don’t take effort to give them the right understanding of the faith nor do we give them good examples.

How just are we in our dealings with our neighbors? Our arrogance, contemptuous attitudes and disparaging remarks make us unworthy to become the custodians of the precious faith given to us.

All around us there are forces that deride a Christian way of life. The institution of marriage is being challenged in the media and many marriages end in divorces. Millions of children are growing up in broken families. Priesthood is denigrated and living according to one’s Christian faith is looked down with derision.

We have to be the new Josephs in the places where we work or move. We are the new custodians of Jesus--- of our faith, of everything that pertains to the faith. We should not run away from those who attack or disparage our faith. The words that gave courage to Joseph “Do not be afraid” are ours to claim. We can be the people who can effect changes in our family and society through our courageous actions. As Mother Teresa has put it, “What I do, you cannot do, but what you do I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”