SERMON/TEACHING
St Ninians
18 December 2022
“Joseph – patron saint of step-dads”
Please turn to the picture at the front of your church bulletin. It is one of many Renaissance paintings of the Holy Family. You’ve probably seen similar pictures on Christmas cards. It is a simple family portrait; Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
But notice how old Joseph is in comparison to Mary. One of the stories that the church developed over the centuries was that Joseph was much older than his wife Mary.
This had no basis in the biblical narrative but solved a few problems for the Church. First, Joseph is not mentioned after the story of Jesus in the temple at twelve. He has no part to play in his ministry even though his mother is mentioned several times. But if Joseph has died from old age that explains it.
Second, the presence of brothers and sisters for Jesus was a problem if Mary remained a virgin after Jesus’ birth. And this was, and maybe still is?, the teaching of the Catholic Church for millennia. This ‘problem’ was solved by Joseph being an older widower with children and Mary being his second wife who became their step-mum. Thus, Mary could remain ‘pure’.
Third, a doddery old man would be able to fade into the background much better so that the Virgin Mary and a victorious Jesus, or cute baby Jesus, could take centre stage. When you are trying to compete with cultures with many gods too many gets confusing. And so Joseph was side-lined.
In fact, many Renaissance paintings hardly feature Joseph at all. He is in the shadows or hidden in the crowd of shepherds and angels, in-laws and animals, wise men and other hangers-on.
Afterall this Joseph wasn’t Jesus’ real father – God was. It would just confuse the masses if another father was added. Particularly an earthly father like them which may give them some idea that ordinary people might be as blessed by God as the higher callings of being a nun or priest – an idea that was even more concerning when the Church was trying to connect the priestly Fathers to God the Father.
And despite the Renaissance and the Reformation being over 500 years ago we still retain some of these myths about Joseph.
Instead, let’s look at the biblical information we have about Joseph in Matthew.
Firstly, Joseph gives Jesus his earthly identity – a place in a family. Joseph is of the House of David as described in Matthew verses 1-18. Jesus is called the Son of David because of Joseph. Hold on a minute, you may say, how can that be when Jesus is not his biological child? Yes, this dilemma has exercised biblical scholars mightily.
And they have come up with a multitude of answers. Like, Mary was also of the House of David, so Jesus got his lineage through her. Like, Joseph’s DNA was also part of the making of the baby Jesus even though we are told he had had no relationship with Mary before the birth. Like, Joseph officially adopted Jesus into his family by naming him, an apparently unusual thing for the time, thus making him part of the Davidic line.
Ultimately no one knows the answer. And yet, at no point does anyone record Jesus being questioned about his right to be called a son of David. From our point of view, this would have been an obvious question for his enemies to raise. But somehow Jesus is seen as having the necessary family background to be the Messiah. Mathew implies that comes from Joseph.
Secondly, Joseph was chosen because of his character. In verse 19 he is described as an upright or righteous man. However, this description does not mean he was a pious bigot as we might interpret it now. Even in the face of the ultimate betrayal – his betrothed becoming pregnant to another – in a time when the law stated adulterers should be stoned to death – his solution to quietly divorce her goes beyond simply being right and god-fearing, and shows a man with a depth of compassion few could emulate.
Perhaps this moment does support an older Joseph. Surely a young man, in love and now betrayed would be too full of hurt pride and jealousy to make such a considered decision. Or perhaps age has nothing to do with it and God simply found the best possible man to father his Son.
The third thing we find out about Joseph in the Mathew narrative is that he listened to dreams. Now to our 21st century Western thinking, basing your decisions of dreams is rather suspect. But in the Hebrew Testament we have many examples of God speaking in dreams. And that was tradition Joseph came from – so he took the dream described in verses 20 & 21 seriously.
Joseph is told to marry Mary in a dream, so he does. Later in Matthew he dreams they should flee Bethlehem, they do and so miss Herod’s massacre. And later still he dreams that Herod has died and it is safe to return and so the young family travels home.
The incredible thing is not so much that he has these dreams but that he acts on them. This is a guy who obeys God.
Consider for a moment the faith it takes to marry someone who is having a baby who is not yours! Who is actually God’s son!! Who is going to be the Messiah!!! No pressure…!!!
Mary’s acceptance of the angel Gabriel’s message that she will bear the Messiah is well-known and often highlighted at Christmas. But Joseph’s “yes” should be given the same importance. No, he doesn’t actually carry and birth the baby Jesus, but he enables Mary to do all that. Without the protection of his name she could have been killed or shamed, left destitute which would have been a death sentence too. Without Joseph she would never have got to Bethlehem in order to fulfill that prophecy, and neither would she have been able to get to Egypt missing Herod’s genocide and fulfilling the prophecy of the Messiah being called from Egypt. Joseph’s acceptance of God’s call on his life was as vital to bringing the Messiah into the world as Mary’s.
I also believe Joseph was fundamental in teaching Jesus to become the man we see in the gospels. Yes, he was God’s son, but we are also told he was fully human. And who best to teach the Son of God how to be the best human they can be than his human father?
In a time when men seem to be struggling with their place in the world, especially as fathers, Joseph stands as a shining example of how to do a good job, especially for those raising children of other fathers.
Yes, we’ve heard how Jesus was without sin but honestly did that mean it was easy? Some people who claim to have no sin are so obnoxiously arrogant they are impossible to like. But Jesus comes across, despite the sanctification of the church, as a guy comfortable in his own skin, able to be friends with rough fishermen as well as more urbane tax collectors. Surely, we can give Joseph some credit for this – this humanness.
So let me finish with this poem called “Joseph” by Lisa Debney. And as you listen try to put yourself in Joseph’s shoes that first Christmas and thank God for all fathers, especially those choosing who they father.
Here I stand,
holding the tiny, warm weight
of God in my hands.
Such a tiny weight
to lift the huge weight
of the world.
Here I stand,
the proud father? – not me.
I have been utterly humbled
by your arrival.
You’re not my offspring,
not part of me,
and yet, at the same time,
already such a part of my life.
I was your hasty midwife,
who delivered you with
unskilled trembling hands.
Who pulled you from your haven
into this.
The place which is more accustomed
to witnessing
the first uncertain breaths of
calves and lambs than the first uncertain breaths of a Messiah.
Resources: ‘Joseph’ by Lisa Debney – Hay and Stardust Ruth Burgess (Wild Goose Publications)
Rev Stephanie Wells