3rd Sunday of Advent – Special Sermons
The Role of Joseph in the Mystery of Incarnation
As I had said at the beginning of the Season of Advent, this year, I am sharing reflections on four persons related to the first Christmas. This, I thought, would avoid certain repetition of themes during Advent year after year. In this series, we have already reflected on Zachariah and John the Baptist. Today our reflection is on Joseph.
We are all aware of the annunciation of angel Gabriel to Mary. When we think of annunciation, we only think of the annunciation to Mary (Lk 1:26-38). It is interesting to note that there are at least two other annunciation stories in the gospels, prior to the birth of Jesus. These two stories are actually about annunciation to two men. The first is in the Gospel of Luke that speaks of the annunciation to Zachariah (Lk 1:10-23) of the birth of John. The second story is in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew does not have an annunciation to Mary. Only Luke has it. Matthew, on the other hand, has a story of annunciation to Joseph. Despite this focus on Joseph, it is important to note that in the genealogy of Jesus, Matthew has already stated that Jesus was born of Mary. He says, “… and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ” (Mt 1:16).
What could the story of Joseph that we heard read in the gospel mean? We will explore it in the following ways: What did the event mean for Joseph? And what could it mean for us today?
Joseph’s Mission: From a Righteous Distancing to a Risky Participation
The gospel describes Joseph as a man of honour, or as some other translations would have it, ‘a righteous man’. When he learnt that Mary was expectant, Joseph would have had two options. Option one: to expose Mary to the chief rabbi of the village and have her stoned to death for her act of adultery. This would be a just act in front of the law. And Joseph himself would have come out clean – righteous! Option two: to hurry with the marriage and take responsibility for the pregnancy of Mary. Now if people came to know the details surrounding this hurry they might question his righteousness because he is associating himself with something fishy. But Joseph wants to go for a third option and still remain righteous: “to divorce her informally.”
In front of God, this would imply that Joseph would be outside the plan of salvation. But God wants to drag him in. God has a mission for Joseph. Joseph is told that Mary is with child by the power of the Holy Spirit. She is a virgin; and as such, her first love is God. She is with child as a result of an embrace of God – the Spirit. Joseph has to take her as his wife. And though he is not the biological father, he has the right to name him. By this act he will have a responsibility over the child in front of the society. Thus he is going to play a risky role of participating in the plan of God. Risky, because he is asked to get messed up with something that seems unrighteous. Risky, also because Joseph now has a duty towards a situation for which he was not responsible.
Implication for us: The new meaning of being righteous
What Joseph challenges us to is a new way of being righteous. Joseph assures in a new definition of justice that is beyond legalistic or retributive justice. He invites us to move away from a simplistic way of looking at righteousness in terms of merely obeying certain rules to a genuine concern for the human person. Jesus’ own ministry will be a continuation and fulfilment of what Joseph has just begun.
What does this mean for us? This type of person-centred righteousness might involve taking risks, undergoing some inconveniences, and may be even taking responsibility for a situation that was not an outcome of our mistake. We take responsibility for such a situation because the wellbeing of a human being could be compromised and the plan of God is at stake.
At Christmas, we celebrate a mystery: the mystery of incarnation. That mystery challenges us to be differently human. And the season of Advent invites us to contemplate the stakes involved in this celebration – the celebration of the mystery of incarnation.
CLICK HERE for other sermons of Advent.
CLICK HERE for a Sermon on John the Baptist.