March 19, 2013

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Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
Lectionary: 543

Reading 12 SM 7:4-5A, 12-14A, 16

The LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David,
‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.’”

I never thought of this before, but King David is a type of St. Joseph.  God put King David in charge of His household.  That is why Jesus Christ is called the Son of David:

Matthew 20:30
And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.

God also put St. Joseph in charge of His household.  That is why Jesus is also called the son of Joseph:

John 1:45
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

Responsorial PsalmPS 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 AND 29

R. (37) The son of David will live for ever.The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness,
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. The son of David will live for ever.

Jesus Christ will live forever.  And I will sing about God's faithfulness to all who will listen.  Because you have proved your goodness from the Throne of God.

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.”
R. The son of David will live for ever.

God says, "I will always keep my oath to David.  Your Son will sit on throne forever."

“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.”
R. The son of David will live for ever.

God says, "Your son, David, will call me Father, my God, my Rock and salvation.  I will always love Him and He will always sit on my Throne." 

Reading 2ROM 4:13, 16-18, 22

Brothers and sisters:
It was not through the law
that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants
that he would inherit the world,
but through the righteousness that comes from faith.

St. Paul says to the Romans:
Brother and sisters, God did not promise Abraham that he would be the father of nations because Abraham kept the law.  For Moses had not yet established the Law.  But because of his faith which he proved by obedience to God.

For this reason, it depends on faith,
so that it may be a gift,
and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants,
not to those who only adhere to the law
but to those who follow the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of all of us, as it is written,
I have made you father of many nations.

Salvation is by faith because faith is a gift of God to all mankind.  And the promise of salvation by faith is guaranteed to all men.  Not just to the Jews who adhere to the law of Moses.  But also to those, who like Abraham, obey God in their hearts.

He is our father in the sight of God,
in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead
and calls into being what does not exist.
He believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become the father of many nations,
according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.

Because of his faith in God and believing all which God promised to him, including that God would make him the father of nations.  That is why it was credited to him as goodness.  Because he did not doubt that God could bring into being even that which does not exist.

GospelMT 1:16, 18-21, 24A

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

The last part of the genealogy of Jesus in St. Matthew's Gospel says that Joseph was married to the Virgin Mary of whom was born Jesus who is the Messiah.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.

And this is how it happened.  Mary became pregnant with Jesus by the action of the Holy Spirit.  Not realizing this, St. Joseph had decided to divorce Mary quietly so as not to bring shame upon her.

Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

Before he could do so, however, the Angel Gabriel appeared to him in a dream and informed him that this was God's doing.  He said, "Joseph, don't divorce Mary.  Because it is God who has conceived this Child in her womb.  When He is born, name Him, Jesus, because He is the Savior of the people."  Joseph obeyed what the Angel had told him in the dream.

Or the alternate readingLK 2:41-51A

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.

Mary and Joseph, Jesus' mother and father and the extended family, always went to the Passover in Jerusalem in accordance with the law.

After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
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,

On one such occasion, on their way back home, Mary and Joseph lost track of Jesus, thinking that He was with the rest of the family.  But He had remained in Jerusalem.

they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.

They came back to Jerusalem to search for Him and found Him in the Temple area with the Teachers. He was talking to them about the faith.  Listening and asking them questions.  And those who heard Him were amazed.

When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”

When they found Him, Mary said, "Son, we were so worried, why are you here?"

And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them.

He responded saying, "You shouldn't have worried.  You should have known I was doing the work of my Father in heaven."
But no one understood His response.  Then He accompanied them to Nazareth and was subordinate to them as a child should obey his parents.