Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent - March 19, 2013
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Matthew 1:18 – 25
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
The Feast Day of St. Joseph appears late in Lent. It gives us an opportunity to shift our focus for a day.
The translation above says that Joseph was “faithful to the Law.” Most translations say that Joseph was “a righteous man.”
His “righteousness” can be seen as moral rectitude, concerned to do the “right” thing or the pious thing. The word “righteousness” carries that kind of connotation for me. It feels somewhat stuffy, rigid, and moralistic, at least in how I hear it.
But it was also Joseph’s righteousness that led him to heed the Spirit-inspired dream, to listen to this messenger-voice (which is what an angel is), and then carry out its invitation.
I sense that “righteousness” is less about doing right in a strict, moralistic sense, and more about a life-giving connection with God which gives us the inner freedom to do what is called for – for God’s sake – in any given situation. Perhaps it is a kind of dynamic righteousness that doesn’t rest on a never-changing code of ethics – which is what a lot of moralistic righteousness does – but is held loosely, doing that which most reflects the compassionate heart of God in any situation.
That seems to be the essence of Joseph’s action in this passage.
Matthew 1:18 – 25
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
The Feast Day of St. Joseph appears late in Lent. It gives us an opportunity to shift our focus for a day.
The translation above says that Joseph was “faithful to the Law.” Most translations say that Joseph was “a righteous man.”
His “righteousness” can be seen as moral rectitude, concerned to do the “right” thing or the pious thing. The word “righteousness” carries that kind of connotation for me. It feels somewhat stuffy, rigid, and moralistic, at least in how I hear it.
But it was also Joseph’s righteousness that led him to heed the Spirit-inspired dream, to listen to this messenger-voice (which is what an angel is), and then carry out its invitation.
I sense that “righteousness” is less about doing right in a strict, moralistic sense, and more about a life-giving connection with God which gives us the inner freedom to do what is called for – for God’s sake – in any given situation. Perhaps it is a kind of dynamic righteousness that doesn’t rest on a never-changing code of ethics – which is what a lot of moralistic righteousness does – but is held loosely, doing that which most reflects the compassionate heart of God in any situation.
That seems to be the essence of Joseph’s action in this passage.
Comments
Post a Comment