Tag Archive for: Joseph

Post-Theophany: Joseph

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In the Nativity narratives there are three people who are essential to the plot line: St. Mary, of course, St. Joseph and the Forerunner, St. John the Baptist. Let’s have a look at the one who is least discussed and often forgotten, Joseph, the husband of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. He is described as such, because as the Gospels record, “After … Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’” (Matthew 1)

According to the Scriptures and Church Tradition, Joseph was a carpenter by trade and lived in Nazareth in Galilee. He is described as a righteous man, and a devout man of faith, as is evidence by his obedience to God’s command. St. Matthew continues, “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”

Joseph was the adoptive father of Jesus, who raised the child Jesus as his own. In the Western Church, he is regarded as the patron saint of adoptions.

Joseph gives us a very special example to apply to our lives. When we pray, we articulate, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We ask that God’s Will be evident in our lives, here on earth. The reason Jesus instructs us to pray those words is because the way that His Will can be manifest in this world is through our participation. We pray and articulate it as such to remind us of our participation in the Kingdom. Joseph understood that if God’s Kingdom was to come, his participation was essential. And so against all the odds, against the conventions and norms of the day, against the possibilities of a virgin birth (which are none), against the put downs of gossiping mouth, and humiliation by members of his own community, Joseph says, “Thy Will be Done” and obediently follows the order to take Mary as his wife.

Some of the hardest solutions in this world begin by us simply accepting the responsibility to be a participant in God’s Kingdom. Joseph gives up his comfort and his dreams to ensure the Kingdom in enacted, “on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

Let us pray, from a traditional prayer dedicated to the Blessed husband, “Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath.

On Earth as Heaven

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Armodoxy for Today: On Earth as Heaven

Two Josephs are remembered by the Armenian Church today. If the life of Jesus were on a set of books on a shelf, these two Joseph would be like bookends on both sides of his life. One is referenced at Jesus’ birth, as St. Mary’s husband and the other Joseph, following Jesus’ death on the Cross, comes from Arimathea to retrieve the Body of our Lord for proper burial. (Matthew 27:57)

In the Armenian Church calendar, St. Joseph, the husband of the Asdvadzadzin, St. Mary, is given the descriptor, “Father of God” (Hovsep Asdvadzahayr). In Western Tradition, St. Joseph is the patron saint of adoptions, after all, he adopted our Lord Jesus Christ and raised him as his own. We know he was a carpenter, and we can imagine warm images of the young boy Jesus running around the shop that was filled with wood and tools, learning the carpentry craft from his father Joseph.

Joseph was an upright and righteous man, scripture says. He was firm in his Faith. Most importantly, he was a man who loved, cared for, and honored his wife so much, that he believed the seemingly impossible: she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Despite the social stigma and the public embarrassment and humiliation that was a certainty during that time, he took Mary as his wife and adopted Jesus.

Joseph gives us a very special example which we need to adopt in our lives. When we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We ask that God’s Will be evident in our lives, here on earth. The reason Jesus instructs us to pray those words is not because God needs to hear that we want His will to be done. Rather, it is for us to understand that the way His Will is done in this world is through our participation. Joseph understood that if God’s Kingdom were to come, his participation was essential. And so, against all the odds, against the conventions and norms of the day, against the impossibility of a virgin birth, against the put downs of gossiping mouth, and humiliation by members of his own community, Joseph says, “Thy Will be Done” and obediently follows the order to take Mary as his wife.

Some of the difficult solutions to the problems in this world begin by us simply accepting the responsibility to be a participant in God’s Kingdom. Joseph gives up his comfort and his dreams to ensure the Kingdom in enacted, “on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

Let us pray, from a traditional prayer dedicated to the Blessed husband, “Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. Amen.

Cover: St. Joseph with the young Jesus. This statue was photographed at the Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles, California.

Father Joseph

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In the Nativity narratives there are three people who are essential to the plot line: St. Mary, of course, St. Joseph and the Forerunner, St. John the Baptist. Let’s have a look at the one who is least discussed and often forgotten, Joseph, the husband of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. He is described as such, because as the Gospels record, “After … Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’” (Matthew 1)

According to the Scriptures and Church Tradition, Joseph was a carpenter by trade and lived in Nazareth in Galilee. He is described as a righteous man, and a devout man of faith, as is evidence by his obedience to God’s command. St. Matthew continues, “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”

Joseph was the adoptive father of Jesus, who raised the child Jesus as his own. In the Western Church, he is regarded as the patron saint of adoptions.

Joseph gives us a very special example to apply to our lives. When we pray, we articulate, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We ask that God’s Will be evident in our lives, here on earth. The reason Jesus instructs us to pray those words is because the way that His Will can be manifest in this world is through our participation. We pray and articulate it as such to remind us of our participation in the Kingdom. Joseph understood that if God’s Kingdom was to come, his participation was essential. And so against all the odds, against the conventions and norms of the day, against the possibilities of a virgin birth (which are none), against the put downs of gossiping mouth, and humiliation by members of his own community, Joseph says, “Thy Will be Done” and obediently follows the order to take Mary as his wife.

Some of the hardest solutions in this world begin by us simply accepting the responsibility to be a participant in God’s Kingdom. Joseph gives up his comfort and his dreams to ensure the Kingdom in enacted, “on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

Let us pray, from a traditional prayer dedicated to the Blessed husband, “Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath.

Immanuel

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Armodoxy for Today – Immanuel – Advent Journey

Birthing pains are a signal that new life is close at hand. We have been through this Advent season preparing ourselves for the arrival of Christmas and the message of the Christ Child. These last days of the Advent Season are the birthing pains in our spiritual journey. Christmas lies ahead. Jesus Christ, is about to enter into our lives, how do we greet this awesome event? Armodoxy demands that we interact with the Nativity message beyond a nod and a tip of the hat. We are called to celebrate Christmas in a manner that points to the reason of the season.

In Holy Scripture we find three narratives of the Nativity, in the Gospel of Matthew, Luke and John. Only St. Mark, the oldest of all the Gospels omits the Nativity narrative. It is the Evangelist St. Matthew who clearly expresses with the words, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows,” and with that preface he gives the narrative, “After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”

The birthing pains in our Advent Journey have now begun. We are at the point of no-return. We hear the message of the Gospel. He who is being born is the Savior. Immanuel, God with us, Creator, He who is without beginning and without end, in His Love for us is coming to be in our midst.

For Joseph, he had to deal with the social norms of the day which might have embarrassed him to take the Mary as his wife. For us, we deal with the social norms of today, which might betray us to the same kind of fear and embarrassment to proclaim an unwavering faith and commitment to the Christ Child that is coming. The message given to Joseph is now our message: Do not be afraid!

The first step to make your dream come true is to wake up, and Joseph did exactly that. He moved to action and named his dream-come-true, Jesus. Like Joseph, today we wake from our sleep and move to action. We proclaim the Child as Jesus and understand that our salvation is tied in with to this moment of singularity, when the virgin conceives, and a Son is born.

It is the birth of Jesus Christ, and we are here to honor him with the greatest gift that we can offer him, our love and commitment to his teachings.

Today we pray an intercessory prayer to St. Mary, the Holy Mother of God. O Asdvadzazin, today you bring to our world our Savior. Along with Joseph, you put fear aside and proclaimed the presence of God in our midst with the birth of Jesus Christ. Pray for us, at this moment that we may stand in awe of God’s infinite Love for us, that we may cast aside doubts and fears, and grow in faith for the blessings we are about to receive. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.