Joseph’s Fiat
The first descriptor that comes to mind regarding St. Joseph is that he was just. That is, he was a righteous man, good and virtuous. Gregory Friedman, OFM, notes that “we see Joseph as a man who could balance the requirements of the law with what the rest of our relationship with God is all about and that is mercy.” He goes on to explain that righteousness is about a balance between observing the law (not so much as a series of regulations) and the law as an expression of a relationship between God and his people. Thus, righteous behavior is behaving toward God and neighbor that imitates God’s mercy and love for the human race.
We see this on full display when Joseph, betrothed to Mary, learns of her pregnancy. He knows the law. He understands the repercussions of what is viewed as her infidelity. Yet, before the divine revelation of how this came to be, rather than applying the full ramifications of supposed consequences, he responds with mercy. “Let me divorce her quietly.” Mercy replaces what could have been hurt, rejection, or vengeance. Mercy here is the beginning of his always thinking of Mary first.
No doubt, righteousness, and mercy were dominating virtues of Joseph’s life that were taught to and caught by Jesus in those 30 years as they formed the Holy Family, what St. Francis de Sales called the earthly trinity. Jesus learned these in the domestic home, the first church. Friedman explains that they were foundational in his ministry as best seen in the Sermon on the Mount: blessed (righteous) are the poor in spirit, those who hunger and thirst, show mercy…and later, “It is mercy that I desire not sacrifice.” Of course, Jesus had only to look to his Father, the God of Mercy, with whom he communed in prayer.
Joseph is not just a model for fathers but for all of us. Jesus says that those who love their life will lose it. He means those whose life is turned on self will lose it. Yet, those who lose their life in service of love for others will preserve it for eternity. Joseph’s life was singularly about others, Mary and Jesus. Thus, we refer to him as the strong father who stays in the background, so that with Mary, they center their lives on Jesus. Isn’t this the call for us? That’s the vocation of Joseph, the provider, the role model, the holy one.
We naturally celebrate Mary’s fiat (“let it be done to me according to your word”) as a model for us in following God’s will as she did what we are called to do daily, to birth Jesus. Likewise, we honor Joseph’s quiet and faithful fiat accepting whatever was to come from the exhortation “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that she has conceived.” There is so much to this fiat of love and fidelity: denying self and what could have been as a master craftsman may be the least. Fundamental was accepting all that was involved in being the (foster) father of Jesus, from raising him in the faith to experiencing what must be every parent’s nightmare of “losing” their child, when instructing the experts of the law in the temple. Not much is known about Joseph’s presence in Jesus’ life after this. I would suspect that he intuited that he would lose Jesus definitively to rescue us from sin.
Late did I appreciate another aspect of Joseph’s fiat, that of being a celibate man because of Mary’s perpetual virginity. I do not think I am alone as a celibate religious in knowing this is part of the call but understanding it and eventually appreciating it as gift takes some time. The “gift” helps in living a life in service to God and others. But it is only possible when nourished by a life of prayer. Here is where Joseph is instructive again. Yes, we learn that Joseph had dreams where God instructed him to take Mary as his wife and later to return home a different way after Jesus’ birth, so as to escape threats on Jesus’ life. Prayer, that lifting up of the soul to God, that heart-to-heart conversation, the quieting of our mind, body and soul, AND the listening involved can be our dreams for God’s direction, providence, and assurance of him being with us at all times. They are instrumental in our personal fiat. And, when we fall short, there is the mercy of God for that is essentially who God is, merciful.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
Fr. John Fisher, OSFS
Pastor
Our Mother of Consolation Parish, Philadelphia, PA
