Joseph was chosen to be the father in the flesh of the one who would save humanity from sin.
And if it is true that Jesus was incarnated in an immaculate and pure womb, it is also true that at first this was revealed only to Mary through the Annunciation. Joseph finds himself faced with a fact and has no explanations. And here something wonderful appears: the work of God. Joseph, in fact, is drawn by Mary’s obedience.
Joseph is sanctly seduced by this holiness, and the same angel speaks to both of them. This is very important because without the angel, the announcer, witness, and preacher who represents all those who preach the Gospel, he would never have emerged from this situation.
Joseph will have to teach Jesus, in his humanity, and pass on the faith and the mission, and certainly it will be the Holy Spirit who guides Joseph. It is clear that Joseph bears wounds and collides with extremely harsh realities, but he has learned something that Mary, too, ultimately learned: no father can possess a child; all children are children of another, and fatherhood is obedience to the Father. Earthly fatherhood always passes through heavenly fatherhood.
Mary, who keeps everything in her heart, accepts, even though not everything is clear to her. Joseph had to take an additional step, because Joseph had original sin; he was not immaculate. He is taken by the hand, sanctly seduced by Mary’s obedience and docility.
We must return to proclaim what the angel said to Mary and Joseph: that God is good, saves people from sin, and is with us every day. There is not a day when God is not Emmanuel, and this is thanks to Joseph, who, together with and thanks to Mary, welcomed the angel’s announcement and gave him legal fatherhood, that is, he brought Jesus into the world by giving him his name.
The hope is that all of us may have a little of Joseph’s experience. For this reason, we can turn to him and ask him that, in every circumstance of life, even the most anguished, terrible, bleak, and dark, we may hear this word. We only ask that when that situation arrives, there may be a millimeter of Joseph’s justice and uprightness of heart in our hearts, so that we may hear that announcement, the only one capable of illuminating and giving meaning to everything that happens; and that meaning is Christ, who has conquered sin and death.
You can read the full meditation, together with those on the other Nativity figures, and prepare with them for Holy Christmas in the book: Novena for Christmas.
