Joseph is the silent figure in the Christmas stories. We never hear him speak; his annunciation—in Matthew’s Gospel—narrates Joseph’s story without giving us any of his words. But his actions speak loudly! Matthew’s goal is to show us Joseph as part of the fulfillment of God’s promises in the Hebrew Scriptures. Matthew’s complex genealogy ends with Joseph, linking Jesus with King David.
Where Luke features Mary as the star of his infancy story, Matthew’s hero is Joseph, portrayed as a truly “just man,” the ideal observer of the Law. His decision to divorce Mary quietly is a compassionate approach to the Law, even before he knows her pregnancy is miraculous.
Like his Old Testament namesake, Joseph is a dreamer, and his dreams reveal God’s plans for the Messiah. When he learns the truth of Mary’s pregnancy in a dream, he acts to fulfill his role in God’s plan. When he learns in a dream of the danger to the child, he takes Jesus and Mary to Egypt—another reference to the story of salvation. In each instance, Joseph acts with wisdom and faithfulness to carry out God’s plan. May our actions speak loudly of our faithfulness to God!
—adapted from the book Advent with the Saints: Daily Reflections
by Greg Friedman, OFM
