The Silence of Joseph
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Readings: 2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Psalm 89; Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22; Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a
Joseph was told in the dream to accept Mary as his wife because the child that is going to be born of her will be born through the Holy Spirit. These words must have been difficult to hear for a young man who is about to start his own family.What was the guarantee that the words heard in a dream will come true? Was the dream just a dream?
Yet no word of Joseph is recorded in the Gospel. He is silent.
Joseph was told in the dream to accept Mary as his wife because the child that is going to be born of her will be born through the Holy Spirit. These words must have been difficult to hear for a young man who is about to start his own family.
What was the guarantee that the words heard in a dream will come true? Was the dream just a dream?
Yet no word of Joseph is recorded in the Gospel. He is silent.
We do not know if he hesitated, we do not know what was his prayer before he accepted the angel’s words. What are we to make of it?
We have to look at his actions. Joseph followed Abraham, his ancestor, in the way he accepted God’s promise. He did it with the silence of faith. Joseph believed the angel and took Mary into his house. In this way he was not only privileged to be a parent to Jesus but he was also made a witness to God’s Word. Through his faith Joseph inherited the promise given to Abraham, that he ‘would become a father to many nations.’
It is in silence and faith that we meet the Word of God and Joseph is for us a model to imitate.
