Faith and Steadfastness

The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are chosen to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary. The texts establish the salvation history of the promise of God to Abraham and to David of continued steadfast Presence with the descendants of Abraham and of the establishment of a New Kingdom through the descendants of the great king David. The fulfillment of these promises requires faith. The descendants of Abraham were, to human eyes suddenly to end with Isaac as Abraham obeys the direction of God to sacrifice his only son. The glory of David’s Kingdom and his personal righteousness before God seemed to place his descendants in line to continue as God’s Monarchy. However, the human failing of David brought him to the shadow of decline and disgrace. The intimacy of his relationship with the Divine continued through triumph and tragedy, holiness and dishonour. In the letter of St. Paul to the Romans the case is made for the faith of hoping against hope and beyond what our senses reveal being the essence of our continued intimacy with the Divine. God is steadfast in continuing the Covenant. The role of the people is to be open as Mary and Joseph, in Matthew’s Gospel to accept the direction and will of God which is consistent with both the ancient promise to be Present and the call to live through faith in the relationship with the Divine.