Man with Many Holy Attributes

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today celebrate the feast of St Joseph the foster father of Jesus. The liturgy establishes the link to Joseph from the promise in the second book of Samuel that the descendants of David would build a Temple in Jerusalem for the people of Israel to worship God. This dynasty would last until the Babylonian exile. Joseph would be from the tribe of David thus linking Jesus to the promise of a Messiah from the house of David. The text from the Letter to the Romans, which Friar Jude Winkler describes as the great presentation of Paul of the Justification by Faith which is so essential to our understanding of the gracious, steadfast love of the faithful God praised by the psalmist, who proclaims the "line" and "throne" of the Lord will last forever.
The background of the person of Joseph is steeped in faith. This will open in his person the trust that would allow him to believe and act in a manner beyond what his senses told him was possible. The transcendent faith of Joseph is foreshadowed in the father of faith for all nations described in Romans as Abraham who was obedient to God and is the father of both Arab, through Ishmael, and Jew, through Isaac. Fr Jude points out the "totality" of people expressed in the mention of Arab and Jew as the two peoples of the world of Abraham. The Gospel of Matthew brings obedience, compassion and humility to the front of the holy qualities of Joseph as "spiritual journey person". The engagement of Joseph to Mary, who is pregnant, creates a great cultural pressure for Joseph. The compassion of the interpretation of Fr Jude is clear. The "quiet divorce" will literally save her life. A penalty of stoning to death was imposed for adultery in the culture of Joseph. Another interpretation of this event brings Joseph to a place where his faith in God and his understanding of the traditions associated with the Messiah bring him to the conclusion that he is so unworthy to be the foster father for the Hoy Child who is being born "of the Spirit". The humility, which with faith and compassion, fill Joseph's attitude to life make him the model candidate to whom Jesus was obedient in His development in Nazareth. The Life of Joseph cleaned from the scripture, tradition and resonance of the Spirit with our exploring the topic leaves us with no question that he is patron of so many vocations, countries and groups of people. He is a man of many qualities which are so worthy of emulation on our road to eternal intimacy with God being the normal relationship for all people of all times and tribes.