Over in the open thread, some of us have commented that today is, for Catholics, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. For those who don’t know, this is not about the conception of Our Lord, but it is his Mom’s conception that is “Immaculate”– Mary was conceived completely according to the strictures of the Law and, we Catholics believe, without the stain of original sin (this was a special grace conferred by God, so the she could even have the ability to conceive and bear The Savior). The readings at Mass today generally include the Annunciation, since that’s such a key part of her life.
However, today, I wish to give a little attention to another player in the tale– Joseph. I certainly am not trying to downplay the role of the Blessed Mother, but she’s so key to this whole season (after her Son, of course), that poor humble Joseph sometimes gets overlooked. This is understandable, because scripture really doesn’t say much about him– but it says enough that we can infer the essentials, and see what a wonderful husband and dad he must have been. So, what can we take from Scripture about Saint Joseph?

1) Reading the passages about the Annunciation, Joseph comes across as a gentle, rather quiet fellow. When Mary tells him the news the angel Gabriel brought, he is understandably hurt and confused, as any man with beating heart would be. According to the law, it was his right to publicly reject her, so air her “humiliation” to the community and cast her away. But he didn’t. He did decide to break the engagement, but quietly. Think about why, even in his confusion and hurt, he didn’t lash out at her–one can think of a few reasons, but for some reason, I think it’s because he was trying to be compassionate and kind. Mary was likely many years his junior, and their joining arranged. Joseph may well have thought that Mary had met a handsome young fellow closer  to her own age who stole her heart. By breaking the betrothal silently, Mary and said prospective young man would still be able to wed without much scandal. Joseph didn’t want to hurt Mary, even as hurt as he was.
But then, an angel appears in his dreams (oral tradition says that this was Gabriel, again), and confirms the crazy story Mary had told him. This dream is so vivid and powerful that Joseph is convinced that it is real, and immediately decides to keep his plans to wed Mary. He knows that big things are going on in Mary’s life, and is unwilling to let her face these things alone.
2) When they travel to Bethlehem for the census, Joseph has the role of the protector. Not only along the road, but in the city. When Mary goes into labor, he scours the entire city to find a shelter– but the city is so full for the census, that only a stable is available. There is no word of a midwife being around, so it is likely that Joseph had to fulfill the function– breaking a lot of taboos in the process. And then, if that weren’t enough, all these shepherds show up out of no where, and then after that three very impressive visitors with very impressive gifts, and then! Another dream, warning Joseph to roust his family and flee to Egypt. Egypt! Up you get, Joe, and take your family to another country for a few years with no warning! And he did. He takes Mary and the Child down the road, across the Sinai, to Egypt, finding sanctuary in the land that had enslaved his ancestors.
3) Twelve years later, when visiting Jerusalem (after returning to Israel), Joseph is just as frantic as Mary when Jesus is found to be missing from the caravan. Can you imagine his panic as he thought that he might have failed in his duty to protect the Child Jesus? Together they search, and find him back at the Temple, debating with the scribes and pharisees. It’s no wonder Mary’s chiding of Him made it into Scripture. And despite His explanation (“Oh, I was hanging out in my Father’s House. . .”) He remains an obedient son to both. He may be The Son, but He is also Yeshua ben Joseph, by golly, and He respects that.
4) We see nothing more of Joseph in Scripture. . . except! Jesus, in His Ministry, is constantly referring to God the Father in the intimate sense– Abba, which translates to “Daddy.” Now, none of us know exactly how the Son interacted with the Father during those 33 years, but we do know that Jesus’ reference for human fathers, for human Daddys, was Joseph. When Jesus was explaining to the people the relationship between God and His Children, the model foremost in his mind must have been his own earthly father, Joseph. If Joseph was not a wonderful Daddy, would Jesus have used him as the model for parent-child/ God-Creation relationships?
So, I think we should give some thought to Joseph, the Good Man who stood by his wife no matter what oddness or drama happened, who watched over and protected his adopted son as his very own. The man who was such an exemplar of Fatherhood that his example was used to help utterly change the way humans interacted with God and each other.
In light of that, here is a song from Joseph’s point of view: