Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,

Friday was the Feast of Saint Joseph. Of course, it’s widely commented on that we hear Joseph say nothing in Scripture. We know of his role only by his relationship to Mary and Jesus. There are no wise sayings nor gentle words. There are no verses of his, like Mary’s Magnificat, for us to remember and by which we can be inspired.

In much of Roman Catholic theology he is simply referred to as Saint Joseph, “her most chaste spouse.” For example, there are a set of devotions that are part of Benediction called the Divine Praises that traditionally say, “Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy” to which the congregation replies, “Blessed be God.” Then the officiant says, “Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse.”

He is simply thought of as the guy who makes sure that we we remember Mary as perpetually virgin.

It’s a sad thing, to me, that this is how much of history and theology have remembered him. My first rector, when asked whether he thought Mary and Joseph had ever had another child or if Saint James was a close relative of Jesus and not his brother, said, “I’ve never considered it polite nor theologically interesting to get into the Holy Family’s personal life.”

I’ve taken that as sort of a model, honestly. There are some questions that are, I suppose, of interest but are not significant enough for us to spend overly much time on when there is so much more to occupy our hearts and minds about the ways God is at work in the world.

A more interesting and compelling way those Divine Praises have been translated today, in the Episcopal devotional book, Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book, is with Joseph being called “Guardian of the Incarnate Word.” Rather than simply being a theological tool by which Mary’s virginity is argued, he becomes an active protagonist in raising Jesus as well — as one who protects and defends and ensures that Jesus grows in love.

Many fathers find, in Joseph, a model for patient, loving care. I think that all Christians might find in him also a broader model. Our call is to defend the Christ who lives in each person we know and love — to be guardians of the Incarnate love in the heart and soul of those we know and those we don’t alike. We are called to defend their dignity, their worth, and their awareness that they are known and loved by God.

In the same way that all Christians can find, in Mary’s yes to God, a model for following God’s will, they might also find, in Joseph’s humble determination to love his wife and adopted son, a model for cherishing and protecting those whom God calls us to love. Quietly, patiently, trustingly, Joseph shapes and is shaped by loving Jesus. We, in this same way, might find our own faith encouraged and strengthened.

God gives us the Saints not simply as a way to prove a theological point but as a way for us to see what it means to faithfully follow and to accept God’s call to us. Let us follow the example of Saint Joseph and dedicate ourselves to being guardians of the Christ we find in so many whom God calls us to love. We may do so with less flair, with not so many remembered words, than Mary but no less faithfully or devoutly.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Robert