Monday, March 19, 2012

St. Joseph

From today's reading: Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. . . When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife. Matthew 1:19,24

When I was in seminary, I preached my senior sermon on this day; the subject, of course, was St. Joseph. I can't think of Joseph without thinking of my own father. I was 18 when he died of a heart attack out on the job. He was a drilling supervisor for the Texas Company - the parent company of Texaco. He floated in and out because he worked all over the southeastern part of Texas. When he couldn't come home for a month or more, Mom and I would go to wherever he was working to spend the weekend with him.

My dad was a very special man - much like Joseph he adopted a child that was not his, but raised me as his own. Dad was the strong silent type - a rather large man, but very gentle. He was also a righteous man demanding justice for those who worked for him. In high school, when he came home, I would go to church with him on Sunday morning. He'd pick me up at the Episcopal Church at the end of the service (10-11) and I'd go to the Methodist Church with him (11-12).

I imagine Joseph being very much like my dad - a man of purpose, of determination. I imagine Joseph protecting this child, Jesus, even with his very life, and teaching him what it meant to be a righteous man.

Thank you, Lord, for people like Joseph and like my dad, who exemplify you in all they do, in the love they share, and the protection they provide for those who are growing in love and knowledge of you. Amen.

No comments:

Post a Comment