SOLEMNITY
OF SAINT JOSEPH
SPOUSE
OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
2 Sm. 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Ps. 89; Mt. 1:16, 18-21, 24a
“Why do
bad things happen to good people?” Such question has been queried by sages and
philosophers of the distant past and continues to be asked even until the
present. It remains to be a question with no definite answer for until now no
one can fully and convincingly explain the existence of a generous and merciful
God vis-à-vis terror and evil.
In our
Gospel, we heard about Joseph who was already betrothed to Mary. For the Jews,
betrothal is more binding than our custom of engagement before marriage today.
Hence, Joseph could have been planning out already of what will happen next –
his plans for the wedding and probably his dream of establishing a family. Then suddenly, he learned that Mary, his most
loved lady in Israel, got pregnant. With what happened to Joseph, we can ask, “Why
do bad things happen to good people?” Why did such terrible event happened in
the life of a very pious and obedient Jewish carpenter?
However,
the silence of Joseph in the Gospel is already enough to give us an answer. We heard
Matthew telling us that Joseph was “a righteous man” (dikaios). On the first
level, he was righteous because he was obedient in following the Law. Mary got
pregnant before their marriage. And so, to show his faithfulness to the Law,
Joseph silently divorced her. However, Matthew furthers the righteousness of
Joseph. In a dream, Joseph learned the reason for Mary’s pregnancy – to fulfill
God’s plan for humanity through the coming of his only Son, Jesus. When he woke
up, he obeyed what has been commanded to him. This is the second level of
Joseph’s righteousness – to obey the command of the Lord in order to fulfill his
plan of salvation in the world no matter what will happen to us.
In our
lives, to be men and women of righteousness initially begins in our faithful
observance to the law set before us by our nation, family, community, and God.
We need it so that we can preserve order and thereby radiate beauty inside and
outside of our lives. However, despite our careful obedience to the laws and
even to God, we still find ourselves in difficult situations like a religious
lay minister in Tacloban who lost his home and family during super typhoon Yolanda. We, therefore, ask St. Joseph, to
bring us today to his level of righteousness so that even if we are in troubled
waters because of our faithfulness to God, we can still remain strong and
steadfast in our relationship with him, because we consider our present worries
and distress as part of the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation for you and
me.
As we
celebrate the solemnity of St. Joseph, we also remember that we are still in
the season of Lent today. And the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is the most
perfect kind of righteousness set before us. Jesus embraced death so that his
Father’s plan of salvation will bear fruit in the lives of men and women in the
world yesterday, today, and forever. For some, what happened in Calvary was
horrible and terrible. But in the eyes of faith, such event was Jesus’ right
choice so that we can be righteous before the Father in heaven.
“Why do
bad things happen to good people?” It is not so much on the adjectives, “bad”
and “good.” Rather, it is about our right choice in everything that we do so that
we can be righteous in and out of season. Amen!
St.
Joseph, Most Chaste Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Intercede
for us at the throne of mercy in heaven!
NB. Photo taken from http://www.friendsofsaintdavidlewis.co.uk/images/SolemnityofSaintJoseph1.jpg
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