Living with Misunderstanding

Gospel: Matthew 1: 16-24

Imagine being Joseph.  For his entire role in the Gospels he lives with misunderstanding.  He finds himself betrothed to a pregnant girl and he is not the father.  He finds himself protecting this small family, continually fleeing danger, eventually settling in an insignificant town where they could live a quiet existence.  Everyone thinks him to be the father of Jesus, even though he is not.

Then, after you die, people get the idea you were an old man in the Gospel in order to preserve the idea of Mary's perpetual virginity.  You are not honored with a feast day until around the 10th century, and you are not even mentioned in the Roman Canon of the Mass until the 1960's.  And in all of this misunderstanding and neglect, you utter not a single recorded word.  You accept it all in silence.  

The life and legacy of Joseph provides us with an opportunity for ourselves to learn how to accept misunderstanding and neglect in our own lives.  By remaining silent and following the promptings of God in our lives, by doing our duty quietly and humbly - in these ways we come to serve the Lord and others who depend on us with great love.