Putting St. Joseph Back in Christmas

2008-12-23
James Martin, S.J.

Here's a story about St. Joseph, the hidden man of Christmas, on Slate.com. What does his story have to say to modern-day believers? Plenty. For this story I interviewed both Lawrence Cunningham, professor of theology at Notre Dame, and Pheme Perkins professor of New Testament at Boston College.

--Perkins and Cunningham both see Joseph as a central figure in the Nativity story, one who can speak to contemporary men and women. The Gospel of Matthew makes clear that he is a "righteous man" who does what God asks of him. After discovering Mary's pregnancy, Joseph thinks of "quietly" ending their marriage plans, so as not to "disgrace" her. But an angel reassures him in a dream. "Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife," says the angel, who explains the unusual circumstances of the birth. Joseph's "righteousness" enables him to listen to God and carry out his difficult task.

His personality shines through wordlessly. "Here is a model of someone who represents all the virtues in the Hebrew Bible," says Perkins. "He is asked to do something shocking, but because he's righteous, he follows God's guidance. And it's no fun--not only to deal with that, but with the rest of the story--the flight into Egypt, too."
the rest image