ST JOSEPH: NOT A WORD, BUT SO MUCH ACTION!
Four dreams, a flight in the night and a family to protect. In the Gospels Joseph doesn’t speak: he acts.
He welcomes Mary, names Jesus, leaves for Egypt, returns and chooses Nazareth. Joseph never says a line in the Gospels, yet his actions change his family’s life. Follow his verbs to get to know him.
What do we actually know?
Matthew presents a righteous man descended from David. Luke describes Bethlehem, Nazareth and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. We don’t know his birth date or age at marriage. Usually translated as “carpenter”, the Greek tekton means a craftsman and can cover other manual trades too.
One night changes the plan
In Matthew’s first chapter Joseph considers quietly separating from Mary without exposing her publicly. An angel speaks in a dream: he takes her into his home and names the child. Francis’s 2020 letter Patris corde reflects on this fatherhood of welcome and responsibility.
A second dream warns of Herod’s danger: Joseph leaves with the child and his mother. The Gospel doesn’t describe their route. After Herod’s death, another dream announces their return. But Archelaus poses a threat, and another warning leads the family to Nazareth in Galilee.
They lost sight of a child too
Luke describes twelve-year-old Jesus remaining in Jerusalem. His worried parents search for him, then return together to Nazareth. Anxiety, questions and misunderstandings belong to this family too.
Next time you see a painting of the flight into Egypt, compare it with Matthew. Landscapes, clothing and animals also reveal the artist’s imagination. Gospel and art offer different, wonderful ways into the scene.
Joseph’s feast is 19 March; St Joseph the Worker is celebrated on 1 May. He became patron of the universal Church in 1870. His Gospel story takes only a few lines. Give them time.
