Called to be Doers
Homily for the Feast of St. Joseph
March 19, 2025
Homily for the Feast of St. Joseph
March 19, 2025
Homily for Wednesday, March 19, 2025
The Feast of St. Joseph
Luke 2:41-52
When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety."
I was talking to a young man recently, a high school student, about being invited to dinner at his girlfriend’s house. “How are you feeling about that?” I asked. “I’m a little nervous to meet the dad,” he said. “You’ve been dating how long,” I asked, “and you haven’t met her dad?” “Well,” he said, “I’ve met him. But I don’t think I’ve heard him say more than five words total.” “Yeah,” his sister chimed in, “her mom does all the talking.” We probably all know couples in which one is more voluble than the other.
Jesus’ parents seem to have been one of those couples, with Mary being the chatty one. Scripture tells us plenty of the things Mary said – “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” “Here I am, the servant of the Lord.” “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” And in today’s Gospel, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” Scripture tells us plenty of the things Mary said; but about what Joseph might have said, the scriptures are silent.
Though much attention is paid to Mary – like, next Tuesday the Deanery will celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation at The Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill – [though much attention is paid to Mary,] today, the Feast of St. Joseph, we give Joseph his due. Joseph may have been the quiet one,but he is nonetheless an important witness. For, while with Mary we are called to let our mouths speak and even to sing about God, with Joseph we are called to let our lives speak about God.
Though the scriptures tell us nothing about what Joseph might have said, they do tell us some things Joseph did. For example, “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him – he took Mary as his wife but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son” (Matt 1:24-25). Or again, “Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod” (Matt 2:14-15a). Or again, “Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel…There he made his home in a town called Nazareth” (Matt 2:21, 23).
Joseph may not have been a talker, but he was a doer, always doing what the angel of the Lord commanded him and taking care of Mary and the young Jesus. So, too, are we like Joseph called to be doers. While praise is important,perhaps even more important is to “show forth [his] praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives,” as our Prayer Book puts it (BCP, p 125). I am grateful for all the ways in which we at Trinity not only speak of our faith but also do our faith. And today, on Joseph’s feast day, I encourage us like Joseph to keep on doing our faith. For – as Joseph nurtured the young Jesus – so does the “doing” of our faith help to create a space where Jesus can grow and thrive, so that his Good News might help to heal a world in need.
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