With Joseph, welcoming Jesus into our lives: “The Lord saves”

This Sunday’s Gospel reveals God’s message to Joseph. Through the dream he had, Joseph is invited to enter into God’s plan by welcoming Mary with her child because this unborn child comes from God. Through the angel, God asks Joseph to give this child a name that corresponds to his mission: “You shall call his name Jesus, that is, The Lord and Savior. (Mt 1:21) The evangelist Matthew concludes, “When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel had told him to do.” (v.24)

“Jesus.” Joseph gave the name of Jesus to the son that God entrusted to him. No other words of Joseph are known in the gospels. This does not mean that he did not say others. But it is still important that the only word the gospels tell us that Joseph surely said is”Jesus.”

All of Joseph’s attention, all of his care, all of his thoughts are directed toward Jesus. And in a way, he has only that word in his mouth, because like Mary, Jesus is all he cares about. The focus of his life is to open his door to Jesus and Mary, and then to serve Jesus by teaching him his trade. In his own way, Saint. Brother Andrew was inspired by Joseph when he said, “The door to Heaven is the heart of Jesus and the key to that door is prayer and love.”

What a contrast between the discreet figure of Joseph and our dreams of grandeur! We think that in order to have a real personality, to be popular, we have to talk a lot, be prominent, do many extraordinary things. And we see Joseph. The only thing he does in his life is to welcome Mary and Jesus, to protect them and to do his job like an honest citizen.

Joseph in welcoming Mary and Jesus understands little by little who God is. Joseph had ideas about God. A devout Jew, he knew that God is Almighty, that he is faithful to his promises, that he is the Rock on which to build our lives. He knew this deeply, with all his heart, but he did not know that God was this little child. He will discover that under the smile of Jesus, there is the smile of God who comes to him, who comes to the world to save it. All this he will learn with Mary.

This look at Saint Joseph invites us to ask him to intercede with God so that our prayer may be heard by the Lord, and that he may bring our intentions to him. Brother André, who insisted so much on the pilgrims of the Oratory to pray with confidence to Saint Joseph, understood very well the great closeness that existed between Father Joseph and his son Jesus.

With Joseph, with Mary, with Brother André, let us now enter more deeply into this last stage of Advent. With Joseph, let us be ready to welcome Jesus, the one sent by the Father, the one who comes to wrap us in his love and tenderness. Let us be joyful.