Sunday, December 18, 2022

 

Sunday Reflection: Joseph Waits

 


In 1623, Philippe de Champaigne painted the image above, title "The Dream of St. Joseph," which today hangs in the British Gallery in London. To me, it is the heart of the Advent story. It depicts the events recalled in the first Chapter of Matthew:

18Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ 22All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel’,

which means, ‘God is with us.’ 24When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

I love the way it is painted. Joseph is in a terrible position, with a pregnant girlfriend he did not impregnate. He works hard as a carpenter, which is exhausting. Here, he is shown asleep after work, with his tools and his sandals at his feet.

My dad has always had a soft spot for Joseph in the whole Christmas story, and now I get it. Joseph made a true sacrifice, and put himself up for ridicule. Mary, of course, is usually the focus of the story and in paintings is in the foreground, but here the roles are reversed for a moment.

Advent quiet can mean many things, and this is one of them.

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM
Comments:
Joseph is my husband's favorite too.
# posted by Blogger Megan Willome : 6:46 PM
 
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