My wife and
I attended my brother Bill’s funeral Saturday.
A major theme of the
day was Bill’s love for God, his love for his family, especially for his children and grandchildren, and
his fraternal love for others. But a
special focus was on his fatherhood, as so eloquently evidenced by a slide show
put together by his daughter Angela, and the eulogy given by his son
Aaron. Fathers are always a great
influence on their children, for good or for ill. There is a quality that Bill and each of his children—Angela,
Aaron, Afton and Alex—also share; their 'righteousness'. In the Scriptures someone was described as “righteous”
because he/she embodied all the virtues held so dear by the faith
community: integrity, competence,
compassion, gentleness, honesty, patience, piety, and an openness to God’s
invitations to take risks.
There are a
great many remarkable “fathers” in the Scriptures, all who have played an
important role in our Salvation. Recall
Abraham, our Father in Faith, the Patriarch Joseph, the great liberator, Moses,
David, Israel’s first King, Solomon the Wisest of all the Kings, as well as the
many prophets who have nourished our awareness of God’s presence in our world
and in our lives…to name just a few!
Today’s a
great day to remember and celebrate the father who is arguably the most
important father to ever live, St. Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus. The Scriptures don’t tell us a lot about him
but do present us with important gifts he had.
First of
all, he was described as a “righteous” man.
A notable
part of his character was his responsiveness to his dreams. It was in his dream that he was encouraged to
welcome Mary into his household even though she was already pregnant [Matthew
1:16-24]. It was because of his dream
that he fled with Mary and her newborn son into Egypt to flee the wrath of
Herod [Matthew 2:13-15]. It was in his
dream that he was told to return to Israel [Matthew 2:19-23].
We hear
again of Joseph when he and Mary brought Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem when
Jesus was twelve years old to dedicate Him to God. When they lost track of Him for three days on
the way home, we can only imagine his fear and foreboding. What great relief he must have felt when he
and Mary found his lost son teaching in the Temple. He, then, returns home to Nazareth to raise
Jesus and we don’t hear much more about him [Luke 2:41-51]. He seems to have been a skilled carpenter, a
quiet man who loved his wife and son with all his heart. What a great example for a father!
What a great
model for all of us. No doubt he had a
profound influence on the man Jesus became.
And so, St. Joseph is the patron of the Universal Church. His love of Christ, his devotion to Mary, and
his unreserved faithfulness to God’s call are all powerful examples of the path
to holiness. We remember St. Joseph
today with gratitude and deep admiration.
It’s a great
day to pray for Bill and for all of our own fathers who strive to follow his example.
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