Joseph’s righteousness
Is 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24
Was Joseph a righteous man? If so, why? We are explicitly told in Scripture that Joseph’s righteousness was manifested by his decision to divorce Mary (Mt 1:19). That’s right, Joseph was righteous because he discerned that he should divorce the mother of Our Lord.
It almost sounds scandalous to state it so bluntly. But of course, he didn’t know that Mary was the mother of Our Lord when he discerned his initial choice. Once he found out that Mary had conceived through the Holy Spirit (whatever that may have meant to him), he chose otherwise.
That’s the whole point. One of the most righteous qualities that Joseph possessed was his willingness to radically shift the direction of his discernment based on new information — even when that shift radically clashed with his original worldview and that of his, and Mary’s, culture.
We should not undervalue the courage of Joseph’s decision to “take his wife into his home” (Mt 1:24). At the time of his change in action plan, only Mary and he knew what was behind the decision.
Mary had a message from Gabriel in person, while Joseph heard the news in a dream. When we awake from a dream, regardless of how vivid it may have been, we still may be wondering whether it was real, and we are left with a bit of uncertainty about the details. Who appeared, where was the setting, what was said, etc.?
When Joseph awoke and took action, he didn’t have certainty in the palm of his hand. He was adopting risk and drawing on trust that he had developed in his relationships with both Mary and God. He grew into a deeper understanding of the impact of his decision over time and doubtless adjusted his interactions with Mary and Jesus as their years together as a family evolved.
Although we rarely talk about the Advent season as a time for heightened discernment of the most important choices laying before us, this week’s reminder of Joseph’s discernment process can invite us into such a spiritual exercise.
As we consider any particular decision before us, the first step is to honestly acknowledge how each of our options might unfold, given our particular situation in life at that moment (i.e., the current status of the significant relationships in our life, our employment prospects, the local and national political climate, etc.).
In Joseph’s case, faced with the initial set of facts before his momentous dream, he had the option of either continuing with a scandalous marriage, or pursuing divorce. He could imagine the consequences of either choice and — given those scenarios — he made what he deemed the more “righteous” decision.
Now imagine for yourself what the consequences would be if you were to choose any of the options in front of you. It is likely that some of those consequences appear more appealing (or less frightening) than others. As you engage in the usual tools of a good discernment, such as informing your conscience with accurate church teaching, seeking counsel from wise and trusted guides and prayer, are you also open to the possibility that God may be calling you to radically reorient your usual way of viewing your circumstances?
It may not be as monumental as accepting a virgin birth, but sometimes even subtle changes can feel overwhelming if they hit us in particularly vulnerable areas of our life. We might be called to realize that a long-term enemy has new graces to share with us, or that a hidden addiction that has kept us shut off from family is suddenly exposed by that same family in the form of a loving intervention.
As Advent ticks down its final days, spend some time in prayer to discern whether you are being invited to embrace a new way of seeing your life, or the life of another. Now is the time to stop ignoring the signs, subtle or loud, that the Lord might be calling forth something new from you.
Rather than shun the opportunity out of fear or anger, follow Joseph’s lead and prayerfully ponder the possibility, patiently taking that new view into your heart, as he once took Mary into his home.