A Saint, Silent, Simple and Sleeping!
THE WORD AND THE FEAST - March 19, 2021
Pope Francis has dedicated this year to St. Joseph, the protector of the Church, as it is 150 years since Pope Pius IX proclaimed the saint at the protector of the Church - he was the protector of Jesus the Son of God, the head of the Church...and logically he is infact the protector of the Church, the mystical body of Christ!
St. Joseph occupied a huge space in
the climax of God's salvific plan which was accomplished in Jesus - still he
remained a quiet, noiseless and unassuming person! In a noisy world of today
which claims recognition for every little thing and clamours for attention, his
mode of living his life, carrying out his mission and responding to his call is
a lovely lesson. Apart from this, there are three dimensions of this saint that
we can notice emerging from the Word today.
Silent Protagonist: He had a very
important role to play within the historical events that were unfolding in
time, and he played it to perfection. The extraordinary quality that we see in
this personality is the silence - how he remained recollected in his depths, to
receive the directions from the Lord and execute them to the letter. The pre-figurement
of this image is seen in Abraham, presented to us in the second reading - how
he spoke very little too! He listened and obeyed! St. Joseph too listened and
for that he chose to remain silent!
Simple Person: He was simple as a person...
this does not mean he had just an old-fashioned dress and no sandals on feet -
that is how 'being simple' is understood these days! Simple is opposed to
complicated! He was not complicated in anyway - a yes meant yes and a no meant
no. He had decided to reject Mary, he was told to accept and he accepted. He
thought of returning to Judea, but was told not to and he went to the district
of Galilee. He was a simple man who had no air of ego around him nor any
self-interests to hang on! The figure of David is presented to us in the first
reading drawing our attention to a way of life that was simple. Though the man
had limitations within him, he had no ego absolutely. When he was pointed out,
he repented immediately. He was called to be a servant of the Lord and even as
a King he remained so! St. Joseph never complicated his role or his person, he
remained as simple as he was called.
Sleeping Prophet: Sleeping St.
Joseph is a popular devotion by now...a renewed perspective reminded by our
Holy Father a few years ago. It is not a mere novelty of thinking but a
perspective of faith: the Lord provided for God's beloved even as they sleep
(Ps 127:2). It is one lifestyle to spend sleepless nights thinking about
something. It is completely a different life style to leave it to the Lord and
sleep over it, for the Lord takes care of me even when I am asleep! It is a
prophetic sleep when it is out of total surrender to the Lord - Joseph of the
Old Testament, the namesake of the saint we celebrate, is a beautiful example
of this lifestyle. He surrendered himself totally to the Lord and lived his
life like a dream. St. Joseph too was so surrendered to the Lord that even as
he slept, he felt protected and directed.