Jesus had a radically different view of God, one that drew so many to him. He taught us that not only did our God care for the poor and downtrodden, but that we could talk directly to God. Rather than a distant deity, Jesus showed us a God who was approachable, warm and loving – like a parent. Jesus taught us to pray speaking from our hearts.
Today, is the feast of St. Joseph, husband of Mary. We honor Joseph, the man who served as the father of Jesus, who taught his son not only scripture and carpentry, but who showed him about a father’s deep love, about service, kindness and care for the poor. It was Joseph whose fatherly love shaped Jesus’ image of what a father means.
We can imagine what Joseph was like by the way Jesus offers us an image of God as a loving, forgiving father. Joseph’s patient, caring style of teaching shaped the image Jesus had of Father, and when he wanted us to have an image of a warm loving God, he offered us an image of Father.
I like to picture that St. Joseph was a husband, father, member of a tight-knit community and a carpenter. He was probably also a good story-teller. In the hours he spent in his shop, Jesus would have heard hundreds of stories of scripture, family, ancestors and the people who stopped by the shop.
Jesus would have seen the respect Joseph had for people and the fair way he treated each one of them. I imagine that Jesus recognized the kindness in Joseph who gave away a table or chair for the woman who was a widow or the poor man who needed the dignity of a piece of furniture of his own.
On this feast of St. Joseph honoring his role as a husband, we also remember him as a father to Jesus. Today we can take that image of loving parent and use it our relationship to God. Special words are not necessary to speak. We can talk to God simply from our hearts and share what we are burdened with and what we long for in our lives. And then we can listen.
As I reflect on Joseph today, I do it as the wife of a good and loving husband. As in any marriage, I have learned to love with greater devotion and selfless love. It helps me to think of the marriage of Joseph and Mary – challenged from the beginning. I can only imagine that they grew in devotion and affection toward each other. Today I can turn to Joseph and ask him to intercede for my husband – so good, so hard working, so stretched and yet devoted to me. It is also helpful for me to pray for all husbands, in cultures where the male and husband identity can be so distorted. May there be grace and blessings on all fathers and husbands today in ways that help them, through the example and inspiration of Joseph.
Maureen McCann Waldron
The most important part of my life is my family – Jim my husband of 47 years and our two children. Our daughter Katy, a banker here in Omaha, and her husband John, have three wonderful children: Charlotte, Daniel and Elizabeth Grace. Our son Jack and his wife, Ellie, have added to our joy with their sons, Peter and Joseph.
I think family life is an incredible way to find God, even in (or maybe I should say, especially in) the most frustrating or mundane moments.
I am a native of the East Coast after graduating in 1971 from Archbishop John Carroll High School in suburban Philadelphia. I graduated from Creighton University in 1975 with a degree in Journalism and spent most of the next 20 years in corporate public relations in Omaha. I returned to Creighton in the 1990s and completed a master’s degree in Christian Spirituality in 1998.
As our children were growing up, my favorite times were always family dinners at home when the four of us would talk about our days. But now that our kids are gone from home, my husband and I have rediscovered how nice it is to have a quiet dinner together. I also have a special place in my heart for family vacations when the kids were little and four of us were away from home together. It’s a joy to be with my growing family.
Writing a Daily Reflection is always a graced moment, because only with God’s help could I ever write one. I know my own life is hectic, disjointed and imperfect and I know most of us have lives like that. I usually write from that point of view and I always seem to find some sentence, some word in the readings that speaks right to me, in all of my imperfection. I hope that whatever I write is in some way supportive of others.
It’s an incredibly humbling experience to hear from someone who was touched by something I wrote. Whether the note is from someone across campus or across the world, it makes me realize how connected we are all in our longing to grow closer to God.
