THE INVISIBLE MAN

 

As you’ve gone about your day-to-day tasks, have you have felt like you were merely an extra in the grand scheme of life – a background actor, nonspeaking, your entire appearance merely window dressing to make others stand out? I have no doubt my brother Dann felt like that, toiling in relative obscurity for eight years. How many times every day did he seek to help our dad maintain his dignity as Parkinson’s sought to rob it? How many times did he help Dad in and out of the van, taking trips to the VA Hospital, and then sit for hours to see an endless stream of doctors? How many people applauded the ‘extra’ as he helped figure out Dad’s meds and hearing aids and performed tasks usually done by nurses? No one truly knows the numbers except Dann – and Dad, but he’s been gone for over seven years now.

Dann and Dad

Was it worth it, all those years proclaiming, explaining, and demonstrating the love of God to Dad? I have no doubt that Dann was the primary human tool that God used to help open Dad’s heart. One day while lying in a hospital bed, six months before he died, Dad closed his eyes and said, “I want Jesus, I want Jesus, I want Jesus,” as a single tear rolled down his cheek. And from that moment on, he had peace. In fact, there were some days when he asked, “Why is this taking so long?” He was ready and the angels were rejoicing.[i] Most people will never know my brother or what he has done in this life. But there is one, for certain, who is now in the presence of God because of Dann’s obedience. In the background, Dann helped craft a masterpiece!

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[i] Luke 15:10

William Schrader

Here's a parable about this that I like: An elderly stone-carver was working in a medieval cathedral on a marble statue of a saint. He spent many days carefully carving the intricate folds of her dress on the back of the statue. First he used a large chisel, then a smaller one, and then sanded it down with great care. Another stone-carver noticed what he was doing and realized that the statue would be placed in a dark niche, its back facing the wall, his friend’s handiwork hidden. “Why are you doing that hard work?” his friend asked. “No one will see it.” “God will,” he said.[i]

I wonder if this is how Joseph, the husband of Mary and the adopted father of Jesus, felt as he went about his daily tasks. Think of Joseph the carpenter, the man who taught Jesus his craft, a man given no lines in the New Testament, a person whose life remains almost completely hidden. If you think this is a stretch, consider how infrequently he is discussed compared to Mary. No, I would never dare to compare being a father with bearing a child! But wasn’t Joseph also chosen by God to participate in this holy venture? Yet how many times have you seen artwork of “Father and Child”? And I’ve yet to hear anyone say, “Hail Joseph, full of grace” or sing, “Joseph, did you know?” Little is known about this craftsman from Nazareth. But what we do know speaks volumes. At best, he gets a once-a-year silent appearance at the Nativity scene.

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[i] James Martin, S.J., The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, New York: NY, HarperCollins, 2010, 373

So what role did Joseph play in raising Jesus? He would have understood the call to be the primary person to train and equip Jesus in the ways of God. Since his own childhood, Joseph would most likely have recited the Shema daily:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”[i]

Try to picture father and son standing over a table at the carpenter’s shop, discussing the Law and life. Joseph was a dad. An adoptive one, yes, but he was nevertheless a father, one who sought to model the craft of a carpenter and the character of a King. This is how he worked behind the scenes as a mere ‘extra’ to many of his contemporaries and many to this day: “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.”[ii]

Here are the facts: Joseph, the poor, blue-collar laborer, and Mary were pledged to be married. They had been legally and spiritually set apart for each other. The final component of the engagement process, the marriage ceremony, had not occurred yet. Thus the marriage had not been consummated by sexual union. Mary was still living with her parents in the small town of Nazareth. Mary claimed to be a virgin, and yet Joseph found out that she was pregnant. What could Joseph have concluded when faced with these irrefutable certainties?

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[i] Deuteronomy 6:5-7

[ii] Matthew 1:18

Without a word spoken, witness Joseph’s righteousness. He was unaware that anything extraordinary had taken place so he proceeded in a manner he believed would honor God and protect Mary. “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”[i] So what did this righteous man do in response to what he had learned? When he discovered that Mary was pregnant, there was only one conclusion possible. The woman he was betrothed to was unfaithful. She broke her pledge. Divorce on the grounds of adultery was not merely an option for Joseph. The marriage vow had been broken; as a man wholly devoted to God, he had to fulfill the requirements of the law. A righteous man, one seeking to be obedient to God's commandments, couldn’t even think of consummating his marriage.

Jewish law demanded that a man charge his wife immediately on discovery that she had not been a virgin. Roman law actually treated a husband who failed to divorce an unfaithful wife as a panderer exploiting his wife as a prostitute. Mediterranean society viewed with contempt the weakness of a man who let his love for his wife outweigh his appropriate honor in repudiating her.[ii]

The scales of justice weighed heavily in Joseph’s heart. On the one side, the woman he was engaged to, on the other side, the God he loved and to whom he was committed. The scales tipped. Joseph placed his Father’s honor above any desire he had for Mary. At this moment, it’s not hard to hear the strains of Jesus’ own future voice: “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”[iii]  Furthermore, if Joseph knew about Mary’s pregnancy, it wouldn’t be long before the word spread like wildfire through the tiny town of Nazareth. If Joseph finalized the marriage, those who knew that Mary was with child would assume that he was the father. Shame and disgrace would fall on his family as well as hers.

Witness Joseph’s compassion: Two methods of divorce were open to him. First, he could institute a lawsuit against Mary and “expose her to public disgrace.” Everyone would find out the reason behind the divorce. Furthermore, this offense carried with it the possibility of Mary being stoned to death, though that was rarely, if ever, carried out in the first century.[iv] Second, Joseph could divorce her quietly in the company of two witnesses without giving any specific reason. The righteous and compassionate man chose the latter alternative. Joseph would divorce her without specifying why. His love for God and his compassion for Mary remained intact. A woman who was divorced because of sexual infidelity would be hard-pressed to ever get married after she was found out, and she would be left without any means of support once her parents died. Sounds a lot like Jesus’ compassion towards the woman caught in adultery.[v]

 

Video: Deliberation and Compassion 

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[i] Matthew 1:19

[ii] Keener, Craig; A Commentary of the Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999, p. 92.

[iii] Matthew 10:37

[iv] cf., Deuteronomy 22:20-21

[v] cf., John 3:8-11

Witness Joseph’s deliberation: “But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”[1] Though he had already decided what action he must take, Joseph found it almost impossible to move forward with his decision. He loved the Lord above everything and everyone – even Mary. He knew what the law required, and yet he considered the situation carefully. He didn’t act hastily. Suddenly, in a flash, new evidence was brought to light. Via a dream, a ruling came from the Highest Source – the Supreme Court passed judgment on the case. Joseph was first reminded that he was a member of the line of David. Then an angel, a heavenly messenger of God, proceeded to tell Joseph the good news about Mary. The angel relieved all Joseph’s fears. He did not have to worry about dishonoring his God by marrying the woman pledged to him.

Then the angel shared more good news: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”[2] By commanding Joseph to name the child, “Jesus,” God was making Joseph the legal father of the Messiah. The name Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) means “Yahweh is salvation” or “the Lord saves.” His name proclaimed what he would do. If there was any doubt as to the identity of this child being formed in Mary’s womb, it was laid to rest by the angel’s message. “He will save his people from their sins.”

Witness Joseph’s obedience: “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.  And he gave him the name Jesus.”[3] Joseph’s plans to divorce Mary were radically restructured after the angel appeared to him in a dream. Did Joseph question? Did he balk at the message in disbelief? Did he ask for a sign to confirm the heavenly ruling because it went completely against common sense and natural law? No! In keeping with his righteous character, Joseph obeyed the Lord’s commands as communicated via the angel. Joseph trusted and obeyed the will of God – the action he desired to take from the start. In the process he was allowed to provide protection and love for the mother of his Lord and serve God’s Son as a stand-in father. The invisible man helped make God visible to the world.

Through his silent work he [Joseph] was able to help fashion, as the Jesuit theologian John Haughey says, “the instrument most needed for the salvation of the world.” Joseph’s work was of supreme importance – even though others may not have seen this at the time. How similar this is to the many millions of people who do hidden work today: spending long hours putting their kids through school; taking on an extra job to save money to care for an elderly parent or relative; working to exhaustion scrubbing floors, doing multiple loads of laundry, and spending hours over a stove for their families. Even if their efforts are hidden from others, they are seen by the One whose gaze matters most.[4]

You are not invisible!

 

Music: You Are Not Alone 

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[1] Matthew 1:20

[2] Matthew 1:21

[3] Matthew 1:24-25

[4] op. cit., James Martin, 373.