Saint Joseph

The Collect
O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the spouse of his virgin mother: Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Psalm
89:1-4, 26-29

The Readings
II Samuel 7:4, 8-16     +     Romans 4:13-18     +     Luke 2:41-52

When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them.
~Luke 2:48-50

Today was not an A+ parenting day for me. It wasn't an epic fail; just a run-of-the-mill "I have no idea what I am doing--and where did all these kids come from?" kind of day. I don't know if St. Joseph had those kind of days, but I suspect he did, at least to some extent. In any event, I took some comfort in reading today's Gospel and being reminded that even Joseph and Mary, divinely chosen to be parents to the Son of God, accidentally left Jesus behind in Jerusalem and lost track of him for three whole days. Talk about a parents' nightmare.

Of course, the saints are not given to us primarily to make us feel okay about our shortcomings--they are given to us as companions in faith and exemplars of discipleship, people whose lives shine with the reflected light of Christ. But it is also true that even the lives of the greatest saints bear cracks, scars, and failures. And that is also a gift, because sometimes that is exactly what we need--someone we can turn to in those "not proud" moments and hear, "Yep. I've been there."

Closing Prayer
the following is adapted from the revised Saint Augustine's Prayer Book, from "A Litany of Saint Joseph"

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

O Christ, hear us.
O Christ, graciously hear us.

Word of God, and the eternal Wisdom of God, humbling yourself to be born and live among us, glory to you.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Blessed Joseph, husband of Mary and guardian of the Incarnate Word, pray for us.

Joseph, at work in the carpenter shop,
inspire us to work for the common good.
Joseph, receiving God's call and obeying it,
teach us to listen and to respond.
Joseph, in Bethlehem's stable and in exile in Egypt,
open our hearts to the stranger and sojourner.
Joseph, whom Jesus called father and in whose care he grew to adulthood,
pray blessing on our families and homes.
Joseph, completing your life's work and dying with Mary and Jesus at your side,
pray for us now and in the hour of our death.
Pray for us, O holy Joseph,
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Ancient of Days, Alpha and Omega, still you knew the long years of growth and learning; Lord Jesus, teach us by the example of Joseph to act in justice tempered by kindness, to be obedient to your call, and to work for the well-being of those committed to our care; make us faithful in the work you give us to do.
Amen.