Lesson 6 - Action

Scripture Passage - Luke

The Presentation in the Temple.

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,”and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel,* and the holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:


“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel. The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Learning point

Joseph was completely silent in all scriptural passages in which he is mentioned. There is no canticle attributed to him contrary the examples of Mary, Zechariah and Simeon. Would we not love to hear what Joseph would have to say about his view of Jesus and Mary? All three of the canticles we have are part of the Liturgy of the Hours. Surely if Joseph had been given a voice, we would sing his canticle every day to celebrate his role. Instead all we know about Joseph is what he did and that is enough. What he did was to be a complete father to Jesus.

Lesson 5 - Leader

Scripture - Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

While they were there, the time came for her to have her child,and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Learning Point

So we meet Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. The text is very simple, the narrative very matter of fact but the story is world changing. Joseph is a leader in this story but not in the way we tend to understand modern leadership but rather a model for Jesus in servant leadership. Joseph did what he was called to do. He led Mary to Bethlehem so Jesus could be born where it was foretold he would be born. As an adoptive father, he gave Jesus the lineage to the House of David. He was present when Jesus was born and he gave Jesus and Mary a home, Jesus a trade craft to earn a living and, as the story unfolds, he led the holy family to safety in Egypt and back again.

The last time we encounter Joseph in the story of Jesus was when Jesus stayed behind in the temple after the rest of the family had left to return to Nazareth. We recognize Joseph was a servant leader because he, Joseph, presented Jesus in the temple as an infant and again and again as was expected in Judaism of this era.

As fathers we assume we are leaders. To be a leader is an integral part of job. We are responsible for nurturing and protecting our children and to provide them with shelter and all other basic necessities. There is more to our servant leadership, however, because we are not just about physical issues but emotional and spiritual matter as well.

Lesson 4 - Involved

Scripture Passage - Matthew 2

When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.

Learning Point

There is something different about this exchange between Joseph and the angel. We have the same visitation we have seen a couple of other times. The issue of fear comes up again as it did in the first visitation. This time, however, Joseph is seemingly allowed some degree of latitude in responding to the instructions he received. He took his family back to Israel as he was asked but he was allowed to admit fear and to allow the fear to influence the decision of where the Holy family settled. Because of his fear they did not return to Bethlehem but instead went to Nazareth.

Of course it was already foretold Jesus would be raised in Nazareth but how the prophecy came to be fulfilled was in response to very human reaction to a very dangerous situation. In this passage we best see the humanness of Joseph because he was intimately and decisively involved in protecting the infant Jesus.

Lesson 3 - Obedience

Scripture Passage - Matthew 2

The Flight to Egypt.

When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,* and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Learning Point

Obedience is what first comes to mind in this passage from Matthew. In Luke’s gospel Joseph was ordered to take his heavily pregnant wife from Nazareth to Bethlehem despite the great risk involved with traveling from Galilee through Samaria to Bethlehem. He packed up Mary and went. Next he was instructed by an angel appearing to him in a dream to marry a woman who carrying a child of which he was not the earthly father. He did. 

Next we read he was suddenly told to pack up and head for Egypt. Imagine being awakened from a sleep and being told quickly gather up your family and to take off for Mexico on foot. Would we be able to obey? Consider the Latin root of obedience is obedire which means to listen at the level of encounter. Would we able to respond to call to make a fundamental change with grace and courage as did Joseph? God told him to leave Bethlehem. He did.

God does not likely speak to us in dreams - at least not in the way see in scripture. These days when we hear voices it is likely because we have not taken our medication. God does, however, speak to us and to challenges us to obey him, to listen to him in a way we are changed by the encounter. The Church teaches us we learn from the revealed word what is expected of us as fathers. 

Lesson 2 - Justice

Learning Point

In Matthew 1:19,  Joseph is referred to as a “just” man for not exposing Mary after it was made known to him that Mary was pregnant and he knew he could not be the biological father of the baby. The root of the word “just” in Greek means to be right and “justice” means to make right.  As fathers we are called upon to be just when faced with the many modern challenges inherent with raising children. To be just will often times cause us to consider whether we would rather be right than to do the right thing. Joseph would have been perfectly entitled to let Mary suffer the consequences of her mysterious pregnancy. He would have been right if had done so yet he chose a different path, the right path, by doing the right thing.