Homily on the 30th Sunday after Pentecost being the Sunday before the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Matthew 1:1-25.
In today’s Gospel St Matthew gives the reader the genealogy of our Lord and Saviour showing that Christ’s line goes back to the line of king David. Why was the genealogy of Jesus considered to be of paramount important to Saint Matthew? Why did he include it in his Gospel? It is simple Saint Matthew wrote his Gospel for the Jewish audience of his day. For the first century Jews life was difficult they were under the yoke of Roman rule and many of them were hoping that the long-awaited Messiah would come and liberate the Jewish people. For many of the Jews of those days the Messiah would be an earthly ruler who would crush the Romans and rule the Jewish homeland in much the way King David had. Indeed, it is for this reason King Herod in Matthew 2:16 has all the little boys (the Holy Innocents) in Bethlehem and surrounding regions killed so as to prevent the Messiah taking his (Herod’s) throne!
However, it is clear that the Holy Trinity had a very different plan as Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14 foretells:
“Therefore, the Lord God himself will give you a sign. Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel (God with us).”
Then in Isaiah 9:6 the reader gets a fuller picture of what kind of King the Messiah will be as Isaiah again foretells:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”.
This is a startling departure from the concept of the Messiah as a warrior king!
Rather, the Messiah here is depicted as a wise counsellor as well as being the everlasting God who champions peace!
With all of this in mind let us then turn our attention to the account of the birth of Jesus presented in today’s Gospel. In today’s Gospel one reads that St Joseph is worried because the All Holy Theotokos is already pregnant and to make matters worse not by him! St Joseph being an honourable man then seeks to find some way to end his betrothal to the All Holy Theotokos in such a way as to not cause her any embarrassment. However, an angel of the Lord appears to him in a dream and tells him that he is to marry the All Holy Theotokos as the baby in her womb was not conceived by man but by the power of the All Holy Spirit! This must have been a difficult thing to do for a man like Saint Joseph as by marrying the All Holy Theotokos he was potentially exposing himself to ridicule by his peers – in first century Israel if the women betrothed to a man became pregnant to another man it was considered to bring shame on the husband to be. Let us not forget that without the Theotokos’s yes, the incarnation (conception and birth) of Christ our Lord and Saviour could not have happened. Also, let us not forget what a perfect example of motherhood the All Holy Theotokos is for all mothers!
As a Priest oftentimes, I meditate on the important role that a priest has in the Body of Christ (the Church) - in that he is the spiritual father of his parish and as such has many important roles to fulfil in helping his spiritual children grow in their relationships with God. In much the same way I often meditate on the role that Saint Joseph played in the upbringing of our Lord and Saviour. How often is his role in the earthly life of our Lord and Saviour overlooked in the Church! In fact, to all reading this who are fathers he is an example I highly commend to you - as a stepfather he took the welfare of our Lord and Saviour as being of such importance even to the extent of moving to Egypt to ensure Christ’s safety! Also, he trusted in God and took his role as a parent to be a God given call meaning that he took the role of being a father seriously. Fathers whenever you are having difficult times with your children and with life in general I recommend praying to St Joseph as he through his intercessions to Christ will surely help guide you to the best solution!
Finally, as the Church (the Body of Christ) let us appreciate the role that fathers have in our communities and families - some fathers are charged with looking after spiritual children (bishops, priests, and deacons) and others with looking after their own families (priests and deacons with families and lay fathers). Let us also reflect on how important fathers are in teaching their sons to be gentlemen and good Christians - a task that can be very difficult in today’s world with its culture of self-obsession! Having good strong male role models is important for boys as I have seen many issues arise in schools with male students where the father has either been absent or does not particularly care about how their sons grow up! Also, let us pray for fathers who like Saint Joseph have taken on the care of another’s children. Let us reflect on what a difficult role they must have at times and also thank God that there are men like these who are willing to take on bringing up step children as their own.
In conclusion, let us pray for fathers that they may be helped by the All Holy Trinity to do the best by their children whether they be spiritual fathers (bishops, priests, and deacons) or fathers with families (priests and deacons with families, and lay fathers). Also, let us pray for fathers (spiritual or lay) that are going through difficult times that the All Holy Trinity will guide them and lead them to the best possible solution to their problems.
Troparion of Saint Joseph the Betrothed in tone two:
Proclaim the wonder, O Joseph,
to David, the ancestor of God:
you saw a Virgin great with Child,
you gave glory with the shepherds,
you worshipped with the Magi,
you received the news from the angel.
Pray to Christ God to save our souls!
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