Come Joseph! Bring Jesus!
One
On top of Mount Calvary, Our Lord defeated Satan once and for all. We are all familiar with this story of Love, death and resurrection, the climax of a story that began in Genesis. But it is easy to forget that between Eden and Calvary, there were many other battlefields between God’s people and the Devil. St. Joseph was, and is, a key figure in the final defeat of the Devil.
When Joseph fled Herod and led the Holy Family through the desert, he thwarted Herod’s diabolic plan to destroy Christ. Trusting that God would guide his path, St. Joseph led the Holy Family into Egypt, a country that symbolized idolatry, sin, and slavery to the people of God. And thus Joseph brought the savior of the world to the most bitter enemy of Israel to begin his life’s work.
Centuries earlier, Isaiah prophesied, “Behold the Lord will ascend upon a swift cloud, and will enter into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst thereof (Is 19:1). Blessed Januarius Sarnelli exclaims, “How thou, St. Joseph, did rejoice to have always near you God himself, and to see the idols of the Egyptians fall prostrate to the ground before him.” (Consecration to St. Joseph, Fr. Daniel Calloway, p. 20) But the idols that fell in Egypt have been raised and worshipped again in America. When the words of God are considered hate speech, when Churches and sacred images are attacked and vandalized, when confusion reigns and hatred and division are rampant, we know that ours is a time of trial. In these closing months of the year of St. Joseph, let us cry out, “Come Joseph! Bring Jesus!”
Two
Our modern idols are perhaps of a different nature than the huge sand-stone statues of Egypt but they still possess the same cultural power and influence. Modern technology makes many good things possible. But Technology has also greatly mitigated our abilities to sit still, focus, and pray. It syphons our attention, keeping us distracted and isolated. This is why many people tell me they struggle to pray, and why many more don’t even realize they cannot pray. We are anxious regarding many things, and even when we don’t intend to waste our time, news sites or social media or sports or games all possess a strong, attractive influence that can sweep away our time. The fear of missing out is a very powerful temptation, and no one wants to be left out of what is happening, or even worse, to be forgotten or considered irrelevant. Yet, we are now so preoccupied, it’s hard not to make a comparison between our times and the times of Israel in Egypt when Pharoah kept the children of God so busy they couldn’t worship or serve the Lord. Oh Jesus, you entrusted yourself into the hands of St. Joseph and the Holy Family in hostile lands. Show us the way to this entrustment so we, too, can enjoy the freedom of rest in You.
Three
The first time I encountered the existence of a thing called a ‘selfie-stick,’ I was on a pilgrimage in Rome. My daughter Monica was with me and I remember commenting how surprised I was to see so many pilgrim and tourist groups catering to the blind because of all of the walking sticks people were carrying. “Dad,” she said disparagingly, “those aren’t walking sticks; they’re selfie sticks!” I was skeptical that anything like that existed, let alone that it was so popular. The camera has become ever present. We’ve become fascinated with ourselves and the fake audience in our heads, who we imagine seeing us and liking what they see. The camera has insinuated itself not only between us and the world, but between us and ourselves. We are witnessing a strange dangerous development in culture. As scholar D.C. Schindler observes, “the ‘Father who sees in secret’ has not only been replaced by Big Brother, with his extensive system of surveillance, but even Big Brother has ceded his place, in trusting confidence, to each person’s super ego” (Schindler, D. C. Love and the Postmodern Predicament: Rediscovering the Real in Beauty, Goodness, p. 10). The CCC points out that idolatry is the result of the enslavement to sin and the turning in on ourselves due to our selfishness (cf. #2097). We seem to be losing the human ability to experience the holy and transcendent Being who produces awe, wonder and fulfillment while reminding us of our own diminutive and humble place in the cosmos. We must rediscover the true fascination brought about by the infant laying asleep in the arms of his Mother, watched over by his meek and modest father, attended to by a myriad of angels. Only here can we escape the isolated boredom of self-absorption. Come Joseph! Bring Jesus!
Four
Sex is the preeminent idol of our time, the preeminent idol of all times. The Sacred Scriptures are brimming with passages on this great danger. St. Paul connects idolatry and sexual immorality explicitly in his letter to the Galatians, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5: 19-21). In this passage, in addition to his warnings of the dangers of sexual immorality and idolatry, St. Paul further offers the stern warning of Hell in his correction. And we, do we sufficiently fear the just judgements of God? Do we sufficiently fear these vicious habits which prevent us from encountering Christ and growing in love for one another? Do we seek to love God above all things to the point that we’re willing to allow Him to smash our idols? Come Joseph! Bring Jesus!
Five
On calvary Christ conquers all sin, all vice, Satan and all his allies. But this climax to the story is not the end. Just like Joseph, we have a part to play in this great story. And God’s fight for me, His constant romance seeking my love, will end one of two ways. I will either choose God or choose the Idols I have worshiped. If I don’t practice rejecting Idols every day, I stand the risk of falling into that routine and of self-absorption forever.
If we pay too much attention to sports and think they will make us happy in the end; If we pay too much attention to social media, and fear missing out if we take a break; If we pay too much attention to entertainment, or to news, and think our mundane life needs excitement. If we are addicted to sexual sin and can’t break free, I know a guy who wants to help. His name is Jesus. And His dad Joseph is pretty handy in those areas, too. So is his Wife. In fact, I am convinced that Jesus, Mary and Joseph are the only solution to our idolatrous predicament. We must spend time with them every day and ask for help. If we build that habit, we will watch as the idols come crashing down. We will be happier, freer, and most importantly, we will be on the path to heaven. Come Joseph, Bring Jesus!