Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy
upon me a sinner.
The liturgical
calendar of the Indian Orthodox Church commemorates the revelation to St Joseph
the Righteous (‘galyono-d-yawseph kino’) on the Sunday following the birth of
St John the Baptist during the Advent season.
St Joseph the
Righteous- here is one man of whom we do not see any recorded words in the Holy
Scripture but his actions speak volumes. Let us see his ‘ABC’s:
1) Action
over apathy
From
the little that we read about St Joseph the Righteous in the Holy Scripture, we
can sense that he was a ‘doer’ and not merely a ‘listener’ of God’s commandments.
Without any counter-questions or delay, he obeyed God’s will when the angel
told him about the virgin birth of our Lord and to take St Mary as his
wife (ref-St Matthew 1:20-24); he
responded affirmatively and immediately when the angel of the Lord asked him to
take the young Child and His mother to Egypt to escape Herod’s plan to murder
the infants (ref St Matthew 2:13-14); he did what the angel told him about
returning to Israel post the death of Herod (ref St Matthew 2:19-21); he obeyed
God’s warning and settled in the region of Galilee- in a city called Nazareth
(ref St Matthew 2:22-23).
St
Joseph the Righteous life teaches us that merely listening to God’s Word isn’t
enough, it’s when we act on it that our obedience is counted, and our patience
tested. We do not see him validating pros and cons of God’s commandments. St
Joseph simply obeys and acts. And yes, it wasn’t easy for St Joseph. He would have
been the laughing stock in his community when they saw St Mary-the Theotokos
with the Child. They would have thought that he is the father, them being
unaware of the virgin birth of our Lord. People would have said things like - ‘see
the old man’s lust!’ and what not.
We
may feel repentant and upbeat after hearing a sermon in the church. We may get
moving spiritual messages through social media during this Advent season. However,
if we are not able to transform our feelings we received from our senses into
actions i.e. transforming our life or ways of living, then we are like the
seeds that fell on the stony ground and among the thorns (ref St Matthew 13;
Parable of the Sower). When tribulations came, or the worldly charm engulfed
us, we allowed the feeble repentant voice to be subdued forever.
Like
the seeds that fell on good ground, if we hear God’s Word, embrace it,
transform and persevere in the journey, we may be able to produce fruit as the
grace of God allows (ref St Mathew 13:23).
How
many times have we chosen apathy and subdued our inner voice because that was
perceived to be difficult?
2) Benevolence over bitterness
We
love to point shortcomings in others either publicly highlighting them or by
talking/gossiping about it. Have we ever thought of privately discussing such
topic in a respectful and gentle manner with our spouse rather than sharing it
with relatives or being disrespectful to our better halves in public places?
During
the Advent season, we see the children being very excited to make the crib with
Infant Jesus, the Theotokos, St Joseph, shepherds and animals. Yes, the story
of a family is not just about a mother and a child. It includes the father as
well. If the role of a father in the life of a newborn and new mother wouldn’t
have been of importance we would not have seen St Joseph in the picture.
The
topic of mental health is always a taboo more so if it is case of women. The
emotional, physical, mental pressure during childbirth does strain a mothers’
physical well-being particularly mental health. Following childbirth, a
significant number of women silently suffer what is known as postnatal
depression or postpartum depression- a feeling of hopelessness, mood-swings,
bouts of anger, feeling trapped and in some extreme cases- doing harm to self
and the baby. This is compounded by the fact that our societies place the onus
of raising the children exclusively on the mothers.
Babycare
isn’t strictly ‘natural’- one needs to learn it. While your wife and now a new
mother is learning at it; what has been your contribution as a new father? You
might have had a hard day at work, but it is many times harder to manage a baby.
Being empathetic to your wife, asking her how her day went, trying to spend
more time with the baby while she can have rest are some of the ways to share the new parenting challenges.
During
this Advent season, ponder whether you have allowed bitterness to engulf you or
have you been benevolent to your spouse and children during this journey of fulfilling marital and parenting responsibilities?
3) Calling over career
Fatherhood,
be it biological or spiritual, is a calling. How many have given 10% of the
importance to this ‘calling’ the way it is given to their careers? We know from
the Holy Scriptures that St Joseph the Righteous was a carpenter. It would seem
a big monetary loss to forego a career and run to Egypt to protect the
Theotokos and the Child and then come back as the angel advised. However, for
St Joseph, it was the calling that was more important than the profession.
In
St Joseph, we see a religious and pious man who took care of the spiritual
needs of the family. We see the simple family following all the applicable
religious tenets of that time (like presenting the Child in the Temple)- “So
when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned
to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.” (St Luke 2:39). It was in St Joseph’s
home that the ‘Child grew and became strong in spirit’ (St Luke 2:40). We see
the family going to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of Passover (St Luke
2:41).
St
Joseph the Righteous’ life is a great example for the fathers to emulate. Some
questions for the fathers to ponder upon this Advent season-
Am I living out
the calling of being the leader/head of my family? Am I giving the right
spiritual atmosphere to my kids at home? Do I strive to deepen mine and my
family’s Orthodox faith/life through a sincere participation in the Holy
Eucharist? I always reach office at the
right time always but do I take the same initiative and energy to make my
family be in the church before namaskaaram starts?
May the prayers of St Joseph the Righteous help us to follow his 'ABC'.
Let us
spare a moment and pray:
Lord,
we entrust our fathers, grandfathers, and spiritual fathers in Your loving
care. By the prayers of St Joseph the Righteous, O Lord, help them to listen to
Your call, and bless them with godly wisdom and spiritual guidance to lead and
direct their children in Your path. Keep them away from all vices. Strengthen
them during periods of trial and temptation. O St Joseph, pray for us that we
may serve the Infant Christ in obedience and love especially opening our hearts
and arms to those who are weak, helpless, vulnerable and displaced.
************************
By
the intercessions of St Mary-the Theotokos and St Joseph the Righteous, may the
Lord have mercy upon us.
In
Christ,
Rincy
John
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