Year A :Lent 4 Wednesday 2026, St Joseph Observed

 Year A Lent 4, WEDNESDAY, 18 March 2026

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

St Joseph, Observed

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.

Luke 2:41-52

Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 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. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

Today we are going to pause and think about one of the great heroes of our faith, one who was asked to step aside, swallow his pride, and maybe take 2nd fiddle. This is a rare ask in Scripture to not be a leader, but rather a faithful follower. He is one that we should not skip over lightly.

Tomorrow (Thursday the 19th), is the feast day of St Joseph, Jesus’ earthly adopted father. St Joseph is the patron saint of the Universal Church, workers, fathers, families, and a happy death. As the foster father of Jesus and husband of Mary, he is revered as a protector, guardian of virgins, and patron of various professions, including carpenters and travelers. Being patron of the Universal Church makes sense because he was the protector of Jesus, and his mother Mary. Hard to have the Church Universal without either of them. And the Church is Christ’s body now, we are taught. Being patron of carpenters and workers makes sense, because he was one. I had to look up why he is the patron of a happy death. According to Catholic tradition, he died in the arms of Jesus and Mary, so was able to pass peacefully to his eternal reward. I really liked that imagery.

Joseph is the definition of a stand-up guy. He did the right thing, and even went above and beyond to protect Mary when her reputation was in doubt. His fiancee is pregnant, and what did he do? Matthew chapter 1 tells us his story, as he follows the patriarchal line that led from Abraham, to David, to Joseph. Jesus was seen in that lineage, and Joseph was seen in that royal lineage and was also seen as righteous. 

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ 22 All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23 ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

    and they shall name him Emmanuel’,

which means, ‘God is with us.’ 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

He was a righteous man, and despite the male ego, he was unwilling to expose her to public disgrace and planned to quietly divorce her, or dismiss her. Even in his disappointment, he tried to do the right thing. And then came the dream. The dream that would change the course of his life. Take Mary as your wife. Raise the child whom you will name Emmanuel, “God with us.” Or maybe Jesus? He was told both. Mary in Luke was told to name him Jesus, which means God (or YHWH) saves. 

We jump in what we know to the flight into Egypt when Joseph was warned in a dream to escape Herod to save Jesus and Mary. Starting to see a pattern here?

Joseph was a man of discernment. He knew when he was hearing from God, and when he was not. Has God ever spoken to you in a dream? Could you tell the difference from your subconscious and from God? We often do not speak of the mystical like this, but Joseph certainly did.

We next catch sight of him in our reading for the day, when they took Jesus up to the Temple, and accidentally left him there. And I wonder how it struck his ears when he heard this boy he was raising as his own say, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” It goes on to say they did not understand what he said to them. But again, was there a sting after how he cared for him and raised him as his own?

That is the last we hear of Joseph in our Scripture. Some time between age 12 of Jesus and thirty, Joseph leaves the story. It is mostly assumed that he dies. We do not know how. We do not know when. As I shared, in Catholic tradition, he does die in Jesus’ and Mary’s arms, content. I find that beautiful. 

So Joseph. What’s the big deal? I think we have to fill in the cracks with the scant things we do know:

1. He was chosen by God for a role unlike any other. God chose Joseph, and Joseph was asked to step out on faith. Thanks be to God he did!

 

2. Joseph listened to God. He was open to promptings of the Holy Spirit, even in dreams. He listened, and he obeyed. Maybe God chose him because of that? I think that may be the case.

3. And probably most importantly, Joseph was a righteous man. Of all the men in this world, God chose Joseph to be the one who would raise, protect, and teach this one given into his care, the most precious one in the history of the world. Wow! More than Ferris Bueller, Joseph was a righteous dude.

So think on that, as we listen to God. God calls us to something, I truly believe. Every single one of us. We are asked to listen, and then to obey. God will speak to us in a way that we will hear. And we are called to righteousness, to be upright in what we do and who we are inside where only God can see. Joseph loved God enough for God to call him to this singular role.

Tomorrow, on his feast day, think on the miracle that was St Joseph. Amen