St Pauls on the Hill Ossining NY in Westchester

Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion located in Ossining NY in Westchester County

  • News
  • Calendar
  • Sunday Services
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • What is an Episcopalian
    • The Episcopal Mission & Membership
    • Ecumenical/Inter-Religious Relations
    • Clergy & Staff
    • St. Paul’s Leadership
    • St. Paul’s Mission & History
  • Sunday School & Education
  • Worship
    • Worship
    • Recorded Church Services
    • Sermon Archives
    • Renewal Works
  • Church & Community
    • Church & Community
    • Acolytes & Altar Service
    • Altar Guild
    • New Beginnings Micro-Fund
    • Ossining Emergency Shelter
  • Music
    • Music
    • Choir
    • Youth Music Program
  • Weddings, Baptism, Funerals
  • Facilities
    • Buildings & Grounds
    • Columbarium
    • Lantern Gift Shop
    • Parish Hall/Rental
    • Quiet Garden

Who Is Our Joseph?

December 12, 2019 By Lisa Rosenbloom

Bethlehem in Germany,
Glitter on the sloping roofs,

Panels of nativity
Open paper scenes where doors
Open into other scenes.

Leaning from the cliff of heaven,
Indicating whom he weeps for.
Joseph lifts his lamp above
The infant, like a candle crown.
Let my fingers touch the silence
Where the infant’s father cries.
Gjertrude Schnackenberg, Advent Calendar

Who is our Joseph, really? He is a figure familiar to us in crêche scenes and Advent calendars…but what do we really know about him?

Well, in Matthew’s Gospel, we are told that Joseph, the carpenter, is a descendent of King David and also of the great priest Zadok. He is betrothed to Mary and when he learns of her pregnancy he thinks “to divorce her quietly.” But shortly after this, we discover what really makes Joseph tick: he is a dreamer. Having decided to put Mary aside, he hears from God in a dream that the child is “of the Holy Spirit” and that he, Joseph, is to care for him and even to name Mary’s child. And that is what Joseph does. He cares for the Mary and Jesus. He names the child. And he follows two more dreams, one that leads the family to Bethlehem and another that leads them back.

So, in this Gospel, we know what Joseph does… but who is he? Is he fat or thin? Young or old? Rich or poor? Later writings will tell us he is an old widower. But other writings contradict that. Some extra canonical gospels paint him as reticent while others show him as the decisive guide to Jesus his son. Tradition has painted him as poor, while scholarship points to potential affluence on his part. It seems that Joseph will remain a man of mystery. Those things that we are told however, paint a picture of a man who is humble, obedient to God’s will, prudent, and loving.

Now why do I mention Joseph this month? Well, if anyone embodies Advent, I think it is Joseph. As Mary’s support and advocate prior to the birth, he holds even less power than she. 

And I would suggest that Advent is a time in which WE learn to live in the tension of powerless waiting. And the message Joseph offers us in Advent is “you don’t have to be rich or handsome or even particularly fit to live in tension and wait. All you need is to be humble, prudent, obedient to God and loving.”

So this season, do a little dreaming of your own. Trust your connection to God. Be aware of your own actions. Strive for humility, prudence, obedience to God, and love. Then, who knows maybe you can “touch the silence where the infant’s father cries” and find yourself in Bethlehem this Christmas.

Faithfully, Cooper+

Filed Under: Rev-Cooper, Sermons

Sunday Services: 9:45 AM
Compline: 7 PM (Mon-Sat)

See our YouTube Channel
Read our Newsletter

New to St. Paul's?

 

Acting Priest in Charge
The Rev. Dr. Charles D. Mayer

Parish Office Hours:
Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri | 10a.m.-2p.m

Church & Commmunity

Baptism Crown Apri 2018

We Episcopalians believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world. We believe that God loves you – no exceptions. We have a legacy of inclusion, … Read more

The Parish Hall

stpaulscourtyard

The Parish Hall  is a spacious facility available to rent for private occasions and public events.  Call 914.941.6627

The Lantern Gift Shop

lantern-shop-2The Lantern Gift Shop is a unique shop with something for everyone. (The Shop is closed due to the pandemic.) Call 914.941-4434 or 941.6627

St. Paul's on the Hill | 40 Ganung Drive | Ossining, New York 10562 | 914-941-6627 I © 2021