Story:
It was on the eve of December 24, a father decided to welcome the coming of Christmas with his family when friends came to invite him to drink outside. He promised his wife and son to be home soon. This was actually the last scene he could remember. He woke up the next day with a hangover. He did not remember how he got home. So he tried to figure out what happened on the night of December 24. He saw his son eating his breakfast and asked him, “Son, what happened last night?” “Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You fell over the coffee table and broke it.”
Confused, he asked his son again, “So, why I did not hear anything from your mom? Was she not mad at me?”
His son replied, “Well, when mom tried to put you to bed, you screamed, “Do not touch me, I have a family. Leave me alone, I have a wife and a kid.” That puts off mom’s anger!”
Fathers play an important role in their children’s lives. They (fathers) should remember that one day, their children will follow their example instead of their advice.
Scripture:
…take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:18-24)
Study:
My dear fellow believers, on this 4th day of Misa de Gallo, our Gospel speaks about Joseph, the human father of Jesus. Joseph is described as an upright man. Being upright, it means he was obedient to follow God’s commandments. Joseph knew the Law of Moses and one of which states if a man believed that his wife was not a virgin when he married her, he could have her judged by the elders of the city. If they found her guilty, she could be put to death (Deut. 2:13-21). As an upright person, he initially planned to divorce Mary. Yet at the same time he would like to make the divorce in secret because he loved Mary. In other words, Joseph was shown as a man who loves Mary (by planning to get a divorce in secret so that Mary would go unpunished) and loves God more (by showing obedience to God’s law). Because of his uprightness and obedience to God, he was chosen by God to become the foster father of Jesus. An angel in his dream revealed to him the will of God to take Mary as his wife; she will bear the son of God, and he shall call his name Jesus.
To go deeper in our reflection, we can find a kind of example Joseph would show as a father to Jesus. Joseph proved to be the worthy person to act as the human father of Jesus through his obedience to God. Jesus as we all know from the Bible is obedient to God, obedient even until His death. Jesus’ obedience may be a mystery for some faithful, but may we give credit to the role of Joseph as a father who set an example of obedience to Jesus in His younger years. I have mentioned this earlier, and I will mention this again as Joseph proved this through Jesus: every father should remember that one day, his children will follow his example instead of his advice.
I know we all have fathers. But I do not know how many of us have responsible fathers. If you want to check whether you are a responsible father or you have a responsible father, try to recall at least five good memories you have of your father when you were a child. Yes, we need fathers who are willing to commit themselves to father their children. Yes, the world needs responsible fathers like St. Joseph. We demand fathers to be responsible and take care of their family for better and for worse.
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