Christmas 2

Matthew 2:13-23 - Christmas Two - January 4, 2015         
Our Father Guards His Children

Joseph was a just man.  Just means righteous.  This is what St. Matthew calls him when he reports how Joseph had the mind to secretly divorce his young betrothed wife.  He of course knew that he was not the father of the Child she was carrying, and supposed that Mary had behaved unchastely.  But he was a just man.  He was concerned about not publicly shaming her.  That’s why he sought to secretly divorce her – that is, until the angel assured him that she had conceived by the Holy Spirit. 

Joseph was a just man:  This has a double meaning.  The first is the more important.  And the second flows from the first.  But the two meanings go together.  The first refers to the righteousness by which he stood before God by faith, given to him as a free gift in Christ.  The second refers to the righteousness of the sanctified life, which he did before men in response to the free gift.  Joseph was righteous by faith.  He was also a just man in word and deed.  Righteous men do righteous things.  Go figure.