|
|
|
One of the lost passages of the Jewish Scriptures is the response that Moses’ wife gave to the question posed by a newspaper reporter as the Exodus was nearing its completion. While Moses lay dying on the plain overlooking the Promise Land and with Joshua preparing to lead the Hebrew people into the Promised Land, the reporter asked Moses’ wife: “So, why did it take your husband 40 years to lead the Hebrew people across the desert?” Her response? “Because the schlemiel refused to stop and ask anyone for directions like I kept telling him to!” It’s one of those “guy things.” Real men never stop to ask for directions because real men are supposed to be fiercely independent and always “in charge.” For real men, stopping and asking someone else for directions is tantamount to demonstrating weakness or admitting one’s needs. A “girlie man” maybe, but certainly not a “real man”! Mythologies like these are funny, aren’t they, and we chuckle not because these myths are absurd but because they are rooted in the real experience of real people…perhaps the guy seated right next to you. I’m sure most of us know at least one “real man.” There’s another one of these male myths, one that is just as rooted in real experience. This particular myth, however, doesn’t square with Scripture, especially today’s gospel. What is this myth? “Real men aren’t holy.” How do we see these real men in our experience? These guys don’t read scripture. They also don’t pray. These “real men” don’t discuss their faith or religious questions with anyone. And, they certainly don’t confess their sins. Why? Because real men don’t need God. Steeled to be invulnerable, these guys trust only in themselves and the delusion that they can control everything. In their daily relationships―what these real men call their “work lives”―they will lie, cheat, steal, and may even lead double lives so, they argue, they can “get an edge up,” “close the deal,” or “ace out” someone contending for a prized promotion, pay raise, or big commission. For these real men, God and His divine power are largely irrelevant except, of course, for God’s name…which comes in very handy when these real men need to express their anger and frustration as well as the dissatisfaction and unhappiness they have with themselves and project onto everyone else. Unfortunately, you may have noticed, this myth isn’t so funny and it didn’t cause anyone to chuckle. In fact, it’s a rather tragic myth because God, who has created each of these guys, has also called each of them to holiness of life. Somewhere along the line, these guys lost sight of this fact. And, the evidence of their godless priorities is written all over faces. They don’t have a genuine smile; they are always super serious; their eyes dart all over the place because they don’t want anyone looking them straight in the eye for fear someone might recognize what’s really going on behind the mask these real men wear; and, they’re far more comfortable dealing with their PDA’s than with any real human being. Had St. Joseph been a real man, the minute he was told that his fiancée, Mary, had conceived a baby, Joseph would have hired a good Jewish lawyer and taken Mary to court. According to Jewish law, Mary’s adultery required that Joseph’s rights be restored through a divorce decree and compensation. But, because Mary didn’t have any property to compensate Joseph for the pain, suffering, and embarrassment she cause him, the price Mary might have had to pay for her act of infidelity could have been ultimate penalty called for by the law, that is, death by stoning. After all, the evidence was irrefutable. “Mary is a harlot and deserves death like any other prostitute.” At least, that’s the way real men of Joseph’s day saw it. As we heard in today’s gospel, Joseph was tempted by the myth that real men aren’t holy. Matthew tells us: “Before Mary and Joseph lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention….” But, quite inexplicably for the real men of his day, Joseph didn’t act upon his intention and subject Mary to the courts and divorce proceedings. No, when Mary announced the fateful news of her pregnancy, Joseph didn’t look at the situation through the eyes of real men who demand what justice requires. No, putting love of God first and allowing this perspective to shape how he looked upon even life-changing events like Mary’s unplanned pregnancy, Joseph looked at these events through God’s eyes and did what love of God and neighbor required. It all began then with a dream and, when Joseph awoke from that dream, he was clueless about what the future would bring. Yet, being a holy man, Joseph courageously accepted God’s call to be a father. Then, turning his back on what any real man finding himself in a similar situation would do, Joseph forever changed the course of human history. He invited Emmanuel―the “God who is with us”―into his home along with his mother, Mary. As only a holy man can do, Joseph raised his son, nurturing Jesus into the fullness of his humanity. It was Joseph who taught Jesus of that very special paternal relationship and bond of love that only a father who is holy man can provide with his children. It was through this relationship that Joseph taught Jesus to be equally close to God. As scripture attests, Jesus called God “Father” whenever he prayed. And so, Dads, what God telling you to do in your dreams? Is your example teaching your children what it means to be holy? Is the way you relate to your children one they would recognize as how God relates with His children? How do you invite the “God who is with us” into your home? It was the holy man, Joseph, who taught Jesus his first lessons about what holiness requires. Joseph instilled in Jesus virtues like being courageous and having fortitude by standing up for the truth, even in the face of death. Evidently, Joseph was a good teacher because scripture attests not only to the holiness of Joseph’s son but also to Jesus’ courage and fortitude when he stood up for the truth, even when the real men of his world called Jesus a criminal and sought to have him executed. And so, Dads, what is God telling you telling you to do in your dreams? Do your words and example teach your children what it means to be virtuous, to be courageous, to have fortitude when standing for the truth as well as for love, honor, and justice? Do the lessons you teach your children help them to understand that by doing these things they will experience the “God who is with us” even when the real men of their world hate them, call them names, marginalize them, or seek to have them fired? Real men recognized Jesus as the “carpenter’s son.” While Joseph did teach Jesus a work ethic and how to improve and perfect his trade, Joseph also taught his son to give a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay. More importantly, however, Joseph allowed Jesus to pursue his own dreams and to respond to God’s vocation for him. Jesus was the “carpenter’s son” who became a rabbi. And so, Dads, what is God telling you to do in your dreams? Are your children learning a proper work ethic from your devotion and fidelity, first, to your wife and, second, your dedication to providing for your family’s needs? Are your children learning how to use their talents to provide not only for their own and other’s needs but also to extend God’s Kingdom through the work of their hands? And, are you teaching your children to respond to God’s personal call to holiness by seeing their entire life as one of giving glory to God? Are you helping them to discover this mystery revealing itself in their lives? Yep, it’s one of those “guy things.” While real men never stop to ask for directions because these guys are fiercely independent and always “in charge,” only a holy man can be the real father to his children that Joseph was to his son, Jesus. For a real man, stopping and asking someone else for directions is to demonstrate weakness or to admit that one needs something. Being a father is a wonderful vocation―a mysterious invitation heard in one’s dreams and transformed into a living reality by responding to God’s call and following God’s lead into an unknown place where “God is with us”―as every holy man knows. It isn’t all “peaches and cream,” but only a holy man can teach his children these things and, because of this man’s witness, his children see, know, and love the “God who is with us.” Like his ancestor, “Joseph the Dreamer” whose brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, this good and upright man, “Joseph the Worker,” was serious about accepting God’s call to holiness of life, even in the most difficult and trying moments of his life. And, because Joseph responded to his dream by accepting God’s call to holiness, “Emmanuel”―the “God who is with us”―had a “holy man” for a father. A real man would have laughed at his dream and had Mary stoned to death. In this Eucharist, as we prepare for the birth of Emmanuel―the “God who is with us”―let us remember and honor those holy men who are our fathers. Let us pray for them and recommit ourselves to build on the legacy of faith they have taught us. Let us pray for their forgiveness when they have fallen short of their important and very necessary goal. But let us not forget that, just as Joseph forever changed the course of human history because he was a holy man and saw things through God’s eyes and welcomed the “God who is with us” into his house, so we can give thanks to God for these holy men who forever changed the course of human history by making God’s presence and love known to us. They didn’t seek to be real men as the world defined that but, instead, never stopped seeking to be the holy men God called them to be for their children.
Now, a very brief commercial announcement... When I find a resource I believe might be useful for parishioners' spiritual lives, I like to let them know about it. Normally, I post them to my "Resources for Catholic Living" website (www.homepage.villanova.edu/richard.jacobs/homilies/). This past week, I found two resources I believe might be of particular and timely interest that I'm making special note of them here as well as on the "Resources for Catholic Living" website.
Additional resources for Catholic living are available on my webpage. Check them out by clicking on the button:
|
|
|
HOMILY
