The father, holding in his arms the Child,
From the concerns of carpentry is called
Away into the greater Art — the pain
Of joining for a house not his, not bone
Of his bone, flesh of flesh, but his by love.
To foster any child is to assent.
The dark night is hot and humid; a baby wails repeatedly. The mother’s strength is utterly spent; the husband gets up. Gently lifting the infant, he walks the floor, just slowly. Tucked under the protective beard that muffles a baritone lullaby, the baby’s little head drifts into sleep. What blessed assurance in the night! My dad! He loves me!
Did Joseph similarly console the baby Jesus on unfamiliar Summer nights in Egypt? If so, as we can well imagine, dual comforting for both these exiles: Joseph, away from his homeland, and the little child Jesus, apart from His true Home,! Of course, Jesus knew that God the Father loved Him; He and the Father were one. The love of Jesus in eternal exchange with His heavenly Father also went out in love to His careful guardian, and so formed the fatherly heart of Joseph. Through Himself, Jesus gave the gift of God’s presence to Joseph, in whose strong, gentle presence He, the boy Jesus, was able to thrive. Each could say, with joy and gratitude about the other one: “He loves me!”
A blessing given; a blessing received in “He loves me!” Through Jesus, Joseph himself would have known that God had chosen and favored the Israelite people, and, specifically, that he was himself loved by God. Jesus would have learned Shabbat customs and acceptable manners. Jesus would have dared Joseph to trust the Lord, to have the courage to accept God’s love, even while He was protected and guided by Joseph’s righteous example. Mary’s love for both Jesus and Joseph united in a holy trifecta their Holy Family. How much did each learn about the ways of love from one another, both human and divine, in their Nazareth home in the hidden years!
The exchange is sacred. Heart speaks to heart, both in human relationships and also between God and man, where, as in Mary’s magnificat: “My soul magnifies the Lord! And my spirit rejoices in God my savior!” Joseph heard and surely sang along with her, even as he might have once sung a similar magnificat while comforting a fussy baby Jesus, who was unhappy, perhaps, about returning to the land of Egypt.
Through faithful obedience and generous service, our natural loves become sweeter. All is transformed through the supernatural indwelling of Christ, who loves us. Expanded and recorded in John 14:23 the human vocation of Love, in every dimension, is unveiled: Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my Word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”
Everyone can choose to live in the sublime knowledge that “He loves me!” and respond with gratitude and gladness. In the concluding words of a less heavenly, but nevertheless favorite song by the Beatles: “…with a love like that, you know you must be glad!”
Ruth D. Lasseter
SDC Associate
Indiana, USA
