Speaking as a cabinetmaker, I have to say I hate seeing my patron portrayed as a soft ineffectual old man. It is symbolic of so much of the effeminacy of American Christian life, where church services are often 60% female. (The Eastern churches, by the way, don't have this problem.)
We know few details about Joseph. We don't even know that he was a carpenter; the Greek word used, "tekton," can also mean a mason or what we call a building contractor. We can be sure that he didn't have the rounded shoulders of a desk-worker. And his hands would have been knobby and scarred from rough work. His skin would have been brown and leathery. His hair would not have been blow-dried and fluffy. He was probably the strong leader of an extended family, with uncles and aunts and cousins and nephews all working as a team. (Before modern times everyone would have assumed that "Joseph and Mary" was shorthand for a household of many people. There weren't any nuclear families.)
Most of all we can assume he would have been MANLY, in the good sense of the word. Not macho or loud, but very dangerous if his family was threatened. And no pushover in business negotiations. (Nazareth was four miles from Sepphoris, the largest city in Galilee.)
What a magnificent Saint - totally humble, chaste, obedient, courageous, masculine, tender - St Joseph encapsulates every virtue.
ReplyDeleteWithout speaking much he says all that needs to be said. He is a wonderful example and model for all of us.
Speaking as a cabinetmaker, I have to say I hate seeing my patron portrayed as a soft ineffectual old man. It is symbolic of so much of the effeminacy of American Christian life, where church services are often 60% female. (The Eastern churches, by the way, don't have this problem.)
ReplyDeleteWe know few details about Joseph. We don't even know that he was a carpenter; the Greek word used, "tekton," can also mean a mason or what we call a building contractor. We can be sure that he didn't have the rounded shoulders of a desk-worker. And his hands would have been knobby and scarred from rough work. His skin would have been brown and leathery. His hair would not have been blow-dried and fluffy. He was probably the strong leader of an extended family, with uncles and aunts and cousins and nephews all working as a team. (Before modern times everyone would have assumed that "Joseph and Mary" was shorthand for a household of many people. There weren't any nuclear families.)
Most of all we can assume he would have been MANLY, in the good sense of the word. Not macho or loud, but very dangerous if his family was threatened. And no pushover in business negotiations. (Nazareth was four miles from Sepphoris, the largest city in Galilee.)
One of my most favorite Saints!
ReplyDeleteHeroic and Holy.
Imagine how Vibrant and Alive the Church would be if there were more Catholic men, TODAY, like St. Joseph.
(And women who followed Our Blessed Mother Mary)
http://tsahaylu.blogspot.com/2012/03/feast-day-of-st-joseph.html