Joseph’s Role

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dreams, generosity, God is calling, inner voice, intuition, love, prayer, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Joseph, husband of Mary who brought Jesus into the world, has a very small speaking part in the gospels. He is very often called “the silent one” which is not the easiest part to play in any situation. We do speak of some men as the “strong, silent type” and that is seen as a good thing but more because of the descriptive strong rather than silent. (And they are usually handsome as well!) One might think of Joseph as one “waiting in the wings” for his moment to shine, but that is not true! Joseph is always ready – listening – for God’s word in his life and obedient at every turn. His obedience to messages that some would have dismissed immediately had to come from deep within himself and from the conviction of how God worked in his life – always for his good and the good of those he loved.

Sometimes we are also called to trust our intuition, our dreams and the sense that God is calling us to something we would not have chosen, perhaps, but what seems an important next step. We would do well to imitate Joseph, standing silent, waiting for God to speak and trusting our inner voice that flows from a life of prayer and generosity in love.

In the Silence, Listening

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, God, God is calling, Luke, Lynn Bauman, Romans, silence, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I awoke this morning from a dream of snow. It was so real I had to get up and look out the window to find it truly a dream. Our first snow is predicted for later in this week but not yet…not quite yet. I love the symbol of snow as a new beginning. I have no idea where I first heard that but I keep it close as a wake-up call. This morning it was so vivid in my dream that I believe God is calling, and the readings certainly corroborate the feeling. Paul’s Letter to the Romans says that we have differing gifts and we ought to use them. (See ROM 12: 5-16) and Luke calls us to pay attention when God invites us to dinner. If we refuse by making excuses, our seats may be taken by others. (LK 14: 15-24). In order to hear God’s invitation, however, I find the humility of the psalmist the most vivid instruction, speaking to me in Lynn Bauman’s translation of Psalm 131. Please read it aloud.

Lord, I have little or nothing. I am no one and can bring nothing to you at all. I am only a simple human being; I understand little of earth’s great affairs. But I know this, that I must still my soul in quietness, and like a child who rests upon its mother’s breast, await your presence in the silence, listening, and in this waiting silence, remain awake forever. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 336)