“A greater model for the men”

 

St. Joseph the Quiet Man

I.Today we celebrate the feast of St Joseph the Worker. Ano ba puede nating masabi tungkol kay St Joseph? Wala masyado. Actually, we know very little about him. Kakaunti ang alam natin tungkol sa kanya.

A.      Una, alam natin na siya ay nagmula sa angkan ni Haring David. Na siya ay naging asawa ni Maria. A good husband and a good lover to Mary, and a good foster father to Jesus.

-          Di natin alam kung kelan siya namatay at kung papano. Pero sabi ng mga Biblical scholars,  most probably he died while Jesus was a teenager.

-          At may isang beautiful painting,  a Renaissance painting about the death of Joseph. Duon sa painting makikita si Maria at Hesus na nasa tabi Joseph nuong siya ay malapit ng mamatay. Pero di tiyak kung talagang naruon si Maria at Hesus sa tabi niya nuong siya ay namatay. Pero malamang  naruon nga sa tabi niya si Maria at si Hesus ng siya ay mamatay.

B.       Pangalawa, alam natin na si San Jose ay isang taong napakatahimik. He was a quiet man. In the four Gospels,  writers do not record a single word spoken by Joseph. Ni isang salita walang natala na may sinabi siya.

-          Joseph was a quiet man. He was never in the headlines, hindi mo mababasa ang pangalan niya sa mga newspapers. He never ran for office, ni hindi siya naging barangay captain o tanod.

-          Joseph just did what God wanted of him. He just did what God wanted of him, in his own quiet and strong way. Kung anuman ang pinagagawa ng Diyos sa kanya, ginawa niya ng tahimik at mahusay. Yan ang kailangan natin ngayon sa panahon natin – we need leaders, men who are strong and quiet. Tahimik pero maaasahan.

C.       Pangatlo, alam natin na si San Jose ay isang manggagawa,. A  worker,  a hard worker for that matter–a  craftsman, a carpenter – hindi lamang basta  karpintero. Kundi  isang mahusay na karpintero. Ang tawag sa kanya ng kanyang mga kapitbahay – si Jose na karpintero.

-          At hindi rin mataas ang kanyang pinag-aralan. Hindi siya bar passer. Ni hindi siya high school graduate. Siguro tama lang yong marunong siyang bumasa, sumulat at bumilang. At ang alam niya lang ay kung ano ang itinuturo sa sinagoga.

-          Pero kailangan niyang magtrabaho, because he had a wife to support and a foster son, that God had given him.

D.      Ikaapat, Joseph was a man of prayer. A man who knows how to pray. When he was confused whether to take Mary  or not, and he didn’t know what to do, he prayed. Si Jose ay isang madasaling tao. At  malamang palagi niyang kasama-sama si Maria at si Hesus sa pagdarasal at pagsisimba sa sinagoga.

II.Mga kapatid, if we are to summarized, Joseph was a great saint – patron and protector of the Church. A good husband to Mary. A good father to Jesus. And a hard worker.

-          And lastly, Joseph serves as a greater model for the men of our time.  Si Jose ay huwaran ng lahat ng kalalakihan sa panahon natin ngayon.

-          Kaya ang tanong sa lahat ng kalalakihan, katulad ba tayo ni Joseph? Are we good men like Joseph, prayerful, quiet and yet strong? Are we good husbands? Are we good fathers? Are we good workers?

-          Kayong mga kababaihan na wala pang asawa, kung maghahanap kayo, hanapin ang katulad ni St Joseph,  a quiet and yet strong man, a man who works hard and a man who knows how to pray.