St Joseph Has Left the Building

Available for 5 days

Radio 4's daily prayer and reflection with Father Dermot Preston Good morning. In moments of calm I occasionally set a challenge for the A.I. on my browser. Not quite in the league of asking it for a cure for cancer or building a submarine using a 3D printer, but more on the lines of: • Write a short history of the Jesuits in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (…which it did very well); • or Find the connection between the Oscar-winning film ‘A Man for All Seasons’ and the children’s TV series ‘Thunderbirds’: (…it missed the obvious); • or Find a link between Elvis Presley and St Joseph: (…it couldn’t see one.) In the latter case, if it had turned-up something interesting, it might have helped me to segue into St Joseph, the main character in today’s Advent Gospel. Joseph was to become the legal Father of the baby Jesus, but as St Matthew explains, the suspicious circumstances of Mary’s pregnancy were inclining him to back-away from the relationship and divorce her informally. However, in today’s scripture, Joseph is approached in a dream by the Angel of the Lord who prompts him to marry Mary as planned. The courageous response to a dangerous assignment places Joseph high in the company of Saints. He didn’t write any books and we have no records of anything he said, but he gives us a profound model of holiness not through any wise words, but by his conduct. But there we have it: perhaps Elvis does have a connection with St Joseph. A little less conversation, a little more action? Lord, although our words this day will be important, let it be by our deeds that we emphasise our commitment to your truth. Amen.