Dec. 19: Two Josephs: Family Protectors

Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Luc-Olivier Merson, 1879. Oil on canvas, 71.8 x 128.3 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts. Public domain.

“Joseph’s Carol” from the album The Nativity. Performed by Voce Chamber Singers with Elin Manahan Thomas. Composed by Patrick Hawes.

Poetry:

“Recitative”from For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio
by W.H. Auden

Fly, Holy Family, from our immediate rage,
That our future may be freed from our past; retrace
The footsteps of law-giving
Moses, back through the sterile waste,

Down to the rotten kingdom of Egypt, the damp
Tired delta where in her season of glory our
Forefathers sighed in bondage;
Abscond with the Child to the place

That their children dare not revisit, to the time
They do not care to remember; hide from our pride
In our humiliation;
Fly from our death with our new life.

TWO JOSEPHS: FAMILY PROTECTORS

My nephew Joe is named after his great grandfather Joseff. This gesture reminds our family of a legacy of kindness, truth, hard work, and loving protection––all characteristics of my grandfather. Joe’s name jolts our familial memory, it enables us to link the present day to the past and encourages us to remember the Lord’s faithfulness when he called my grandfather Joseff out of the darkness of his unbelief into the freedom and protection offered by the Gospel.

Today’s readings also link two Josephs; Old Testament Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers and New Testament Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. Our theological memory is jolted not by their shared name alone, but also by a shared location. In both accounts, we see the Josephs following the Lord’s guidance and experiencing the Lord's protection and blessing in the most unlikely setting - Egypt. Old Testament Joseph confesses to his brothers that God’s plans were to ‘preserve life’. He says, “God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance“(Genesis 45:7, KJV). The focus of Joseph’s words is on the Lord acting through his servant Joseph to bring about a deliverance from famine, not through any power and authority of Joseph alone. Similarly, in our New Testament reading Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, is directed by an angel in a dream to move his family to safety, he is told to ‘fleeto Egypt’. Again, the focus is on the Lord’s direction and not on the ability of Joseph to solve a problem. How often do we worry, invent, and reinvent plans to fix situations that arise in our day to day lives? May we be reminded by the two Josephs that the Lord God holds all nations in his hands and directs the futures of both individuals and states with equity and wisdom––He will direct our paths.

Today’s poem connects the Egypt of our two Josephs with a history of bloodshed:

Abscond with the Child to the place
That their children dare not revisit

There is precedent for Herod’s edict. The fleeing Holy Family reminds the poet Auden, not only of the captivity of the Israelite people in Egypt, but also of Pharaoh’s parallel command in Exodus 1:16 for midwives to kill the male Israelite children. In these biblical accounts, the constancy of Yahweh’s covenantal love is revealed in the most unlikely of places––he protects his people. He turns a place of death into a refuge of life. Egypt, once a threatening place for God’s people, becomes the safe haven for the Holy Family as they flee Herod’s wrath.

Look at today’s artwork. See how the Sphinx acknowledges with an upward gaze that the work of protecting the sojourning Messiah is directed by the Almighty, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. He who places and numbers the stars in the sky, places the Holy Family out of the reach of Herod––in Egypt.

It is true that my nephew Joe reminds our family of another Joseff from the past. However, his name, meaning “He adds or increases,” also points to the future. We see glimpses of this generational hope in our readings today. The Lord who protected Old Testament Joseph and New Testament Joseph and their families will similarly guide and protect his future people for the extension of his Kingdom and ultimately for his glory. Let that be a generational hope for us all!

Prayer in Praise of God:
You are holy, Lord, the only God,
and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father, are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good,
Lord God, living and true.
You are love.
You are wisdom.
You are humility.
You are endurance.
You are rest.
You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty.
You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.
You are our courage.
You are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, great and wonderful Lord,
God Almighty, merciful Savior.
Amen.
––––Francis of Assisi

Sian Draycott
Instructor
Torrey Honors College
Biola University

For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, please visit our website via the link in our bio.