Sunday after Nativity, St. Joseph

I wish you all a Merry Christmas. You know, way

back when, in the 1600s in Massachusetts, in

the Massachusetts Bay Company, where the Puritans

were, you know, they famously forbade the celebration,

well, of any holiday, including Christmas. I

don't want to go into the reasons why, but I

think it's kind of ironic that Thanksgiving got

away from them, as did Christmas. I'm so grateful

that we have in the church 40 days to prepare

for Christmas, spiritually to prepare, materially

to prepare, in every way to prepare a fast. And

then Christmas comes, and we have these 12 days

from Christmas to theophany to celebrate. It

doesn't just end. It warms the soul, this celebration.

It keeps the message of salvation and God's love

in front of us. But brothers and sisters, these

12 days of Christmas, to honor them, to focus

on them, to celebrate them, the various saints

and events, it takes an intentional spiritual

act to do it. It can get away from us very quickly,

and pretty soon it's all over. And as Father

Michael... related in a sermon that he gave once,

talking to his neighbor, who said, I'll have

Christmas, but when it's over, it's a downer.

And Father Michael tried to tell this man, you

need to learn how to celebrate. But we all need

to learn how to celebrate because we all have

a little of that Puritan in us. Well, today,

on this seventh day of Christmas, this leave

-taking of Christmas, We celebrate the memory

of the righteous King David, who was the prophet

and psalmist. We celebrate the righteous Joseph

the Betrothed, whose icon is right here. And

James, the son of Joseph, called the brother

of God. Let's consider briefly just the righteous

Joseph. Tradition tells us that this man, was

chosen by God. He was chosen in a gathering of

elders. He would rather not have taken on this

responsibility. He said no at first, but he was

chosen. And he would be the guardian of the Virgin

Mary and eventually the guardian and protector

of the infant Jesus Christ. This was a man who

was a widower. Apparently he had four sons and

three daughters already. There's a whole family

tree that's incredibly interesting there. For

example, Salome is one of his daughters. So by

the time he became the guardian of the Theotokos,

by the time the birth of Jesus Christ happened,

he was already quite old. Some say 80. The Gospel

says just a little about him. But what it says

is very important. There's a lot in that little.

For example, when the virgin was found to be

with child, the gospel tells us that Joseph had

doubts. In other words, he was assailed, assailed

with what the Holy Father's called logismi, that

is intrusive, persistent. thoughts prompted by

the devil. If you look at the icon in the center

of the church, there's a little old man, a little

like shepherd guy, talking to him. This is what

I'm talking about. Thoughts prompted by the devil.

But an angel comes to Joseph. An angel comes

to Joseph. How can that happen? This isn't common,

is it? Because this man's heart was pure. Because

this man was all about sacrifice and love of

God and neighbor. His spiritual eye was clear.

And he was instructed to take the child and his

mother into Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod.

Here we see a man, 75, 80. in obedience to the

word of God, embarking on a very difficult journey

at a very difficult time, long journey, by foot,

aided by his son James, the brother of the Lord,

the stepbrother. What's the lesson or the lessons

we might learn briefly? Well, first, it occurs

to me that we should use St. Joseph, those of

us that are fathers, For remaining faithful in

what? Not just the obvious things. Faithful in

sacrifice for and with our wife and our children.

They are gifts from God to us, gentlemen. They're

gifts. We didn't earn it. We may have wooed a

little bit and fallen in love, but it came by

the grace and love. and providence of God. And

we ask a blessing and we move forward. And we

have to live in that blessing and in the grace

of the Holy Spirit that was given to unite us

to our wife, to make two one flesh. You'll be

exhausted, but you will gain the crown in the

kingdom of heaven. And that will happen after

faithful and steadfast labor. God inspired. God

-first labor, protecting the faith of the family.

How? Not by authoritative means, gentlemen. That

will not work. That's Herod's way. He was afraid

because wise men came from the east and said,

this star, it tells us congratulations that a

king has been born. And Herod was afraid and

all Judea with him. And he instituted his...

terrible, terrible massacre. Back in those days,

you know, you didn't hide the massacres. You

celebrated them. It won't work to be authoritative.

We have to be humble. Now, don't talk to my wife

about my own attitudes, please. I'm telling you

what I know from those. that are truly blessed

in this area. Be humble, gentlemen. You're protecting

the faith first in your own heart. You may be

assailed by Logi's me, by thoughts from the evil

one, intrusive thoughts. You have to learn to

discern. Like that bumper sticker, that famous

bumper sticker I'm always telling you about that

says, don't believe everything you think. It's

not always true. especially in the spiritual

life. Learn how to discern so that your conscience,

which is not, Father Victor Sokolov once said

to me when I said to him, the light and ever

memorable, I said, well, Father, he was just

following his conscience. And he said, your conscience

can be wrong. Jeremiah the prophet says about

the heart that it can be very duplicitous. You

don't follow your heart. That's not in the scriptures.

Let your conscience be purified by your fasting,

your prayers, your attendance at church, your

love for God and neighbor and works of charity,

your humility. Secondly, dear seniors in our

parish, I'm in there, in that group now. St.

Joseph was called upon at an advanced age to

care for what would be the church, Christ and

his mother. Those of you that are seniors, elderly,

thinking maybe you've done it, now you can rest

on your laurels. No, now is the time for the

final push to gain spiritual wisdom and spiritual

reading and prayers, especially in attending

church services. participation in the life of

the parish, and care for the church. Encouragement

to the young and the catechumens because you've

been around for a while. And again, rejection

of those intrusive thoughts to nourish and nurture

holy thoughts. Trusting in the Savior that we

can all do that. And finally, The fact is that

serving our Lord and God and Savior, let's say

just being faithful to Christ, and we heard all

about that in the epistle last Sunday, that's

going to mean that he is Lord and master of my

life. And I am not. It's Christ who lives in

me. I live, yet not I. I live by faith in the

Son of God who loved me. Faith is going to disrupt

your life, not just the outward things, not just,

well, there's these services I should go to.

Don't think I should go to. Think, there's these

services for my benefit, for me to show faith

and love in God, for me to be nourished spiritually.

There's disruption. spiritually too, because

there's a reorientation always, and that's what

repentance means, to reorient. And we can ask

ourselves a few questions. Are you satisfied

with your spiritual state? Please don't say yes.

Are you satisfied with your repentance shown

in confession? Do you feel Your faith is being

nourished. Are you satisfied with your ability

to pray? Two things can happen at the same time.

You'll be spiritually disrupted, but you can

also have the peace and joy and love of God because

you answer Christ in that disruption. Are you

eager? Are you called inside by your conscience?

To serve God. Starting with receiving Holy Communion

in a way of gratitude and glory to God. Do you

have that? If you don't, pray that God grants

you that gift. Are you faithful in charity? In

spiritual reading? In serving God through others?

You know, all those ways. that we continually

talk about. Let's ask this righteous saint to

intercede for us, for he is now among the council

of the saints, and God is glorified in the saints.

Let me end with this wonderful prayer to him.

Having heard in the scriptures of the Lord who

said, Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear

a son, Emmanuel. Thou didst believe what was

told thee by the angel, O righteous Joseph, and

like a sealed book wherein the word was inscribed

by the finger of the Father, thou didst take

Mary into thine own house, and like a servant

didst wait upon her with fear and zeal, wherefore

we cry to thee, Rejoice, for thou didst set thy

heart to understand the law of God. Rejoice,

for thou didst open thy mind to receive the mysteries

of God. Rejoice, for before all was thou vouchsafed

to know the great mystery of piety that God has

appeared on earth as man. Rejoice, for thou didst

perceive his coming to be for the salvation of

all people from their sins. Rejoice, for without

doubting thou didst believe what was revealed

to thee. Rejoice, for thy faith was accounted

unto thee as righteousness. Rejoice, O righteous

Joseph. the ready speedy helper and intercessor

for our souls. Christ is born.