⚒ JESUS & JOSEPH AT WORK ⚒

The time for transition in the life of Christ was at hand and he was to engage fully in manual work. In the years leading up to this, he spent most of his time with Our Lady in the home of Nazareth while his father worked to provide for the family. As Jesus grew he became more involved with St. Joseph’s work in the family’s carpentry shop. We are given a scene from this time by Servant of God Mother Cecilia Baij and a reflection by Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Francis:

Mother Cecilia Baij: When Jesus manifested to Joseph his readiness to serve him in his work, Joseph prostrated himself on the ground out of reverence for this ordination of God the Father, and proceeded to give thanks together with Jesus. After they had rendered the Divine Praises for that morning, Joseph went to work taking Jesus with him.

To see Jesus present in his shop made Joseph’s heart leap for joy … Turning to Jesus, Joseph said: “Oh my Jesus, my dear Son, you already know that my own desire is to be entirely at your service, but the Heavenly Father has decreed otherwise. In obedience to him, I shall command you in regard to those matters in which this is necessary. Nevertheless, as I have already stated, I shall do so only in order that I may fulfill the Will of God.”

In reply, Jesus encouraged Joseph to make his demands freely, and according to his own desires, as they were both obliged to carry out the designs of the Heavenly Father.

… The Divine Youth always stood by, ready to be of service, and he was most alert in regard to what might be required of him in order to be of assistance to Joseph. Even though Jesus knew what Joseph needed, he rarely performed tasks directly, because he wanted to be commanded to do so by Joseph, and, thereby, practice humility and submissiveness.  – Servant of God Mother Cecilia Baij

Pope St. John Paul II, Redemptoris Custos: Work was the daily expression of love in the life of the Family of Nazareth. The Gospel specifies the kind of work Joseph did in order to support his family: he was a carpenter. This simple word sums up Joseph's entire life. … Having learned the work of his presumed father, Jesus was known as "the carpenter's son." If the Family of Nazareth is an example and model for human families, in the order of salvation and holiness, so too, by analogy, is Jesus' work at the side of Joseph the carpenter… At the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work  closer to the mystery of the Redemption.

Pope Francis, Audience, 1 May 2013: In the Gospel of St. Matthew, one of the times when Jesus returns to his native region, to Nazareth, and speaks in the synagogue, the Gospel underlines his fellow villagers' astonishment at his wisdom, and the question they ask one another: “is not this the carpenter's son?" (13:55.) Jesus enters into our history, he comes into our midst, being born of Mary by the work of God, but with the presence of St. Joseph, the legal father who guards him and even teaches him his trade. Jesus was born and lived in a family, in the Holy Family, learning from St. Joseph the carpenter's trade, in the workshop of Nazareth, sharing with him his commitment, hard work and satisfaction, as well as each day's difficulties. This calls to mind for us the dignity and importance of work. … Work is part of the plan of God's love; we are called to cultivate and safeguard all the goods of creation and in this way we participate in the work of creation!

Ecclesiastes 2:24 – There is nothing better for man than to eat and drink and provide himself with good things by his labours. Even this, I realized, is from the hand of God.