During Lent we should look to the model obedience of Mary and Joseph.
The month of March falls entirely within Lent this year, but there are a few feasts to lighten the mood, including in fairly quick succession that of St Joseph on the 19th (actually this year transferred to the next day, as 19 March is a Sunday) and the Annunciation on the 25th. Two Christmas lights in the Lenten darkness, one might say.
Because in fact not only does the Annunciation very obviously anticipate the nativity of Jesus, but the celebration of St Joseph too revolves around the conception of the Christ Child, and the similarities and the differences between these two annunciations are equally important. Both Mary and Joseph receive a visit from an angel and are told of Mary’s pregnancy, but there are further details that matter: in both cases, it is emphasised that Joseph is a descendant of David, emphasising the baby’s Messianic credentials, as it were – though in each case it is also clear that Joseph is not the biological father of the child. Thus, for both Gospel writers, Jesus is at once the fulfilment of the historical expectations of Israel and yet at the same time a radical rupture in the continuity of his people’s history, an astonishing twist in the story.
