The Saintly Sixteen continues with Absalom Jones taking on Joseph. In the first round, Jones defeated Matthias by the largest margin of Lent Madness 2016, 82% to 18% while Absalom Jones swept past Christina Rossetti by the second largest margin, 79% to 21%. Will this be a harbinger of a tightly contested race? Only time and your (single) vote will tell.
And, yes, the Supreme Executive Committee already knows this matchup is "not fair." But of course, that's the whole point of Lent Madness -- it's not about who wins, but about how much you learn and are inspired by these incredible holy men and women who have come before us in the faith. We assure you none of these saintly souls care one iota about winning the Golden Halo -- they've already won their crown of righteousness by virtue of their faithfulness. (Well, maybe they care just a little -- it affords them some pretty sweet heavenly street cred). The real "winners?" Everyone who takes the time to read, learn, and be inspired along this Lenten journey.
Yesterday, in the first matchup of the Saintly Sixteen, Constance defeated Helena 69% to 31%. She'll go on to face the winner of Clare vs. Vida Dutton Scudder in the Elate Eight. Today is the last battle of the week but fear not! We'll be back bright and early Monday morning as Methodius takes on Albert Schweitzer in the Lent Dome.
Absalom Jones
Did you know...
In the mid-to-late 1700s, slaves living in Pennsylvania were allowed to marry and to learn how to write and read. Jones worked at night for many years to buy his freedom, but first he bought his wife’s. The reason? Their children would then be born free.
In Philadelphia, there is a chapel and a memorial window named for Absalom Jones. His ashes have been enshrined in the altar of the chapel.
When yellow fever struck Philadelphia in the 1790s, Absalom Jones assisted Dr. Benjamin Rush in treating people afflicted by the plague: blacks were initially thought to be immune, and many whites simply fled the city (including most doctors except for Rush and his assistants, some of whom died). Jones and other black Philadelphians helped nurse the sick and bury the dead. Jones in particular sometimes worked through the night.
One of Jones’s favorite biblical quotations was Galatians 5:1: “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
A renowned preacher, it's best to let Absalom Jones speak for himself:
“Our God has seen masters and mistresses, educated in fashionable life, sometimes take the instruments of torture into their own hands, and, deaf to the cries and shrieks of their agonizing slaves, exceed even their overseers in cruelty. Inhuman wretches! Though you have been deaf to their cries and shrieks, they have been heard in Heaven. The ears of Jehovah have been constantly open to them: He has heard the prayers that have ascended from the hearts of his people; and he has, as in the case of his ancient and chosen people the Jews, come down to deliver our suffering country-men from the hands of their oppressors” (“A Thanksgiving Sermon,” January 1, 1808)
“Let the first of January, the day of the abolition of the slave trade in our country, be set apart in every year, as a day of public thanksgiving for that mercy. Let the history of the sufferings of our brethren, and of their deliverance, descend by this means to our children, to the remotest generations; and when they shall ask, in time to come, saying, What mean the lessons, the psalms, the prayers and the praises in the worship of this day? Let us answer them, by saying, the Lord, on the day of which this is the anniversary, abolished the trade which dragged your fathers from their native country, and sold them as bondmen in the United States of America (“A Thanksgiving Sermon”).
Joseph
The canonical Gospels offer very few details about Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. His mentions are limited almost entirely to the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke. It is speculated that Joseph must have died in Jesus’ childhood. Matthew presents him as a particularly righteous man, obeying God faithfully and often doing exactly what God commands word for word. And it is no small thing what Joseph was asked to do.
The earliest non-canonical stories about Joseph (found in the Proto-Gospel of James and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas—both of which are delightful, quick reads) help us understand the enormity of the task and give us a glimpse of his character.
In the Proto-Gospel of James, Joseph enters the story as an old man, widowed with his own children (according to another ancient source, Joseph is 90 with four sons and two daughters). Mary is 12 and living in the Temple. The Temple authorities need someone to look after her. Joseph is chosen by means of a divine sign—a dove emerges out of his rod and lands on his head. Joseph is initially reluctant to take on the task, citing his old age and his own children that require his care and attention. He is ultimately convinced by the priests and takes Mary into his home.
Sometime later, when Mary is found with child, Joseph expresses guilt over having failed in his responsibility to watch over her. He and Mary are brought to trial in the Temple and given a sort of truth serum, the “water of refutation.” They drink the water, no sin is revealed, and they are sent on their way. These fantastic stories remind us of the social stigma that both Joseph and Mary bore and the great sacrifices they made to serve God faithfully.
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas imagines what it must’ve been like to raise the child-God Jesus. In summary, not easy. The boy Jesus is about what you’d expect if you gave any random three-year-old total power. Jesus kills kids who bump into him, makes mute (and nearly dead?) teachers that cross him, and generally terrorizes Nazareth. At one point, Joseph, exasperated, implores Mary, “Do not let him out the door, for those who anger him die.” When a teacher expresses interest in teaching the young boy, Joseph simply replies, “If you’re that courageous, brother, take him along with you.”
But Jesus is not a terror for the whole story. He grows and matures and becomes more like the Jesus we are familiar with in the Gospels. And it is under Joseph’s steady and faithful guidance that Jesus learns how to live in harmony and to contribute to the welfare of the community.
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168 comments on “Absalom Jones vs. Joseph”
Absolom lived his faith, loved his family, served God's people. The stories about Joseph are just that, stories. We don't know what he was really like. Go Absolom!
"The stories about Joseph are just that, stories." I don't understand. Stories in general are not true? Stories aren't important? Or do these particular stories sound too fantastic to have any historical basis? How have we decided these stories aren't true, but the gospels that made it into the canon--which are chock-full of fantastic-sounding, hard-to-believe stories--are "real"?
Oh dear, poor Joseph. Is this the theological equivalent of resorting to a dodgy dossier? Much as I admire Joseph, I really can't cast my vote for him today on the basis of the proto gospel of James and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. There are some wonderful poems about Jospeh that might have swayed me. Instead I happily vote for the remarkable Absalom Jones who first bought his wife's freedom that their children might also be born free. And those words of his, wow.
It's JOseph. Not because of the likely-false stories in two "gospels" the church already rejected as being without inspiration, but rather because:
1) He was obedient to God, even when God's command was not easy and did not put him in a good light;
2) He continued to obey God when it only got tougher (fleeing to Egypt?)
3) He was compassionate about Mary's situation, even before the Lord spoke to him. When he could have gotten on a high horse, felt betrayed, ranted, etc., he had compassion on her.
I agree with you. Without Joseph's total obedience to God, loving protection of Mary and the young Jesus, and what obviously must have been a good job in the difficult role of step-father, I doubt that we would have Christianity today!
Regardless of the veracity of some of those proto-gospels, it's Joseph FTW for me. With due apologies and all respect to Absalom Jones.
So hard today.....Had to go with Joseph....thinking about my Dad.
"And there is Joseph, the 'upright man,' which means one who lovingly and faithfully clings to the Law and the Prophets, the man who left his mark on the Son of God."
(Mary Reed Newland, The Saint Book (New York:The Seabury Press, 1979), 54.
I agree with Bob: this could be the final contest. Voted for Joseph.
We need more such inspiring leadership these days-Absalom Jones gets my vote today as an outstandung example of grace-filled strength, humility, persistence, and love for all people. Here's a story from his life:
In the fall of 1792, several black leaders were still attending services at St. George's Methodist Church and had recently helped to expand the church. The black churchgoers were told to sit upstairs in the new gallery. When they mistakenly sat in an area not designated for blacks, they were forcibly removed from the seats they had helped build. According to Allen, "... we all went out of the church in a body, and they were no longer plagued by us." The following spring, Allen, Jones, and others broke ground for the African Church. However, more funds were needed, and construction could not begin until August, 1793. To celebrate, black leaders held a banquet. First, one hundred white construction workers and two leading white citizens sat down and were served a feast by free blacks. Then the white guests rose and about 50 black people sat down. They were then served by "six of the most respectable of the white company."
from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3narr3.html
Inspirational humility!
Diane, the Allen mentioned was Richard Allen, who went on to found the AME (African Methodist-Episcopal) Church. Jones went on to become the first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church, and he was added to our calendar of saints about 25 years ago. He is celebrated on February 13th.
This will be a tight vote, so I'm going with my original choice, Absolom, who lived as an inspiration to those who followed. "For Freedom Christ has set us free." We need his words and dedication now in a world that is torn by racism and hate of the "other."
Tough decision, went with Joseph. He does not get a lot of credit, but today
Having read "Lamb" by Christopher Moore, I know that the young Jesus must have been a handful. Joseph gets my vote for being the oft ignored father figure for Jesus, no easy task.
I was disappointed with the write-up on Joseph. It seemed to miss the significant decisions he made for the safety of Mary and Joseph. InMatthew's gospel it's Joseph who is called up repeatedly to make the tough decisions… to not put Mary away, to stand with his new family… to take them away to Egypt and then to return. The angels speak to him in those moments, and he acts… a model indeed for our response to Gods callings.
Even though I agree that Joseph gets short shrift in our gospels, I had to vote for Absalom Jones. His struggles with slavery were enormous, and the persecutions he received for no other reason than being black must have been devastating. But he maintained an attitude of love and service and risked his own life to minister during the yellow fever plague. I wish I were half as faithful. That said -- Joseph was also so faithful, getting up in the middle of the night to take off for Egypt with no more provisions than what the family had brought for the census trip to Bethlehem, all because of a dream he believed was from God. And the painting with his post today is really nice. Both are saints worthy of the Golden Halo. And I appreciated the SEC's reminder that they already have their true crown and aren't really in competition today.
Joseph is the "go-to" Saint for most single women! I claim his Intercession prayers for
my husband I was married to for 52 years. (He was a saint to put up with me!) However, I voted for Absalom for his devotion to his wife and family and he was faithful to the sick when the others ran off! I admire his faithfulness and loved his sermon!
Joseph gets my vote, just for not coming down out of heaven and obliterating the people who wrote the two ridiculous Gospels about the Proto Jesus and the infancy of Jesus. 90 years old? Give me a break! He didn't want to take on a 12-year-old girl because he had his own children to care for? At 90, his children probably were grandparents themselves. I prefer Franco Zeferelli's version of Joseph. The guy probably had no previous children, because they didn't come on the trip with him. And probably not even any family to leave Mary with. He took on a task of supreme importance, and deserves our respect.
Joseph for the win!
In case you missed the earlier post--there is a beautiful, five-minute YouTube called "Joseph" filmed by friends last December and sent as a Christmas gift. It tells the Nativity story in modern times with tenderness and compassion. The video and song illuminates Joseph's confusion and fear, yet steadfastness. It has re-kindled my appreciation for St. Joseph. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W4o2visAKZ0
Also about Joseph, among the musical plays of composer Hank Beebe (http://www.hankbeebe.com/), in his series based upon Bible stories, is a delightful one about Joseph titled "Foster Father". This is perfect for adults and children to perform and learn from at their church.
Time for Joseph to be honored!
There was a beautiful book illustrated by Maurice Sendak at the end of his life, featuring St. Joseph. It's part of the Golden Legend- medieval folk tales about the saints. An invading army threatens, so a mother sends her two little children into the forest to hide. St Joseph lovingly takes care of them for what seems like a short time. They re-emerge from the forest just in time to be with their elderly mother on her deathbed. It has a subtext about all the children who are victims of the upheavals of war, and need parenting. Sendak was thinking of Jewish children hidden from the Nazis, perhaps. There are so many refugee children today, sadly, including in our camps for children fleeing strife in Latin America, and in refugee camps in Europe. I bought the book to read to my kids, but couldn't- it made me cry.
Although Absolom sacrificed himself for his wife and children, and for Yellow Fever victims, Joseph gets my vote as the archetype of the loving foster parent.
Darn it, I can't find this, Christine! I looked under Sendak, Joseph, Golden Legend. I'd love to find that, as I collect children's books and that sounds so wonderful.
Absalom Jones, for his compassion and courage against both yellow fever and slavery.
I cast my vote for Joseph. My mother was widowed when I was an infant and I was raised by a loving stepfather. It's a difficult role -- and one that should be honored.
Thank you, SEC, for your reminder of the purpose of Lent Madness--to learn and to be strengthened by the lives of those who have lived faithfully before us.
Another tough choice, but, after all, it is not a life-and-death (or even money and wagers!) matter. Thank you, SEC, for arranging this each year. May our Lord bless your continuing efforts.
I loved the intro by the SEC. It made me laugh that we have to be reminded (often!)
to b-r-e-a-t-h-e and remember that these hard choices, being equally inspired by two of these wonderful saints, are a good thing.
A more charming infancy gospel has the child Jesus playing with his friends and making little sparrows out of mud. His come alive and fly away.
Joseph for me. Each year at our Live Nativity we have a Joseph miracle. Once was a young man there to help as part of community service. When asked if he wanted to dress as Joseph and sit in the stable while the Christmas story was narrated he asked, "Who's Joseph?". And we got to tell him. Another Joseph miracle was a young man who only reluctantly dressed the part but later was overheard on the phone excitedly telling his Mom, "I got to be Joseph!". This year a small boy wanted to be Mary so he could hold baby Jesus. He was very tender and loving.
The world needs loving and caring fathers and stepfathers and father figures. Go Joseph!
Your parish sounds wonderful! I'm so glad you let that little boy take the role of Mary. What a wonderful experience for all of you!
Sweet stories
I remember from my childhood a sweet legend about Jesus as a child - he modelled clay birds and coloured them with rainbow colours from a puddle of water. Then when another child was jealous and started treading on them one at a time, Jesus clapped his hands and they all flew away!
Some people are reporting the influence of art as part of their reason for voting for Joseph. Maybe the artists were divinely inspired, but artwork is not necessarily a "real" or true representation of what the person actually looked like. I don't know what Joseph looked like when Jesus was interfering with Joseph's carpentry work. It may have been one of exasperation. Joseph may have made some pretty cool toys for Jesus to keep Jesus out of his hair.
I am not at all surprised by Mary's age at the time of her marriage. Remember how old Juliet was when old Capulet was trying to marry her off. Her mother even comments that Juliet better get a move on and get hitched. These individuals had short life spans generally so women were encouraged to marry young, in our terms.
Enough said. I am voting for Absalom Jones again and wish a person of African descent would win the Golden Halo for a change. I would like to see a greater representation of saints with different racial backgrounds, SEC. In the end, that was not why I voted for Jones. We have documentation of his actual work in which family came first and then accounts of his heroic work during the Yellow Fever epidemic. I like what Joyce in Georgia wrote and agree with her completely. Well said.
Eileen, I think the purpose of art is very rarely to show what something or someone "really" looked like. It's about a Reality that far exceeds scientific or modern concepts or even historicity. No one knows what Jesus "really" looked like either. 99.9% of Christian art depicts Jesus as an anemic northern European man. Doesn't mean it's not important. Doesn't mean it can't speak to a larger truth.
I never knew that Jesus was such a terrible toddler!
I went to Holy Women, Holy Men to read again about these two saints, and saw the sentence, "to him (Absolom Jones), God was the Father, who always acted on behalf of the oppressed and distressed". So many reasons to vote for Jones...the courage and energy to free his wife (and, ultimately, his children before himself), to found a Black parish when faced with prejudice from a White church, to become "the Black Bishop of the Episcopal Church"...a remarkable man and father to so many former slaves. He's my choice!
I love the stories about Joseph. I think he is truly one of the unsung heroes of the bible. His faith and obedience was as great as Mary's. I voted for him in his first round. That said I had to go with Absalom Jones this time. He made great sacrifices for his family and his faith and also didn't hesitate to help others in need. That Jan. 1 Thanksgiving sermon was awesome.
I voted for Absalom Jones, for sheer staying power. If Joseph was 90 when he took Mary in, and died in Jesus' childhood, he dealt with one young boy for a few years. (Granted, it was a special boy, but still.) Jones, on the other hand, slaved (literally) for over a decade to free his wife, children, and himself, founded the Free African Society, helped start a church that had 500 members in its first year, studied and worked another 10 years to become the first African-American Episcopal priest, inspired countless people via his preaching, continued working against slavery, and cared for those with yellow fever when others wouldn't.