31/08/2024
FEAST DAY | St. Joseph of Arimathea
August 31, 2024
The Gospels describe Joseph of Arimathea as “a rich man” (Mt 27:57); a “respected member of the council,” or Sanhedrin (Mk 15:43), the governing body of the Jewish people that would have been the legal and religious reference point for the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and as a “good and righteous man” (Lk 23:50). “He was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly” (Jn 19:38); after all, Jesus was a controversial rabbi who disturbed the religious sensibilities of many of Joseph’s colleagues in the Sanhedrin. But it is Nicodemus, a Pharisee – the party of the strict observers and teachers of the Jewish law – who grants us deeper insight into the drama that unfolded in the lives of both these learned Israelites.
Chapter 3 of the Gospel of John describes “a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews,” coming to Jesus under the cover of night, drawn to him and yet fearful that this small movement of his heart might be seen.
Both men had once been afraid to confess that they were disciples, or afraid to be seen questioning the Lord. But in this labor of love, their hands confess more than words ever could. Their hearts have broken open. These learned teachers of Israel have become like children born anew. Silently, they anoint, shroud, bury and bless the body of the Son of God, from whom, for them and for the world, a new kind of knowledge has come.
𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒚,
Almighty God, You alone are holy and without You no one is good. Through the intercession of Sts. Joseph and Nicodemus, grant that we may so live as not to be deprived of Your glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/08/31/sts--joseph-of-arimathea-and--nicodemus--disciples-of-the-lord.html
https://bigccatholics.blogspot.com/2017/08/feast-of-saints-joseph-of-arimathea-and.html