Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.
I have a nephew who is not related be me by blood or any kinship. My sister and brother-in-law adopted him at birth. We share no DNA, but he is my nephew. Adoption does this.
In ancient times, if a man were to name a child, he would in effect be recognizing the child as his own, either by blood or by adoption. The fact of his naming the child was legal enough to make the child his heir and give the child all the rights and privileges attached to that person’s family.
It was not by accident or incidentally that Matthew notes that Joseph was told to name the child. He was being told to adopt the child as his own. According to Matthew, Joseph did what the angel of the lord had told him to do.
By adoption, then, Jesus belongs to the royal House of David, and stands to inherit all the rights and privileges of King David. This passage of Scripture follows Matthew’s listing of the royal genealogy from David to Joseph. Legally, the royal genealogy continues through Joseph to include Jesus.
The Gospels primarily recount the deeds and events concerning Jesus. What the Gospels say about Joseph, Mary, and others are told because they shed light on Jesus. We read about Joseph’s royal background, for instance, because it has a bearing of who Jesus is, the Son of David.
The Bible gives us no stories about Joseph’s life prior to his becoming engaged to the Mother of Jesus, and nothing after Jesus’ bar mitzvah, because the Gospels are telling the story of Jesus, not the story of Joseph.
Our story is import because of its relationship to Christ’s life. We are adopted into the family of God, with Jesus our sibling, with all the rights and privileges that come with membership in this family. As such, we are called to bring Christ to the world. Our story, like Joseph’s, is told because it relates to Jesus’ story.