In the scene of the Annunciation, the evangelist Luke puts Joseph in the background to give preeminence to Mary. However, he remains the ring very solid that connects the Old with the New Alliance 

of Msgr. Silvano Macchi

Pwe hear the narration of the mysteries of the life of Saint Joseph according to the Gospel of Luke. In the third Gospel it is well known that the figure of Joseph does not occupy the foreground, as it was in Matthew; for Luke the privilege of the "foreground" is reserved for Mary, the mother, while Joseph appears only as the one who accompanies and guards the wife and the child in the various events of Jesus' childhood and adolescence, but remaining in the background.

This choice by Luke to privilege the figure of Mary, unlike that of Matthean Joseph's pre-eminence, must also be considered in relation to the many female figures present in the third Gospel, who are presented as models to be inspired by (St. Ambrose even accepts the "edifying" opinion according to which Mary's marriage to Joseph was only a pretext to protect the Virgin's honour and defend her birth).

Marvelous are the “pictures” that, as an authentic man of letters and painter, the evangelist Luke offers us, then depicted a thousand times in art and deduced from the evangelical chapters of infancy. But after them, Joseph (in Luke as well as in the Gospel of Matthew) disappears into thin air. He reappears almost casually in a passing citation, when Jesus returns to Nazareth and is then rejected by his fellow citizens: "All bore witness to him [Jesus] and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth, and they said, 'Is not this Joseph's son?'" (Lk 4:23).

Let us therefore begin to investigate the presence of Joseph in the annunciation to Mary, in Luke 1:26-38. The passage is set in the phase of waiting for the wedding; Mary is promised in marriage, that is, she is engaged, to a man, Joseph, of the house of David, that is, of a royal family, a “man of class”. In any case, in Luke Joseph is mentioned as a descendant of David, but what matters for Luke is to “put this man in brackets” with regard to Mary’s future pregnancy, and at the same time highlight the latter’s condition of virginity: the son is of divine origin, he is not conceived through a relationship with Joseph, but by the work of the Holy Spirit.

The scene takes place in Nazareth, an insignificant village, without reputation. Mary is described as an unmarried girl, that is, a virgin. At that time, a Jewish girl, already at twelve years of age, entered a decisive phase of her existence; still subject to paternal power, she was nevertheless already considered responsible and could be given in marriage. The Greek Parthenos in fact it implies various things, including the fact that she was promised to Joseph. They were engaged, but unlike today the engagement was an important legal act: the bride price was paid to the father-in-law, a sort of consent was exchanged, after which the young woman continued to live in her parents' house for about a year, but the fiancé acquired in all respects the right of ownership of the future wife; they were practically, legally, already married, but the wedding rite and cohabitation were missing.

That Joseph is of the house of David is important to explain what the angel will say about the child: "The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end" (Lk 1:32-33). The qualities of the child are of the messianic type; he has the characteristics of the Davidic messiah who will inherit the throne of David and his kingdom, which will never end.

Joseph, who does not physically appear in the scene of the announcement to Mary, seems therefore a marginal, superfluous figure, even if he is remembered, with a certain emphasis, as the historical intermediary, the link between the son promised to Mary and the awaited Messiah coming from the lineage of David. Joseph therefore has an unconventional role; he is left under the radar but is present. He is not only a supporting actor, but ensures the very close and decisive connection between Jesus and the Old Covenant.

In this way I believe we can explain the fleeting reference that the evangelist Luke makes in this passage to the presence of Joseph. He is a stranger, excluded, distant from what is happening to Mary. Because God's intervention in life (and God always intervenes when there is a child involved, because every child is God's, is a gift from heaven, even if this truth is much forgotten today!) produces detachment, withdrawal, distance, silence. And yet it will be Joseph, a member of the house of King David, who will enroll Jesus in the Davidic lineage and therefore bring to completion what is mysteriously about to happen to Mary. He will do so immediately after the angel's announcement and he will do so forever, marrying Mary and nourishing and caring for that mysterious, unknown and unfamiliar son.