Jesus was raised in Nazareth, a small hill town up north. Such towns were a kinship network. Most everyone would have been a relative of Jesus. They lived in close proximity and were part of each other’s lives.
When we think of the family of Jesus, we can delete the image of Jesus sitting quietly with Mary while Joseph made chairs in his carpenter shop. The Holy Family lived in close quarters with cousins, in-laws, shirttail relatives of all kinds. There was no getting away from “family.”
Here’s a question: When extended families come together, do most people look forward to it, or do they find it difficult?
That’s not easy to answer. We worry about the relative who is likely to get drunk. We aren’t sure what to do about divorced and re-married members who bring in-laws we don’t know very well. Plus there’s always someone who’s currently on the outs with other family members. It’s quite a mix.
It takes a lot of virtue and patience to be part of such an extended family…a lot of indirect kindness that may or may not have an effect. We do our best and try to be kind, knowing that we can’t single-handedly change things around.
Jesus was part of an extended family no different from mine.
Dom Perignon
Born in France in 1639, Pierre Perignon at the age of 20 took the vows of a Benedictine monk at the abbey of Hautvilliers (near Reims) which produced a variety of wines.
Pierre soon became a wine expert. Perhaps because he had become blind, he developed an extraordinary sense of smell and taste. He was able to tell immediately which grapes came from which vineyards. He learned to mix together various wines so that the qualities of each added to the quality of the others.
He studied the particular qualities and characteristics of the grapes from the region of Champagne and when he was 60 years old, succeeded in producing what is known today as “champagne.”
Pierre died in 1715. Years later, the wine company that bought the Hautvilliers monastery vineyards gave the name “Dom Perignon” to its finest vintage.
On New Year’s Eve, many will without realizing it celebrate the memory of this Benedictine monk.
“Dom” (from the Latin word “dominus” which means “lord” was a title sometimes given to monks and other religious leaders.
There are 13 days left in the Church’s Christmas season.