Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 12-30-12, Feast, Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 12-30-12 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

December 30, 2012

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

 

Reading 1 Sir 3:2-6, 12-14

God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother's authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
When he prays, he is heard;
he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,
and, when he prays, is heard.
Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.

My son, take care of your father when he is old;
grieve him not as long as he lives.
Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him;
revile him not all the days of his life;
kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
firmly planted against the debt of your sins
--a house raised in justice to you.

or 1Sm 1:20-22, 24-28

In those days Hannah conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son
whom she called Samuel, since she had asked the LORD for him.
The next time her husband Elkanah was going up
with the rest of his household
to offer the customary sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vows,
Hannah did not go, explaining to her husband,
"Once the child is weaned,
I will take him to appear before the LORD
and to remain there forever;
I will offer him as a perpetual nazirite."

Once Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought him up with her,
along with a three-year-old bull,
an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine,
and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh.
After the boy's father had sacrificed the young bull,
Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said:
"Pardon, my lord!
As you live, my lord,
I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD.
I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.
Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD;
as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD."
Hannah left Samuel there.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5.

R. (cf. 1) Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.

or Ps 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10.

R. (cf. 5a) Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
R. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
Happy they who dwell in your house!
Continually they praise you.
Happy the men whose strength you are!
Their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage.
R. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
O LORD of hosts, hear our prayer;
hearken, O God of Jacob!
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.
R. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

Reading 2 Col 3:12-21

Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged.

or Col 3:12-17

Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

or 1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
And so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this:
we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,
and the way we know that he remains in us
is from the Spirit he gave us.

Gospel Lk 2:41-52

Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast
of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
"Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."
And he said to them,
"Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor
before God and man.

[Salvation]

A Christian Pilgrim

THE HOLY FAMILY: THE SHINING EXAMPLE OF HOW WE ARE CALLED TO LIVE

(A biblical reflection on THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY – Sunday, 30 December 2012) 

Gospel Reading: Luke 2:41-52 

First Reading: 1Sam 1:20-22,24-28; Psalms: Ps 84:2-3,5-5,9-10; Second Reading: 1Jn 3:1-2,21-24 

The Scripture Text 

Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing Him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. And when they saw Him they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us so? Behold, Your father and I have been looking for You anxiously.” And He said to them, “How is it that you sought Me? Did you know that I must be in My Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying which He spoke them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and His mother kept all these things in her heart. 

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man. (Lk 2:41-52 RSV) 

What a strange incident the Church asks us to reflect on for the Feast of the Holy Family! In Luke’s account of the finding of Jesus in the Temple, we see the Holy Family – the model for all human families – dealing with confusion and miscommunication – to the point that couple’s only child is lost for three whole days! So what makes Jesus, Mary, and Joseph such shining examples of how we are called to live? The answer lies in the way they responded to the crisis they faced.

When Mary and Joseph discovered that Jesus was missing, they did not waste any time arguing about which of them was to blame for losing Him. Rather, they united in a prolonged and painstaking search for their lost son. And even when they found their adolescent boy safe but unapologetic, they did not erupt in anger or try to heap accusations and guilt upon Him just to make Him feel bad for putting them through such an ordeal. Surely they were anguished, but they did not focus all their upset feelings on Him. Evidently, a dozen years sharing the same roof with Jesus had taught them to trust, even when they did not fully understand.

Even well-intentioned and loving families face misunderstandings, hardships, and tragedies at times. It is at times like these that we can especially remember the Holy Family and draw from their example. No matter how “holy” we feel, every family can learn to weather the storms of life by placing their needs before their heavenly Father and believing that He will never let them out of His hands.

Jesus seemed very far away during Mary and Joseph’s three-day ordeal. But all the time, He was waiting for them in His Father’s house. There will be times when our own children, spouses, or parents may seem far from us, too. But as members of God’s family, sooner or later we can expect to find each other in our Father’s house. In the meantime, let us consecrate our families to Jesus and ask Him to teach us how to live in the same faith and trust that Mary and Joseph knew.

Short Prayer:  Heavenly Father, throughout their lives together, You blessed Mary and Joseph for their love and compassion. Let Your Holy Spirit unite the members of our families as well. Thank You, Father. Amen.

[Salvation]

A Christian Pilgrim

HIDDEN IN THE FAMILY

(A biblical reflection on THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY – Sunday, 30 December 2012) 

First Reading: 1Sam 1:20-22,24-28; Psalms: Ps 84:2-3,5-5,9-10; Second Reading: 1Jn 3:1-2,21-24; Gospel Reading: Lk 2:41-52

JESUS lived the hidden life at Nazareth for thirty years before He taught and worked in the public eye for three years. For every year in public life He spent ten years in homely life. Surely in that silence there is great message from God about the importance of family relationships and everyday work.

The hands that would minister healing and comfort were not too proud to be soiled in weeding the garden or notched by chisel and splinter. The Son of the Eternal Father was happy to be known as the son of Joseph and Mary. The Word who is the perfect image and expression of the Father had to mature in human relationships as son, as brother-cousin, as neighbour and as the lad down the road. We are left to speculate on whether He was good at the games the local children played, did He have favourite hobbies, how did His teachers find Him or did ever a girl cast a hopeful eye in His direction. Jesus advanced in wisdom, He grew in physical stature and matured in favourable relationships with God and people.

The family was the greatest school of His life. In the family school the principal subject is People. One learns to live off people, for people and with people. Living off people means learning to depend on others. Trust in others is the first great lesson in the family school and the pupil who fares badly at this subject will have serious emotional problems all through life. In learning to trust people we learn something of our relationship with the Father on whose continuing act of creation we totally depend. It is noteworthy that in the prayer of Jesus His favourite word for God is Abba, the family name for father. His prayer language must have developed from His experience of dependence and trust in the family home at Nazareth.

Living for people is our way of returning the contribution. The person who in childhood received, now in growing learns to share and give. Jesus developed into a man whose ideal was to serve rather than to be served and to give His very life for others. He became the man for others.

Living with people demands the harmony of being able to receive and to give, each at the proper time. This double movement, to and fro, is an expression of the Holy Spirit who is the unifying love between the giving of the Father and the returning of the Son.

The dynamics of family life prepare us for entering into the eternal movements of the inner life of God. Just as the submission of Jesus to the human authority of Joseph and Mary prepared Him for submission to the final demands of the Father.

Short Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to live as the Holy Family of Nazareth, united in respect and love. Bring us to the joy and peace of Your eternal home. Amen.

Note: Taken from Fr. Sylvester O’Flynn OFMCap., THE GOOD NEWS OF LUKE’S YEAR, Dublin, Ireland: CATHEDRAL BOOKS, 1994, pages 29-30. 

[Salvation]

 

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for December 30, 2012:

As the close of the year draws nigh, is there anything you need to ask your family, especially your spouse, to forgive you for? Are there any relatives you need to forgive? It doesn’t matter if you were right. Forgive anyway.

[Salvation]

Sunday Scripture Study

Feast of the Holy Family - Cycle C

December 30, 2012

Click here for USCCB readings

Opening Prayer  

First Reading: Sirach 3:2-7,12-14

Psalm: 128:1-5

Second Reading: Colossians 3:12-21

Gospel Reading: Luke 2:41-52

• The Feast of the Holy Family, which developed in the 17^th century, honors the family group of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Built on the Gospel accounts, this family is looked upon as a model of ideal family life. To promote family life and build up devotion to the Holy Family, Pope Benedict XV established this feast for the Universal Church in 1921.

• This story, which we know as the Fifth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary (like many other stories found in the “infancy narratives”) appears only in Luke’s Gospel. The infancy narratives end in the same location as they began, in the Jerusalem Temple (Luke 1:8).

• All male Jews ages twelve and older were required to make three pilgrimages to Jerusalem every year—at the feasts of Passover, Weeks (Pentecost), and Booths (Tabernacles). Custom excused those who lived far away from the feasts of Weeks and Booths, but not Passover. Even though only older males were under obligation, often the entire family would go, traveling in large parties or caravans (males and females with small children traveling separately until making camp at evening) for convenience, fellowship, and safety.

• This is the first time we hear about Jesus since the return of the Holy Family to Nazareth from Egypt, where they fled to escape the wrath of King Herod (Matthew 2:16-23). It is the last time we hear about him until his appearance at the Jordan to be baptized by John (Luke 3:1ff). This undocumented period of time is often called “the hidden years” of Jesus’ life.

 

QUESTIONS:

• What was the significance of this Feast, for which Joseph and Mary made a pilgrimage from Nazareth to Jerusalem every year (see Exodus 12; Deuteronomy 16:1-8)?

• How much does Jesus seem to know about his mission? How much do his parents know (Luke 1:26-56; Matthew 1:18—2:23)? If Jesus is God, how could he “advance in wisdom and age and in favor before God and man” (verse 52)? See CCC 472.

• Why do you think Luke included this episode in his Gospel? How did Luke know about this, and other details surrounding Jesus’ birth and childhood (see verse 51)? In this same verse, what is Jesus attitude to Mary and Joseph? How is this a reflection of the First Reading?

• What three qualities did Jesus display before the teachers in verses 46-47? What two reactions did he provoke by his actions in these two verses?

• Why do you think Jesus was “surprised” that his parents were looking for him? Where should they have looked? How have you looked for Jesus in all the wrong places?

• Has your hunger for God ever been misunderstood by your family? How? How do you maintain a healthy balance between daily responsibilities and serving God?

Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 531-534, 583, 503, 2599, 517, 472

 

I turn to you, dear parents, and implore you to imitate the Holy Family of Nazareth.  -St. John Vianney

[Salvation]

When We Lose Jesus

Pastor’s Column

Solemnity of the Holy Family

December 30, 2012

 

“My child, why have you done this to us? 

See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you!”

                                                                             (from Luke 2:41-52)

 

          The story of the finding of the child Jesus in the temple resonates with us on many levels, not only because it gives us a brief window on the very human lives of the Holy Family when Jesus was twelve years of age, but also because it helps explain how Jesus acts in our lives as well! The gospel stories are the stories of our lives.

 

          We are all in the family caravan with Jesus, Mary, Joseph and their many relatives and friends as they return from Jerusalem to Nazareth after their Passover pilgrimage.   We too are journeying through life, going on our way in this world and suddenly, Jesus seems to have gone! He is nowhere to be found! Do you panic? Will you miss him? The Holy Family searches for Jesus with great anxiety.

 

          Was it my fault that Jesus has gone missing? We cannot help but wonder if we are to blame for this. Certainly the Holy Family must have had similar thoughts as they frantically searched for their lost son. But in fact, this is the normative way God acts in our lives: Jesus is both fully God and fully human, and in his divinity, he will sometimes seem to “disappear” from our feelings, or will appear to be absent to our calls, precisely so that we will search for him. Even his parents had to learn this lesson, and so do we!

 

          The Holy Family did not know where to look at first. From this we realize that Mary and Joseph were not in constant communication with angels or other mystical experiences, even though they were raising God’s son! We too, do not always find our prayers answered the first time we ask! God makes us wait and search and persevere in our desire to find the Lord and his will for us. We may at times not even know which way to turn, which path or decision Jesus wishes for us, but we know that, in the end, Christ will be there to guide us, as he was for his parents. 

 

          Jesus’ actions were not immediately comprehensible to Mary and Joseph. First they were “amazed” to find that Jesus could hold his own with the best minds in Judaism, which indicates that he didn’t exhibit much of this prior to this incident. Then, it took them a while to grasp Jesus’ point that while Joseph was a foster-father, Jesus’ REAL Father was in heaven. Remember, the angels and shepherds were a 12 year old memory by this time! In the same way, God’s actions on our behalf and in our world may not always make sense to us right away. Sometimes the Lord asks us to trust him before he explains everything!

                                                                                                Father Gary

[Salvation]

St. Paul Center Blog

Our True Home: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Feast of the Holy Family

Posted by Dr. Scott Hahn on 12.28.12 |

Sirach 3:2-6,12-14
Psalm 128:1-5
Colossians 3:12-21
Luke 2:41-52

Why did Jesus choose to become a baby born of a mother and father and to spend all but His last years living in an ordinary human family? In part, to reveal God’s plan to make all people live as one “holy family” in His Church (see 2 Corinthians 6:16-18).
In the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, God reveals our true home. We’re to live as His children, “chosen ones, holy and beloved,” as the First Reading puts it.
The family advice we hear in today’s readings - for mothers, fathers and children - is all solid and practical. Happy homes are the fruit of our faithfulness to the Lord, we sing in today’s Psalm. But the Liturgy is inviting us to see more, to see how, through our family obligations and relationships, our families become heralds of the family of God that He wants to create on earth.
Jesus shows us this in today’s Gospel. His obedience to His earthly parents flows directly from His obedience to the will of His heavenly Father. Joseph and Mary aren’t identified by name, but three times are called “his parents” and are referred to separately as his “mother” and “father.” The emphasis is all on their “familial” ties to Jesus. But these ties are emphasized only so that Jesus, in the first words He speaks in Luke’s Gospel, can point us beyond that earthly relationship to the Fatherhood of God.
In what Jesus calls “My Father’s house,” every family finds its true meaning and purpose (see Ephesians 3:15). The Temple we read about in the Gospel today is God’s house, His dwelling (see Luke 19:46). But it’s also an image of the family of God, the Church (see Ephesians 2:19-22; Hebrews 3:3-6; 10:21).
In our families we’re to build up this household, this family, this living temple of God. Until He reveals His new dwelling among us, and says of every person: “I shall be his God and he will be My son” (see Revelation 21:3,7).

[Salvation]

The Holy Family and holy obedience

 

 

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Sunday's Word: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/123012.cfm

 

1 Sam 1: 20-22, 24-28

1 Jn 3: 1-2, 21-24
Lk 2: 41-52

Since Thanksgiving countless people have gone “over the river and through the woods,” not to mention airports of course, and covered thousands of miles to visit family and friends during this holiday season, including myself.  For most it has been likely a wonderful time to reconnect but for some there was surely tension and perhaps even those who may have said: “A little bit of family goes a long way.”

The sharing of gifts and memories, gorging out on food, drink, and laughter, family activities both indoors and outdoors are an essential way to bond and to form lasting ties through the human community.  Hopefully, at some point in all the frantic movement, Church attendance and worship as a shared family experience was more than just a rare visit.   

This Sunday after Christmas is the Feast of the Holy Family and it too reminds us about the fundamental bond that existed between Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  For all time we know this “holy” family was unique among all human families. Yet, I sometimes wonder what this family, with such an extraordinary child by mysterious angelic intervention, might have to say to families who find themselves faced with more mundane earthly problems. Jesus, Mary and Joseph may appear more as plaster statues or icons or invoked in the “good old days” of Catholic School when we wrote: “J – M – J” at the top of each paper we turned in to Sister. But the truth is that the Holy Family may have much to say.

Our first reading on this beautiful feast in the Christmas season speaks about a child dedicated to God (1 Sam 1). As Hannah brings her son Samuel to the Temple with an offering that may seem to us a bit primitive: “. . . a three year old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine . . .” as parents of today don’t bring bulls, bread, and wine at the moment of their child’s baptism, that sacrament of new life is the moment in which the parents, like Hannah, offer their child to God.  As Hannah states, “As long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord . . .” So too in Baptism, we are signed, sealed, and washed clean – for God.  Thus, every child given to a couple is seen as gift from God to be dedicated back to him. While most children are not the great Samuel and certainly not Jesus, the example of Hannah, Mary and Joseph is one for every faithful Christian couple.  

Likewise, in the Gospel from Luke we see a moment in which, according to Jewish custom, Mary and Joseph as faithful Jews, fulfill their yearly celebration of the Passover.  Jesus in transition to Jewish adulthood for young males, accompanies them.  It was twelve years previous that Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the same Temple to be dedicated to God. The Temple was not a strange place for them but a familiar location of sacred worship and a living out of their dedication to God. Such regular habit of worship is an example for family life. It does make a difference.

Considering all this, we may see here for all families the characteristic of a virtue not particularly popular these days: Obedience.  Our own modern spirit of independence might push aside a rich opportunity for growth in learning a faith-centered obedience.

Mary was obedient to the angel who brought her the good news of God’s choice to be the human mother of his Son.  Joseph was obedient to that same Angel Gabriel who assured him that it was right to take Mary as his wife for the child she bore was by God’s mysterious intervention. 

While the temptation to focus on Mary’s fearful reprimand in our familiar Gospel story, “Son, why have you done this to us? . . .” may be strong, in the end we see here a family who’s dedication to their faith is inspiring.  Yes, Jesus may have been a bit precocious to say the least when he appears like teenagers who seek a somewhat rebellious freedom, Luke implies more that Jesus was fulfilling his future mission with exceptional wisdom. Still, Jesus was obedient to his own parents who searched frantically with great concern: “He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them . . .”

Thus, Mary and Joseph are presented as good and righteous Jews who continued to obey the dictates of their faith but yet felt a distinctive responsibility for their even more exceptional child and his future destiny. 

Perhaps, then, at the foundation of healthy family life is an underlying responsibility to obey.  Not out of any slavish sense of submission to control another’s life but rather out of a higher obedience to God’s will.  For Mary and Joseph their lives must have been ones of daily discernment.  What is our place and responsibility with this child entrusted to us? Where must his loyalty lie since he has come to us through such unforeseen divine intervention?  What is God asking of us?

Further, “what is God asking of us” is a question to be sought by every parent who has been gifted with children. The future of each child is hidden to every parent but in that family – in that house – Jesus himself wants to abide. 

In the family unit, which is so threatened these days, a place for healthy discernment should be created.  The family life of Mary, Joseph and Jesus is hidden from us but we could safely assume that Jesus was allowed to explore that same question, “What is God, my Father, asking of me?” So too parents could encourage their children to explore that fundamental question:  “What is God asking of me?”

Here are some questions that I wonder how many well- meaning parents invite their children to consider: Is this the man or woman God is asking me to marry? Am I called to married life or is there another way that I could serve as “parent” – perhaps to priestly service or religious life in the Church? How could I use my talents and gifts as talents and gifts from God and not just opportunities to be famous or wealthy? Such questions offer the opportunity for parents not only to interact with their children but also, like the Holy Family, be open to a greater will than their own; in short, to obey and then find a beautiful peace and freedom.

May this Holy Family challenge us all to become holy ourselves and watch over both marriage and family life in this age with all its wonders also poses a great challenge to some fundamental core values centered around faith and family.

Almighty God,

Bless our families, our parents and marriages.
Help us to discern what is your will for us
as mothers, fathers, and children
and to create a place in the home for you.  
Heal those who are hurting or broken
and help them to find joy and peace.

 

Fr. Tim

[Salvation]

Insight Scoop

“Why were you looking for me?" (On the Feast of The Holy Family)

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, December 30, 2012, the Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 or 1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28
• Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 or Ps 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10
• Col 3:12-21 or 1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24
• Lk 2:41-52

Being lost isn’t always what it seems. People usually end up lost when they take a wrong turn or misread directions. And then we sometimes speak of “losing ourselves,” usually in some sort of pleasant diversion: reading a book, watching a movie, or taking a walk in a familiar park or garden.

Yet it takes a unique person and perspective to be lost without actually being lost in order that those who seek you will not only find you, but will find you more deeply and more truly.  It takes the twelve-year-old Incarnate Word to be lost in such a way. It is rather humorous, in fact, to think that today’s Gospel reading, which is the only story about the youthful Jesus between his first weeks of life and his adulthood, is sometimes said to be about Mary and Joseph seeking the “lost” Jesus. Is he lost?

To them, yes, he is lost; they are as anxious as any parent (even a sinless mother!) would be. But the young Jesus was not lost. He purposefully, St. Luke writes, “remained behind in Jerusalem.” He had spent time in Jerusalem every year; undoubtedly he had explored parts of the city and knew some it quite well, especially around the Temple. And when he was found after three days of frantic searching by Mary and Joseph, he did not express the relief of a frightened child huddled in the woods. Rather, he matter-of-factly asked two questions: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

As Monsignor Ronald Knox observed in his Lightning Meditations (Sheed and Ward, 1959), these responses leave us “puzzled, perhaps faintly disconcerted…” Surely the young man spoke with a smile, Knox suggested, “otherwise the remark would be intolerably priggish.”

What is clear is how difficult is the translating of Jesus’ words; they do not directly refer to a “house,” but more obscurely to “the things of the Father.” Knox muses that “the sight of Joseph hard at work makes him want to be a carpenter already, at twelve; but then, the thought of his Heavenly Father, tirelessly at work all the time, makes him impatient to begin his real ministry…” After all, his words—“I must”—are as urgent as they are puzzling.

What was the work, the ministry, the things of the Father? A central part of it was teaching, especially to teach “the teachers.” The Son of God, the author of the Law, would both explain and fulfill the Law to the teachers of the Law. This focus on teaching is especially emphasized as the Passion approaches: “And he was teaching daily in the temple” (Lk 19:47; see 20:1; 21:37). After being arrested, facing the chief priests and elders, Jesus stated, “When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me” (Lk. 22:53).

Sitting in the midst of the teachers, Jesus taught by asking questions. This was, Origen observed in a homily, befitting his youth. Jesus “interrogated the teachers not to learn anything but to teach them by his questions,” he wrote, “It is part of the same wisdom to know what you should ask and what you should answer.” But Jesus also astounded the teachers, St. Luke writes, with “his understanding and his answers.” Having come to seek and save the lost, he revealed man’s need for the Messiah by both asking and proclaiming, prodding and eliciting. “For the Son of man came,” he told Zacchae'us, “to seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10).

When Joseph and Mary spent three days seeking Jesus, they were being drawn deeper into the mystery of salvation. They knew Jesus was the Messiah, but how could they not be astonished that he was teaching the teachers? This required further pondering, thought, contemplation. And so, also, for us. In seeking him, we will not only find him, but will find that we are the ones who have been found.  

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the December 27, 2009, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

[Salvation]

Where God Lives

 

by Food For Thought on December 30, 2012 · 

It is disheartening to hear and see the gradual decimation and demise of the family. We are more aware of the realities of broken homes, the single parents’ phenomenon, child abuse, and parental addictions. Such scenario is alarming because of its far-reaching consequences. When mothers, fathers or both have to leave their families to earn abroad, there are not only economic gains but also social costs. Is the effort worth it?

The family, no matter what its shortcomings and flaws are, remains to be the fundamental human connection. None of our families is holy and perfect; each is a combination of all sorts of conflicts, compulsions, and craziness that put to test our love and forgiveness. But in the midst of all that, God remains present. There is no other place to find Him. It is the place where He found us.

Yet the understanding of family has to be expanded. At the center of Jesus’ family life and at the center of his ministry is his Father. That relationship is for Jesus the most important in his life because that gives him direction and support that will sustain him in his suffering and death. When Jesus describes his family in Scriptures, he says that it is not a relationship of blood but rather a relationship of fidelity to the Word of God. That is why he said: “My mother and brothers are those who hear the Word of God and hear it.”

Like Jesus, we are thus tasked to focus our lives on the Word of God. Whether we live alone or in a family, whether we have many relatives or none, we can be all part of Jesus’ new and expanded family. The only requirement is to hear the Word of God and fulfill it. Since Jesus extended his family, today’s Feast of the Holy Family truly belongs to all of us. Look around then and see the people around us are indeed members of our family.

We then pray in gratitude for our respective families both in its usual and expanded meaning. We pray for a greater familiarity and unity of sense as we become better witnesses of God’s love.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 

<< Sunday, December 30, 2012 >>

Holy Family

1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28
1 John 3:1-2, 21-24
View Readings

Psalm 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10
Luke 2:41-52

FAMILY ECOLOGY

Jesus "was submissive to them. His mother meanwhile kept all these things in memory. Jesus, for His part, progressed steadily in wisdom and age and grace before God and men." —Luke 2:51-52, our transl.

 

In the Christmas season, the Lord graces us to grow in love for Him even more deeply than at most other times of the year. We will receive this new and deeper love at Mass, through God's Word, by witnessing for Jesus, by forgiving our enemies, and in many other ways. In trying to deepen our love for the members of our family, we will also grow in our love for the Lord.

The way to love your family more deeply is to be yourself, that is, to fulfill your God-given role in the family. Because God created families to be ecological, the various roles and dynamics of family life are intricately interrelated. For example, a single parent shouldn't try to be a "double-parent." Parents shouldn't try to be a peer to their children. While all people are called to be submissive on many occasions, wives are to be the main models of submission (see Eph 5:22). Otherwise, most people will not be submissive and will misunderstand submission, as is the case in the Western world today. Fathers are to take the greatest responsibility in making their children disciples of Christ. There are, of course, many other examples.

The Lord expects us only to be ourselves and to do our best. He will provide what is missing in the family. In being ourselves and doing our best in family life, we will know the depth of Christ's love in a new way this Christmas season (Eph 3:18). Try to be a holy family. Know a new love for Jesus.

 

Prayer: Father, teach me the ecology of family life and love.

Promise: "See what love the Father has bestowed on us in letting us be called children of God." —1 Jn 3:1

Praise: Praise Jesus, holy and risen Lord! "Give to the Lord, you families of nations, give to the Lord glory and praise; give to the Lord the glory due His name!" (Ps 96:8)

[Salvation]

 

“The answer to anyone who talks about the surplus population is to ask him, whether he is part of the surplus population; or  if not, how he knows he is not.” [1925]

~~G. K. Chesterton

 

[Salvation]

http://resources.sainteds.com/showmedia.asp?media=../sermons/homily/2012-12-30-Homily%20Fr%20Gary.mp3&ExtraInfo=0&BaseDir=../sermons/homily