Readings: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
Colossians 3:12-21
Luke 2:41-52
"Jesus went down with
them... and he
continued to be under their authority."
Christmas is best time for reunions. For sure, the
season really helps us bring back old happy memories, share different
experiences and sometimes heal wounds of past misgivings. In occasions like
family reunion, everybody points back to the
ancestral home where the present big family tree had once originated. And no
doubt, each one remembers with pride and gratitude to that "first
family", which has given life to many other families through the years.
Similarly, the big big family of Christians has one family origin: the holy
family of Nazareth. But the holy family is not only a matter of origin. It is
also a model. Thus, as we hold our "grand reunion," so to say, on
this feast of the holy family, we meditate once more on how the holy family of
Jesus, Mary and Joseph has become part of Christian life and living all through
the years.
1. The holy family is the cradle of today's big
Christian family and civilization. This seems to be the prime significance of
the holy family. Other great religions in the world simply point back to their
respective founders as their origin, and care less and even not about their
founder's family. Perhaps, their founders had no families to be proud of, on
the first place, But not for us Christians, especially Catholics. As we point
to Christ as the source of our faith, we
never forget, the persons at his aide who are surely responsible - humanly
speaking – of letting the God-man Jesus be and become what he is. These two persons are Joseph and Mary who, with
Jesus, make the origin and source of all Christian families in the world. But
again, we remember and honor the holy family not just because it stands as our
“genealogical” origin, but also because it is the model family of every
Christian family. Let us remember that Jesus came out to the open for his
public ministry only at the last three years or so of his life. The first
thirty formative years of Jesus were spent in private, in the silence of his
home. By human standards, therefore, we must be sure that the Jesus in
public was largely due to the Jesus in private.
2. In a family, we identify roles and
relationships. We have the head of the family who is the husband and father. We
have the wife and mother. We have the child or children. Thus, we have the
husband and wife relationship and the parents and children relationship. When
there is unfaithfulness to roles and relationships, we usually end up with a
broken family. But when there is faithfulness, we surely have a happy family, a
family that builds a healthy home. That is
the family of Nazareth. It is just a humble family. But certainly, it is a
family that makes a home.
a. Joseph is the husband and father. To him has
been entrusted the role of the head of the family. Being so, the destiny of his
family rests upon his care and he shows his faithfulness to his role by being a
man of God and a man of principle. As a man of God, the gospels depict him as
an obedient servant of the Lord. For three times (cf Mt2: 13-23), Joseph takes
the divine instructions without question or doubt. In the middle of his rest,
he rises at once and braves the darkness and coldness of the night just to be
the guide, the shield and the safety of the child and his mother. So
responsible is Joseph that the life of the child is spared for many times.
Clearly, he raises his family right from the start in the holy fear of God, in
the obedience of his will. The faith and faithfulness of Joseph to God and his
untiring cooperation to God's divine designs would soon be reflected and
perfected in the holy child.
But not only that. As a man of principle, he
strives to meet the demands of life honestly by being a responsible
breadwinner. In his little carpentry shop, he shows his indelible traits of
industriousness and hard work. And although lowly is his way of procuring their
livelihood, he always takes pride to raise his family by the sweat of his
brows. No wonder, if Jesus would learn to embrace a life of poverty and
simplicity and later announce with evangelic fervor the Lord's year of favor to
the poor, it is because Joseph has taught him the great dignity of labor and
the inherent virtue of hard work.
b. Mary is the wife and mother. Mary's
faithfulness to her role has been a consistent fact. And this is because she
has all the virtues being the woman who is full of grace (cf Lk 1:28). But it seems that. Two outstanding virtues make
her marriage and family life successful: trust and simplicity. Right from the
start and even amidst uncertainty and trouble, she is always ready with her "fiat.”
That is how she manifests her total trust to God. And this trust goes through
and through not only to God but also to her husband Joseph and her son Jesus.
In good times and in bad times, Mary abides with the decisions of Joseph and
supports the affairs of her son. Her trust
enables her to keep all things in her heart, even the most trying and
difficult ones.
The other virtue that accompanies her trust is her
simplicity. Many great leaders in history fall because of the unparalleled
ambitions of their partners. Mary is no ambitious woman. She is no opportunist
either. She never takes advantage even with the fact that she is the mother of
God. She does not grab leading roles in public but always maintains a very low
profile. She is content with what Joseph could afford and never demands whatever
is beyond her husband's means. If Joseph himself feels comfortable with his
lowly livelihood, it is because Mary is always there to console him with her
simple aspirations. - - - “Behind every man’s victory is a woman,” so
goes the saying. And this is the case of Mary. In her trust and simplicity, she
is always behind Joseph as a wife and behind Jesus as a mother.
c. Jesus is the son. Everything in the gospel (and
in the Bible for that matter) is about Jesus. The gospel that we proclaim is
the gospel of Jesus. From his birth (and even before) to his death (and even
after), we are familiar about him, not only as the Messiah but also as the Son
of God and the son of Mary and Joseph. Every time we talk about the gospel of
Jesus, and in whatever manner, we directly or indirectly touch his role as the
most obedient son. There is not much need to expound this role even as we
celebrate today the Feast of the Holy Family.
Nonetheless, it seems not good finishing our
thoughts today without minding the words of the holy old man Simeon. Simeon’s
impression and canticle in today's gospel in someway sums up at least a part of
Jesus' role as son. Here, the infant Jesus is portrayed as the ultimate answer
to the old man's only longing and desire. Perhaps, Simeon stands in behalf of
the millions of people who hunger and thirst for an ideal son who could
answer their deepest aspirations in life. A mere look at the long awaited Jesus
was enough a reward for Simeon and was ready to be taken away. What a holy
desire! If only we could share this desire. If only we could have this
aspiration, too. Surely, Jesus as the
Messiah and as the Son of God would make us all members of the family of the
elect.