The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, invite us to reflect on the dynamic of family life in which we have the greatest opportunity for love, mercy, and compassion.
The reading from the Book of Sirach outlines responsibilities to parents and kindness to a father.
* [3:1–16] Besides the virtues that must characterize our conduct toward God, special duties are enjoined, such as honor and respect toward parents, with corresponding blessings (vv. 1–9). By showing such respect especially to old and infirm parents (vv. 10–13), the sins of children are pardoned (vv. 14–15). Failure to honor father and mother is blasphemy and merits a curse from God (v. 16). Cf. Ex 20:12; Eph 6:2–3. (Sirach, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)
Psalm 128 praises the Happy Home of the Faithful.
* [Psalm 128] A statement that the ever-reliable God will bless the reverent (Ps 128:1). God’s blessing is concrete: satisfaction and prosperity, a fertile spouse and abundant children (Ps 128:2–4). The perspective is that of the adult male, ordinarily the ruler and representative of the household to the community. The last verses extend the blessing to all the people for generations to come (Ps 128:5–6). (Psalms, PSALM 128, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter to the Colossians presents rules for Christian households.
* [3:18–4:6] After general recommendations that connect family life and the social condition of slavery with the service of Christ (Col 3:18–4:1), Paul requests prayers for himself, especially in view of his imprisonment (Col 3:2–3), and recommends friendly relations and meaningful discussions of Christian teaching with outsiders, i.e., non-Christians (Col 3:5–6). See note on Eph 5:21–6:9.
* [3:22–25] Slaves: within this table of duties in family and societal relations, involving wives and husbands, children and parents (Col 3:18–21), such as also appears in Eph 5:22–6:9, slaves here receive special attention because of the case of Onesimus the slave returning to his master (Col 4:9; Phlm 10–12). (Colossians, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew we learn about the escape to Egypt and the return from Egypt.
* [2:20] For those who sought the child’s life are dead: Moses, who had fled from Egypt because the Pharaoh sought to kill him (see Ex 2:15), was told to return there, “for all the men who sought your life are dead” (Ex 4:19).
* [2:22] With the agreement of the emperor Augustus, Archelaus received half of his father’s kingdom, including Judea, after Herod’s death. He had the title “ethnarch” (i.e., “ruler of a nation”) and reigned from 4 B.C. to A.D. 6.
* [2:23] Nazareth…he shall be called a Nazorean: the tradition of Jesus’ residence in Nazareth was firmly established, and Matthew sees it as being in accordance with the foreannounced plan of God. The town of Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and no such prophecy can be found there. The vague expression “through the prophets” may be due to Matthew’s seeing a connection between Nazareth and certain texts in which there are words with a remote similarity to the name of that town. Some such Old Testament texts are Is 11:1 where the Davidic king of the future is called “a bud” (nēser) that shall blossom from the roots of Jesse, and Jgs 13:5, 7 where Samson, the future deliverer of Israel from the Philistines, is called one who shall be consecrated (a nāzîr) to God. (Matthew, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)
Nancy Shirley asks where is the balance between idealizing families and facing our brokenness as humans? Christmas season is certainly the time to focus on hope and the “gifts” that we are given throughout the year. The gift of family – whatever shape or form – is one to celebrate not only at this time but also throughout the year.
I especially appreciated the gospel and the focus on Joseph. Every reading about Joseph fills my heart with the image of a wonderful father. While I pray frequently to Mary and consider her my loving Mother, I do cherish Joseph. I understand that he is not a father in the way of our one Father – perfect and loving, yet Joseph to me comes as close as possible for an earthly perfect father. He is understanding and forgiving, noble and humble, strong yet gentle and, most of all, a man of unfailing and enduring faith. Joseph listened to angels well before Bethlehem and accepted the situation and explanation. It’s always impressed me that even before the first dream and angel message, he did not condemn Mary, rather planned a way to save her. He demonstrated that he was a man of kindness and compassion even when he thought he had been betrayed. His following of the dreams related in this gospel further confirm his faith in his God and his faithfulness to his family. He is the consummate protector – doing whatever was/is necessary for his family and in his very special way being guided by angels in dreams. Joseph protected Jesus from before He was born and continued this care throughout His childhood and probably early adulthood. He was an earthly role model for Jesus, teaching Him to be a carpenter until His time came for public ministry. (Shirley, 2022)
Don Schwager quotes “The holy family flees to Egypt,” by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.
"But why was the Christ child sent into Egypt? The text makes this clear: he was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, 'Out of Egypt have I called my son' (Hosea 11:1). From that point onward we see that the hope of salvation would be proclaimed to the whole world. Babylon and Egypt represent the whole world. Even when they were engulfed in ungodliness, God signified that he intended to correct and amend both Babylon and Egypt. God wanted humanity to expect his bounteous gifts the world over. So he called from Babylon the wise men and sent to Egypt the holy family.
"Besides what I have said, there is another lesson also to be learned, which tends powerfully toward true self-constraint in us. We are warned from the beginning to look out for temptations and plots. And we see this even when he came in swaddling clothes. Thus you see even at his birth a tyrant raging, a flight ensuing and a departure beyond the border. For it was because of no crime that his family was exiled into the land of Egypt.
"Similarly, you yourself need not be troubled if you are suffering countless dangers. Do not expect to be celebrated or crowned promptly for your troubles. Instead you may keep in mind the long-suffering example of the mother of the Child, bearing all things nobly, knowing that such a fugitive life is consistent with the ordering of spiritual things. You are sharing the kind of labor Mary herself shared. So did the magi. They both were willing to retire secretly in the humiliating role of fugitive." (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 8.2) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 urges us to take care of our children, our parents, and our siblings. Take care of them when they are too young or too old to take care of themselves. Take care of them when they are ill or troubled. Take care of them when it’s a delight and when it’s a sacrifice.
This is a high calling, and we may fail at it sometimes. That’s all the more reason to ask Jesus, who experienced family life himself, for the grace to keep forming this circle of love—day by day, week by week, year by year. Let’s also ask Mary and Joseph to pray for us. May our care for one another bind us together in the Lord all the days of our lives!
“Father, thank you for the gift of my family. Help me to care for them as you care for me.” (Meditation on Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler explains that the Book of Sirach, in later Jewish history, presents Hebrew wisdom as being as good as Greek wisdom. The rules for family organization in Collosians reflect Stoic wisdom of the time and point to Christian aspiration to mutual obligation. Friar Jude reminds us of the presence of Jewish communities in Egypt and Nazareth who would be able to assist the Holy Family in the early days of Jesus' life.
Cynthia Bourgeault identifies inter-abiding as the primary quality of God’s Kingdom that Jesus came to reveal.
No separation between God and humans. When Jesus talks about this Oneness, he is not speaking in an Eastern sense about an equivalency of being, such that I am in and of myself divine. What he more has in mind is a complete, mutual indwelling: I am in God, God is in you, you are in God, we are in each other. His most beautiful symbol for this is . . . John 15 where he says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Abide in me as I in you” [see John 15:4–5]. A few verses later he says, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love” [John 15:9]. While he does indeed claim that “the Father and I are one” (John 10:30) . . . he does not see this as an exclusive privilege but as something shared by all human beings. There is no separation between humans and God because of this mutual interabiding which expresses the indivisible reality of divine love. We flow into God—and God into us—because it is the nature of love to flow. And as we give ourselves into one another in this fashion, the vine gives life and coherence to the branch while the branch makes visible what the vine is. . . . The whole and the part live together in mutual, loving reciprocity, each belonging to the other and dependent on the other to show forth the fullness of love. That’s Jesus’s vision of no separation between human and Divine. (Bourgeault, 2022)
The people we interact with as family are the gift of Providence for growth and fullness in our life.
References
Bourgeault, C. (2022, December 30). Love Flows — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/love-flows-2022-12-30/
Colossians, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/colossians/3?12
Matthew, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/2?13
Meditation on Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/12/30/569827/
Psalms, PSALM 128. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/128?1
Schwager, D. (n.d.). An Angel of the Lord Appeared to Joseph in a Dream. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=dec30
Shirley, N. (2022, December 30). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/123022.html
Sirach, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/3?2
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