Holy Family - B (December 27, 2020)

 

They Returned to Their Town of Nazareth

Luke 2:22-40

 

The Holy Family lived in Nazareth.  Jesus would be known as Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph (Luke 4:22) and the carpenter’s son (Matthew 13:55).

 

On this day, let us read and reflect on what Pope Francis recently wrote on St. Joseph and the dignity and situation of work in our world. 

 

Saint Joseph was a carpenter who earned an honest living to provide for his family. From him, Jesus learned the value, the dignity and the joy of what it means to eat bread that is the fruit of one’s own labor…

Working persons, whatever their job may be, are cooperating with God himself, and in some way become creators of the world around us.  The crisis of our time […] can serve as a summons for all of us to rediscover the value, the importance and necessity of work for bringing about a new “normal” from which no one is excluded. Saint Joseph’s work reminds us that God himself, in becoming man, did not disdain work. The loss of employment that affects so many of our brothers and sisters, and has increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, should serve as a summons to review our priorities. Let us implore Saint Joseph the Worker to help us find ways to express our firm conviction that no young person, no person at all, no family should be without work!

 

Furthermore, Pope Francis has asked that this year be dedicated to St. Joseph.  The full Apostolic Letter on St. Joseph written by Pope Francis for the occasion can be found here With a Father's Heart.

Image source:  St. Joseph, on Facebook, posted by Fr. Jay Mello, reposted by Fr. Louis Molinelli, SDB

 

Holy Family - A (December 29, 2019)

Why?

Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23

Have you ever wondered why the Holy Family did not have it easier? After all, the parents were a couple trying to do what was right.  Even more, they were carrying out what God had asked of them.  And the child is the Son of God, Savior of humanity, King of kings…. 

What if they had lived in a royal palace and had everything their way? 

Then most of us would not relate to them.

On the contrary, they dealt with uncertainties, worries, anxieties, dangers, and suffering.  For sure, they also had moments of joy and excitement of family life, of having and raising a child.  The parents cared for each other and did all they could to protect their child.  These we can relate to.

Moreover, in the Incarnation, the Son of God lives in a human family.  Now, in our families we find God and holiness in its moments of joy, excitement, and love, with its uncertainties, worries, anxieties, dangers, and sufferings.

Thus, by living in a human family, the Incarnate Son of God makes holy all human families.  

Image source:  "Let Mom Rest" (Viral image)

Holy Family (December 30, 2018)

Jesus Advanced in Wisdom and Age

Luke 2: 41-52

Reading this passage, we can get caught up in the details of Jesus going missing (how could that even happen?) and on Jesus’ response to Mary, and overlook three details that Luke include in this passage.

1. Luke tells us that “each year” [the family] “went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover.”  This and other details in Luke’s account of the events in his Gospel up to this point tell us that Jesus’ parents were devoted to God in their religious practices.  Furthermore, they raised Jesus in the practice of the Jewish faith.
2. Jesus is often portrayed in stories, paintings, etc. as lecturing the teachers.  Luke, on the contrary, tells us that Jesus was a twelve-year-old, “sitting in the midst of the teachers,” learning from them by “listening to them and asking them questions.” [1]
3. While the parents “did not understand what he said to them, [Jesus] went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.”  He indeed lived as their son, “obedient to them.”

These three elements, while often overlooked, teach us some valuable lessons for good family life.  The Holy Family of Nazareth lived their religious faith.  Jesus was obedient to his parents.  And he learned from the wisdom and experience of his parents and others.  

 
Then Luke concludes that in such an environment, with such attitudes, “Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.”

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[1] John Petty, www.progressiveinvolvement.com

Image source:  www.agnusday.org  

Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (Dec. 31, 2017)

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Luke 2: 22-40

God’s Salvation Among Us

Simeon was a man who has been “awaiting the consolation of Israel” his whole life.  This life-long yearning was satisfied the moment his eyes saw God’s salvation.

And who brought him this experience of God’s salvation?  A simple and ordinary couple who fulfilled their responsibilities with God – observing what required of them as people of faith at that time, and their responsibilities as parents – doing what they knew as best for their son.

The mystery of the Incarnation, God-with-us, continues in the ordinary moments of life, and in the fulfillment of our daily responsibilities.

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - C

Commentary

Luke 2: 41-52

We Are God's Holy Family

Jesus' parents “looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances”.

Commentators often explain this practice of people at the time traveling in group for safety reason.

However, this line also reminds us of the role of the extended family and community in each person's spiritual journey. No one walks this journey alone. We can and need to support each other. The witness of people's faith encourages us to live our faith.

We are all “looking for Jesus” every moment of our life. We can seek him together. And we can find him present in each other. We then become the holy family, where the Son of God continues to be present in the flesh.

  

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - C (December 27, 2015)

Reading

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The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph -

Commentary

Luke 2: 22 - 40

My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation

This Gospel passage gives us two lessons on both receiving and sharing God’s salvation.

Receiving God’s salvation:

Simeon’s desire, a desire of his lifetime, is to “see God’s salvation.”  Once he has seen God’s promise fulfilled, the longing of his life is also fulfilled. 

Do we have the same absolute desire for God?  When we do, we would be more ready to recognize God’s presence around us, and would know more and more how great a gift it is.

Sharing God’s salvation:

The gift of God’s salvation is given to Simeon in an infant, and through a family carrying out their religious duties. 

Many a times, we bring God and God’s salvation into the lives of others by doing what God asks of us, as ordinary and routine as they can be.

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (December 28, 2014)

Readings

Image source: Peter Paul Rubens, Presentation in the Temple.  Website:  Art and the Bible: http://www.artbible.info/art/

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph - A

Commentary

Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23

Nazareth in Galilee

Nazareth was a town of little significance.  It is not even mentioned in the Old Testament.  The comment made by Nathanael in John 1:46 “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” is another indicator of how people at the time of Jesus viewed Nazareth. [1]

The region of Galilee had a long history of foreign occupation, dated back to over 700 years before the birth of Jesus.    Consequently, “pure Jews” of Judea looked down upon those who lived in Galilee. (Jerusalem is in the region of Judea). [2]

Yet, in God’s plan, the Holy Family went to live there, in the insignificant town of Galilee, in the impure region of Judea.  Moreover, God’s only Son became known as a Nazorean, and “Jesus of Nazareth.”

It is among the lowly people of the world that we continue to find the Emmanuel – God with us. 

It is in our human reality, in our families, imperfect, and messy at times, that God has chosen to live.

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[1]  Daniel Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew, Sacra Pagina Series, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 1991; p. 45.

[2] Raymond Brown, Joseph Fitzmyer, Roland Murphy, eds.  The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1990; p. 1195

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph - A (December 29, 2013)

Readings

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