Commentary on the Readings for nextSunday – Dec. 27, 2009
The Feast of the Holy Family
The Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s Day is celebrated in honor of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This is timely and appropriate because Christmas is, or should be, a family celebration. It began with the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph becoming parents – rounding out their household into a family. This family should be the perfect model for any family in any culture or time.
The First Reading is taken from the Book of the Prophet Sirach (3:2 – 14). The writer, the Sage, Sirach, gives us his idea of the ideal family with all the responsibilities, honors and benefits that are bestowed on each member. We, in modern society, have a tendency to overlook the responsibility that each member of a family has to all the other members regardless of age. That is why we have so many families falling apart. They are not pulling together!
In the Responsorial Psalm (128:1 – 5), the psalmist picks up the same theme of family life and blesses those who “walk in the way of the Lord.” This is a beautiful prayer that all parents should pray and teach their children.
The Second Reading is taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians (3:12 – 21). In this passage, Paul gives us his thoughts on the ideal family life which should be just as true today as it was then. However, many women get upset with a certain phrase within this beautiful Letter and dismiss the whole thing. Please take a moment to listen to what Paul is really saying: If we are truly Christians, with Christ living within each of us, then authority over, or responsibility to, should be a matter of “Love they Neighbor,” not only within families, but toward everyone. In today’s lifestyle raising a family is difficult enough unless each shoulders his or her responsibility.
The Gospel Reading is taken from theGospel of Luke (2:41 -52). This is the familiar story of Mary and Joseph being separated from Jesus who, at the age of approximately twelve years, remains in the temple after celebrating the feast of Passover. After searching for Him for several days, and finding Him in the temple, “listening to the teachers and asking them questions” everyone was amazed” – for different reasons. Jesus was doing whatever any young person might do at that age and was amazed at their question. Mary and Joseph were amazed at Jesus’ lack of concern, but soon learned that there was more to this scene than they understood. The ‘teachers’ were amazed at Jesus knowledge of scripture and His questions to them. We must remember that Mary and Joseph must have shared with Jesus, as he was old enough to understand, the unique circumstances of His birth and encouraged Him to read the scriptures to see how they might apply to Him. His response to Mary and Joseph is puzzling. All Jewish first-born males could claim to be a son of God and the temple as “their Father’s house.” We should not read more into that statement than is there. Nevertheless, Jesus returned to Nazareth and became subject to them as would be required and, in doing so, He “advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.”
Advent is a time of soul-searching and preparing, of waiting and hoping, of examining our hearts and actions to see if they conform to what God expects of us. This is all in an attempt to improve our relationship with our God, but we should not stop the process at the end of Advent. As we can see from the Readings above, each member of a family has a relationship and a responsibility to each other and our examination of our conduct, inside and outside the family, affects the family in total. Neglecting this attitude of relationships is where the family begins to come apart. Something to think about during your Prayer Time this week! MFB
Sunday Commentary
Commentary on the Readings for next Sunday – Dec. 27, 2009
The Feast of the Holy Family
The Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s Day is celebrated in honor of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This is timely and appropriate because Christmas is, or should be, a family celebration. It began with the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph becoming parents – rounding out their household into a family. This family should be the perfect model for any family in any culture or time.
The First Reading is taken from the Book of the Prophet Sirach (3:2 – 14). The writer, the Sage, Sirach, gives us his idea of the ideal family with all the responsibilities, honors and benefits that are bestowed on each member. We, in modern society, have a tendency to overlook the responsibility that each member of a family has to all the other members regardless of age. That is why we have so many families falling apart. They are not pulling together!
In the Responsorial Psalm (128:1 – 5), the psalmist picks up the same theme of family life and blesses those who “walk in the way of the Lord.” This is a beautiful prayer that all parents should pray and teach their children.
The Second Reading is taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians (3:12 – 21). In this passage, Paul gives us his thoughts on the ideal family life which should be just as true today as it was then. However, many women get upset with a certain phrase within this beautiful Letter and dismiss the whole thing. Please take a moment to listen to what Paul is really saying: If we are truly Christians, with Christ living within each of us, then authority over, or responsibility to, should be a matter of “Love they Neighbor,” not only within families, but toward everyone. In today’s lifestyle raising a family is difficult enough unless each shoulders his or her responsibility.
The Gospel Reading is taken from the Gospel of Luke (2:41 -52). This is the familiar story of Mary and Joseph being separated from Jesus who, at the age of approximately twelve years, remains in the temple after celebrating the feast of Passover. After searching for Him for several days, and finding Him in the temple, “listening to the teachers and asking them questions” everyone was amazed” – for different reasons. Jesus was doing whatever any young person might do at that age and was amazed at their question. Mary and Joseph were amazed at Jesus’ lack of concern, but soon learned that there was more to this scene than they understood. The ‘teachers’ were amazed at Jesus knowledge of scripture and His questions to them. We must remember that Mary and Joseph must have shared with Jesus, as he was old enough to understand, the unique circumstances of His birth and encouraged Him to read the scriptures to see how they might apply to Him. His response to Mary and Joseph is puzzling. All Jewish first-born males could claim to be a son of God and the temple as “their Father’s house.” We should not read more into that statement than is there. Nevertheless, Jesus returned to Nazareth and became subject to them as would be required and, in doing so, He “advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.”
Advent is a time of soul-searching and preparing, of waiting and hoping, of examining our hearts and actions to see if they conform to what God expects of us. This is all in an attempt to improve our relationship with our God, but we should not stop the process at the end of Advent. As we can see from the Readings above, each member of a family has a relationship and a responsibility to each other and our examination of our conduct, inside and outside the family, affects the family in total. Neglecting this attitude of relationships is where the family begins to come apart. Something to think about during your Prayer Time this week! MFB