TOWARDS A BETTER FAMILY LIFE
Gen. 15:1-6; 21:1-3; Ps 105; HEB. 11:8-12.17-19; Luke 2:22-40
********************************
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
Today, the church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The primary purpose of this feast is to pray for families and to model our families after the Holy Family. Providentially, this feast comes up towards the end of the year, when many homes are having family reunions. As such, the inspirations in today’s readings are to foster and encourage better family life.
The gospel makes us understand that the parents of Jesus brought Jesus to the Temple to fulfill the law. It is said that the family is the first agent of socialization; it is also necessarily an agent of spiritualization. We have the duty to introduce our children to God and the church. It is our duty to introduce them to the faith. Little wonder we baptize infants and ensure they are well brought up in the faith. So sad. Many Christian families today are ready to go to any length to get the best education for their children but do not care about their spiritual development. Ensure your children have a good spiritual background that harmonizes or edifies their social-cultural, psychological, and emotional lives.
Again, the gospel makes us understand that the parents of Jesus were looking for Jesus after their religious observance in the temple. The gospel says that for three days they were searching for him until they found him in the temple. Beloved, you will always find Jesus in the church; Prov. 8:17 says those that seek me diligently shall find me. The three-day search was a diligent search. Can we not abstain from worldliness even though it is for three days in order to seek and find Jesus? We can search for him through diligent study of the scriptures, earnest prayers, and penance. In Jer. 29:13, the Bible says, If you seek me with your heart, you will find me; Ps. 9:10 says God has never forsaken those who seek him; and in Ps. 34:10, it says, Those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.
This search for Jesus also signals parents to take responsibility for their children. They were responsible for Jesus Christ, their son. We should also learn to be responsible for ourselves. Those who abandon their family responsibilities often live to regret them.
The gospel is also a lesson on crisis management. Crisis is part of family life; we may not go through it the same way, but surely it does come. For the Holy Family, the period that Jesus was not with them was a period of crisis. The parents of Jesus had many anxieties about the child Jesus. At betrothal, Joseph was traumatized because Mary was already pregnant. What happens when your daughter comes home pregnant outside of wedlock?
A crisis is not new in family history. The first family found faults with each other: Cain killed his brother Abel; Noah and his daughter committed abomination; Abraham and Sarah battled with infertility; Abraham could not make peace between Sarah and Hagar; Abraham and Lot separated; Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers; Miriam and Aaron were against their brother Moses; David was guilty of adultery and homicide; Tobit and Job faced misfortunes. The Bible has many examples in this regard. What is the way forward?
Families must learn to clothe themselves in humility, patience, love, and forgiveness (Col 3:12–14). Without forgiveness, families cannot live together. The SECOND READING reminds us that love is the secret to harmony in families. Again, families must learn to pray together; the popular axiom says “a family that prays together stays together.” Bring Jesus into your family, and the crisis will be subdued. Life without Christ is a crisis. They are called the Holy Family not because they never had crises or troubles but because they obeyed the voice of God in every situation. Irrespective of the crisis you go through, if you align with God and obey his voice, your family too can be holy.
Lastly, the FIRST READING reminds us that children are gifts from God. The success story of Hannah challenges us not to give up in the face of crisis. And eventually, when we are blessed, we should not forget to fulfill the promise made to God. The Lord rewarded Hannah not only with a son but also by making him a prophet in Israel. Beloved, the Lord rewards those who keep his word.
Let us pray.
O God, who were pleased to give us the shining example of the Holy Family, graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing the virtues of family life and in the bonds of charity, and so, in the joy of your house, delight one day in eternal rewards. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen
