Towards a Better Family Life
1 Sam. 1:20-22, 24-28; Ps. 8; 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24; Luke 2:41-52
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The primary purposes of this feast are 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 fulfil the Law. It is said that the family is the first agent of socialisation; 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 and the discipline of the faith. Little wonder we baptise infants and ensure they are well brought up in the faith.
So funny, many Christian families today are ready to go to any length to get the best education for their children but do nothing or little for their spiritual development. Draw your children to God; ensure they identify with the spiritual, religious, and cultural demands of their age.
Again, the gospel makes us understand that the parents of Jesus were looking for Jesus after their religious observance in the temple. The Bible says they were searching for him for three days until they found him in the temple. Three days search was symbolic of a diligent search. Prov. 8:17 says those that seek me diligently shall find me. Can we seek and search diligently? We can search for him in 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.
The Gospel is also a lesson on crisis management. Crisis is part of family life; we may not go through crisis 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; even at betrothal, Joseph was traumatised because Mary was already pregnant. What happens when your daughter comes home pregnant outside wedlock? 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; the first reading speaks of Hannah’s gratitude for a success story despite her pains; David was guilty of adultery and homicide; Tobit and Job faced misfortunes; there are many examples in the scriptures.
What then is the way out? 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 of harmony in families. Again, families must learn to pray together; the popular axiom says, “A family that prays together stays together.” More so, a family that eats and plays together stays together. Bring Jesus into your family, and the crisis will be subdued. Life without Christ is filled with crises. When Christ comes in, that crisis will be subdued. They are called the Holy Family not because they never had crises and 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 infertility. Understand what God is saying through you. Even if it means adoption, don’t say no. Parents are looking for children, just as children are looking for parents. Understand what God seems through you. God rewards, but we can’t determine the detail of that reward.
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, forever and ever. Amen.
