I would like us to reflect on 2 themes developed in today’s Gospel.
The 1st theme is that dedication to family and love of family are important Christian values. Why would I say this?
History tells us that Jesus was approximately 33 years of age when he died. Only the last 3 years of his life were devoted to travelling throughout Palestine, teaching, healing and other good works. Where was Jesus prior to age 30? What was he doing?
The answer is found in today’s Gospel: “Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them”. For 30 years, Jesus lived at Nazareth. His days were focused on the humble tasks and obligations towards his family and community. Why would Jesus Christ, the Son of God, spend over 90% of his life on earth as a carpenter’s son in a remote village called Nazareth? Why did Jesus not spend 90% of his life preaching and performing miracles?
The key message is that Jesus’ life at Nazareth proves that God loves family life. God, in Jesus, chooses and says “yes” to family life. Jesus’ growth and development were guided and supported by Mary and Joseph. Jesus increased in wisdom, in years and in favour with God and with others as a son in a human family.
Family life is God’s gift to us. God’s plan for humanity is for us to experience loving relationships within a family. God made flesh was present in the relationships within the family at Nazareth. Likewise, with us, God is present within our family relationships. Likewise, in our homes, the divine is hidden in the human. Although our families are not perfect, and although there are many ups and downs in family life, and although our families can struggle in the midst of the messiness and challenges of life, our families are holy places, where God is made known.
Family life is sacred because it is the school where we are called to discover the virtues mentioned in the 2nd Reading: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and, most of all, love. Whenever we do our best to put into practice a gracious and generous love that expects nothing in return, we are imitating the Holy Family.
It is for this reason that one of Mother Theresa’s favorite sayings was, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family”. What M. Theresa is saying is that strong loving bonds focused on unselfish caring and faithful commitment that exist in the home have the power to affect all the other relationships that we are involved in that exist outside the home, including our society at large.
The 2nd theme found in today’s Gospel is an extension of M. Theresa’s comment. The family is the forum in which both adults and children focus on God’s call for each person.
When Mary and Joseph find the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple, they are understandably agitated, upset and hurt: “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety”. Jesus’ response is significant: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Mary is referring to Joseph when she says, “your father”. When Jesus says, “my Father”, he is referring to God.
With this remark, Jesus is not being rude and disrespectful to his parents. Rather, Jesus is displaying insight, clarity and wisdom. He is revealing to his parents that he knows that God is his Father. In other words, Jesus, even as a youth, is aware of his divine identity; he is the Son of God.
As such, his life is to be devoted to doing the will of his heavenly Father. The purpose of his life is to do what is pleasing to God. Jesus has a mission that goes beyond his family life in Nazareth. Jesus’ mission is all about establishing the Kingdom of God in the world.
Yet, after this incident, Jesus, eternal Word of the Father, returns to Nazareth and makes himself subject to Mary and Joseph for another 18 years. Why did Jesus not begin his public life after this incident in the temple? The point is that Jesus’ vocation grew stronger and deeper and blossomed in the context of the family relationships that existed in that home in Nazareth.
The same is true for our lives. The call of family life is for everyone in the family – adults and children – to be able to discern his / her mission. An important dimension of family life is to cultivate an environment where each member is encouraged to be faithful to the vocation to which he / she is called by God. Each family member has been given gifts, talents and abilities which are to be developed for the sake of the Lord’s work in our world.
How do we know if we are building up the Kingdom of God in this world? The short answer is: Let’s look at Jesus and do what he did. Pope Francis made these remarks during his Angelus homily on February 14: “Let’s not forget the three words that help us understand God’s style. Do not forget: closeness, compassion, tenderness.” In short, we know we are aligning ourselves with the values of the Kingdom of God by the way we treat those around us.
Each of us ought to ask this question: what evidence is there of closeness, tenderness and compassion in the concrete situations of my life and in my daily interactions with people? The more examples of these 3 words that we find, the more confident we can be that we are responding to God’s call for our lives. The more examples of these 3 words that we find, the more confident we can be that we are embracing our mission to build up the Kingdom of God.
As our Eucharist continues, let us offer 2 prayers to God.
First, may God help us to integrate into our own lives the lesson that Jesus’ 3 decades at Nazareth teaches us – namely, to be devoted to our families because family life is blessed, holy and sacred. As was the case with the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, our families are also permeated with the presence of God.
Second, may God help our families create caring, encouraging and supportive environments where every individual can discover the mission to which he or she is being called by God. As was the case with the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, it is in the context of family relationships that each of us can learn that we have a unique contribution to make in establishing God’s Kingdom in our world.
Amen.
Deacon Roland Muzzatti
December 26, 2021
I would like us to reflect on 2 themes developed in today’s Gospel.
The 1st theme is that dedication to family and love of family are important Christian values. Why would I say this?
History tells us that Jesus was approximately 33 years of age when he died. Only the last 3 years of his life were devoted to travelling throughout Palestine, teaching, healing and other good works. Where was Jesus prior to age 30? What was he doing?
The answer is found in today’s Gospel: “Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them”. For 30 years, Jesus lived at Nazareth. His days were focused on the humble tasks and obligations towards his family and community. Why would Jesus Christ, the Son of God, spend over 90% of his life on earth as a carpenter’s son in a remote village called Nazareth? Why did Jesus not spend 90% of his life preaching and performing miracles?
The key message is that Jesus’ life at Nazareth proves that God loves family life. God, in Jesus, chooses and says “yes” to family life. Jesus’ growth and development were guided and supported by Mary and Joseph. Jesus increased in wisdom, in years and in favour with God and with others as a son in a human family.
Family life is God’s gift to us. God’s plan for humanity is for us to experience loving relationships within a family. God made flesh was present in the relationships within the family at Nazareth. Likewise, with us, God is present within our family relationships. Likewise, in our homes, the divine is hidden in the human. Although our families are not perfect, and although there are many ups and downs in family life, and although our families can struggle in the midst of the messiness and challenges of life, our families are holy places, where God is made known.
Family life is sacred because it is the school where we are called to discover the virtues mentioned in the 2nd Reading: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and, most of all, love. Whenever we do our best to put into practice a gracious and generous love that expects nothing in return, we are imitating the Holy Family.
It is for this reason that one of Mother Theresa’s favorite sayings was, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family”. What M. Theresa is saying is that strong loving bonds focused on unselfish caring and faithful commitment that exist in the home have the power to affect all the other relationships that we are involved in that exist outside the home, including our society at large.
The 2nd theme found in today’s Gospel is an extension of M. Theresa’s comment. The family is the forum in which both adults and children focus on God’s call for each person.
When Mary and Joseph find the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple, they are understandably agitated, upset and hurt: “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety”. Jesus’ response is significant: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Mary is referring to Joseph when she says, “your father”. When Jesus says, “my Father”, he is referring to God.
With this remark, Jesus is not being rude and disrespectful to his parents. Rather, Jesus is displaying insight, clarity and wisdom. He is revealing to his parents that he knows that God is his Father. In other words, Jesus, even as a youth, is aware of his divine identity; he is the Son of God.
As such, his life is to be devoted to doing the will of his heavenly Father. The purpose of his life is to do what is pleasing to God. Jesus has a mission that goes beyond his family life in Nazareth. Jesus’ mission is all about establishing the Kingdom of God in the world.
Yet, after this incident, Jesus, eternal Word of the Father, returns to Nazareth and makes himself subject to Mary and Joseph for another 18 years. Why did Jesus not begin his public life after this incident in the temple? The point is that Jesus’ vocation grew stronger and deeper and blossomed in the context of the family relationships that existed in that home in Nazareth.
The same is true for our lives. The call of family life is for everyone in the family – adults and children – to be able to discern his / her mission. An important dimension of family life is to cultivate an environment where each member is encouraged to be faithful to the vocation to which he / she is called by God. Each family member has been given gifts, talents and abilities which are to be developed for the sake of the Lord’s work in our world.
How do we know if we are building up the Kingdom of God in this world? The short answer is: Let’s look at Jesus and do what he did. Pope Francis made these remarks during his Angelus homily on February 14: “Let’s not forget the three words that help us understand God’s style. Do not forget: closeness, compassion, tenderness.” In short, we know we are aligning ourselves with the values of the Kingdom of God by the way we treat those around us.
Each of us ought to ask this question: what evidence is there of closeness, tenderness and compassion in the concrete situations of my life and in my daily interactions with people? The more examples of these 3 words that we find, the more confident we can be that we are responding to God’s call for our lives. The more examples of these 3 words that we find, the more confident we can be that we are embracing our mission to build up the Kingdom of God.
As our Eucharist continues, let us offer 2 prayers to God.
First, may God help us to integrate into our own lives the lesson that Jesus’ 3 decades at Nazareth teaches us – namely, to be devoted to our families because family life is blessed, holy and sacred. As was the case with the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, our families are also permeated with the presence of God.
Second, may God help our families create caring, encouraging and supportive environments where every individual can discover the mission to which he or she is being called by God. As was the case with the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, it is in the context of family relationships that each of us can learn that we have a unique contribution to make in establishing God’s Kingdom in our world.
Amen.
Deacon Roland Muzzatti
December 26, 2021