Feast of Holy Family - Cycle B – 2008+ Sirach 3:2-6,12-14; Colossians 3:12-21; Luke 2:22-40 Like Jesus, each one of us was born into a human family. In today's world we find many examples of family presented to us. There is the traditional family of Mom, Dad, 2.3 children, a dog, cat, and two goldfish. There is also in our society today a very large number of single parent families through divorce and out-of-wedlock births. Because of divorce and death there are many blended families consisting of step-parents, step-children, and step-brothers and sisters. Add to this picture what we call the extended family of grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, and we find we have quite an array of experiences of family. Because of this any talk of family can be quite complex. Also, with the large number of blended families in our nation there is no such thing as a simple family gathering anymore. Many questions begin to be raised like "Are ex-sons and daughters-in law still welcome at family gatherings?" "At my wedding does Dad sit with my Mom, or with his new wife?" Children going through a divorce wonder if they will ever see their Dad (or Mom) again. Parents feel like failures, when their adult children find themselves in other models of family. And as you can see life gets very complicated. But if you look through human history you find that this has always been the case. There have always been different ideals and models of family. In ancient times (and fairly recent times in American history) you have families which consist of one man with many wives and children. This was the case even in the early books of the Old Testament. The early Jewish people believed you lived eternally only through offspring. Therefore, it became a common practice for a man to have more than wife (and even several mistresses) in order to provide him with adequate offspring and the hope of eternal life. As Jewish (and eventually Christian) faith evolved, the model of the traditional family emerged as the norm and standard for both Jews and Christians today. This is still the norm, and ideal, which our faith upholds as the model for family. Sadly, because of the reality of sin in our world, many people find themselves in families which are less than this ideal. While our Christian faith holds the traditional family as the norm and ideal, our increasingly unChristianized society has other things to say about what is family. This too is not a new occurrence. Joshua Ben Sira, the author of the book of Sirach, was a faithful Jew who lived approximately two-hundred years before Christ. Besides fidelity to the Lord and his covenant, one of the preeminent values in his life was the family. He knew that family was essential to the survival of the clan, of the tribe, and of the Jewish nation. Within the family, the future generations were nourished spiritually, physically, morally, and culturally to carry on with dignity and with purpose the faith and traditions of the holy nation of Israel. Ben Sira saw in his fellow Jews an infatuation with Hellenistic (or Greek) ways. This threatened to dilute and alter their traditional practices and beliefs. Thus he wrote his book as a sort of lesson on what it truly means to be a family of faith. From this book we have today's first reading. Likewise, over two-hundred years later, Paul saw the same pagan influence affecting the community at Colossae. He wrote this letter to them to encourage them to follow the ways of Christ in their dealings with one another.
These words, written centuries ago, still ring true today, in a society increasingly influenced by non-Christian thought and ideals. If you are looking ahead for gifts for next Christmas, I recommend that you offer these words (From both Sirach and from Colossians) as your gift to your friends. If you are artistically inclined you might try counted-cross stitch, or calligraphy, as a way of giving these words to your friends. If you are less artistically inclined I recommend you type up these verses, and then FAX, Xerox, or E-mail copies to all your friends. These are words which hold for us an important lesson about family. As Ben Sira knew, it is within families that future generations are nourished spiritually, physically, morally, and culturally to carry on the faith traditions of their family and nation. Today the Church places before us the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, the Holy Family, as a model by which we can and should live as families in our world today. The account of which we heard today is only one, of several, instances in the gospels in which we are taught about this family. According to the law (Leviticus 12:2-8), a mother was to be purified after childbirth -- in the case of a son, 40 days after giving birth. Such purification was required, not because of any moral uncleanness but simply for legal and ceremonial purposes. The law designated two offerings, a lamb for a holocaust of praise, and a turtledove (or pigeon) for a sin offering. Mercifully, the law permitted the offering of two birds, should the couple not be able to afford a lamb. Like Jesus, Mary conformed to the law and was thus restored to ritual purity. This passage, and the others accounts of Mary, and Joseph, teach us about the importance they placed on faith. Joseph, son of Jacob, was a descendant of Abraham and from the line of David (Mt. 1:1ff). Joseph was ". . . a righteous man," (Mt. 1:19). Joseph prayed to God, and listened to God in his dreams (Mt. 1:20;2:13,19). According to Jewish law they presented the child in the Temple (Lk. 2:22-38). "Each year (they) went to Jerusalem (to the temple) for the feast of Passover" (Lk. 2:41). Mary was the one who approached Jesus at the Wedding Feast of Cana, where he performed his first miracle by changing water into wine (John 2:1ff). Mary stayed at his cross when the others had abandoned him (John 19:25-27). And Mary was with the other disciples when the Holy Spirit gave birth to the church in Jerusalem (Acts 1:13-14). And so faithfulness to God, fidelity to one another, mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and above all love, are the virtues which exemplified the Holy Family. These same virtues apply to us if we wish our families to grow in holiness. But don't expect holiness to happen over-night. In the conclusion to today's gospel, Luke says that Jesus grew in spirit, mind and in body. This development took place in virtual anonymity within his human family at Nazareth. Our own growth in holiness is also a gradual process. It takes a virtual lifetime to achieve. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph give us a model on how to become holy. As we celebrate this Eucharist today, where we again experience the presence of the "Word made Flesh" in this sacramental presence of body and blood, let us pray for our family. Let us pray for our immediate family, for our family of faith, and for the greater family of humankind, that we may all grow in the virtues of faith, hope, and love; the virtues that identified and shaped The Holy Family.
