Be Obedient

The Holy Family
30 December 2007


First reading Ecclesiasticus 3:3 - 17
The Lord honours the father in his children,
and upholds the rights of a mother over her sons.
Whoever respects his father is atoning for his sins,
he who honours his mother is like someone amassing a fortune.
Whoever respects his father will be happy with children of his own,
he shall be heard on the day when he prays.
Long life comes to him who honours his father,
he who sets his mother at ease is showing obedience to the Lord.
My son, support your father in his old age,
do not grieve him during his life.
Even if his mind should fail, show him sympathy,
do not despise him in your health and strength;
for kindness to a father shall not be forgotten
but will serve as reparation for your sins.

Second reading Colossians 3:12 - 21
You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God; and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, give way to your husbands, as you should in the Lord.

Husbands, love your wives and treat them with gentleness. Children, be obedient to your parents always, because that is what will please the Lord. Parents, never drive your children to resentment or you will make them feel frustrated.

Gospel Matthew 2:13 - 23
After they had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him’. So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:
I called my son out of Egypt.

After Herod’s death, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you and go back to the land of Israel, for those who wanted to kill the child are dead’. So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, went back to the land of Israel. But when he learnt that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judaea he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he left for the region of Galilee. There he settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’

Reflection
By Nicola S. Albano

Thank God that Saint Joseph was so obedient. He played a very important role following the instructions of the angel in all three dreams. Even as an infant, the bad guys had been attempting to sabotage Jesus and His plans. But God the Father, with the help of the messenger angel, and Saint Joseph, protected baby Jesus. Baby Jesus became a fugitive just for the sole fact that He was born. Kings were threatened when Jesus was born.

This Gospel tells us to remain obedient just like Saint Joseph did. It took him a lot of guts, courage, and sacrifice to be able to protect Jesus. If you're an ordinary skeptic, and you're in Saint Joe's shoes, you would have divorced Mary even before the baby was born. And now that the baby's born, you would not have cared because he's not yours, right? I've seen this scenario too many times.

Life is all about choices. And as we grow older, the more tedious and demanding our life gets. It is not easy, but with God on our side, the possibilities are infinite. We are called to be holy as well. We do not need to be fugitives to show the everybody that we are holy, too. Every little task that we do on our daily lives count. I never had a WWJD bracelet, but when things get complicated, I try to take a deep breath, be quiet and just listen. Eventually, I recover and gain the strength to proceed based on my answer to "What would Jesus do?". This week, let us remember all families. Christmastime is a moment when loved ones gather together. As we all reunite, let us recall the qualities of the Holy Family: Jesus' confidence to both Mary and Joseph, Mary's humility in accepting God's will, and Joseph's dedication to nurture and protect both mother and child.

Jesus calls us to be holy and if every father, mother, and child would strive for holiness then our families will eventually become holy!