Life’s greatest privilege

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
December 29, 2013


May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts; let the message of Christ find a home with you.

   First Reading: Ecclesiasticus 3:2-6, 12-14

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.

Psalm: Psalm 127

Second Reading: Collosians 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 2:13-15, 19-23

After the wise men 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  Bernard Borja

God spoke to Joseph again through an angel in a dream. He warned Joseph of what adversity that His family will face. If Joseph trusted his own understanding and pursued his own desires, ever since the angel first appeared to him, he would have massively failed for not letting God work through His life. God wants us to trust and obey Him because He always knows better than us. In a family, our parents serve as angels who relay God’s message to us.

God commanded us to honor our parents because one of His ways in sending miracles is through our mother and father. The first miracle performed by Jesus in the wedding in Cana begun by honoring His mother (John 2:3-5). In fact, Jesus lived in obedience to His parents during His younger years as He grew both in body and in wisdom, gaining favor with God and people (Luke 2:51-52). Family is about trusting each other and being obedient to our parents through God’s work.

We celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family the Sunday after Christmas, a time when many families have come together for the holidays. Like most families, we want to grow the emotional bond between each member. But there are times when this bond is tested during struggles. Like Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, they too have experienced a great adversity when the family had to flee to different places because of the people who wanted to take the child’s life. They had to endure this kind of difficulty for the sake of protecting our savior. But this hardship made them stronger as a family and grew stronger in faith. In similar situations, the hardships of most families today can either break them or make them stronger. We have seen families endure a long distance bond just to provide better because of hardship in finances. There are also families who had to endure an uncertain period of time for them to be together again in another country. OFWs and their families had to endure a deep sadness especially during the Christmas season. Like the Holy Family, we must look at these struggles as part of God’s work through our life for a greater purpose.

One of life’s greatest privileges is being part of a family where God works on His ways for a purpose that benefits all. In our example, OFWs help not just their families, but also the growth of our economy. God has always been building a family who will love Him, honor Him, and reign with Him forever, ever since the story of Creation in the Bible. Today, we receive one of the miracles of God’s work through our family as inspired by the life of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. May the Holy Family become a great example of letting God use us for His purpose and working together for His glory.

Prayer

God, our Father, we thank You for giving us the privilege of being part of Your family. We pray for the families who are enduring hardships and struggles as they work together for the benefit of the most. May we realize that the hardships we encounter are for a greater purpose and for Your greater glory.

In Jesus name we pray, AMEN.