C Cycle – Feast of the Holy Family 24

Lk. 2:41-52

We can only imagine how certain things in our faith may be like. That should not surprise us for Jesus himself did not take the time to explain how some things are.  He said the Kingdom of heaven was like yeast, a pearl of great price, a mustard seed.  He could have told us a great deal more but instead He used an analogy.  I can imagine that raising Jesus was not anything like any of us experienced as we raised our children.  We only have this one glimpse given to us in the gospel of John indicating Jesus as a child had wisdom beyond His years. 

The teachers of the law and prophets were astonished at the questions and comments of Jesus.  He was only twelve years old, and they were astonished.  Ask any sixth grade teacher if any of their students astound them with their questions about faith. More likely, they will say they accept what is taught without asking a lot of questions.  Jesus’s parents were not happy with Him, and they expressed their anxiety and disappointment.  What went through their minds when he told them they “should have expected this from Him.”  Yet, he submitted to their will, went back to Nazareth and was obedient to them. 

From that point on, the scriptures are silent about those early years of Jesus.  All we know about His early life is, He was born in Bethlehem with angels singing, shepherds and wise men honoring Him.  We have nothing that tells us how long Mary and Joseph remained in Bethlehem after His birth.  We know it was possibly two years for Herod ordered the death of all male children two years old and younger.  We know Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt before that happened.  But we do not know how long they remained in Egypt, but we know it was before He was twelve.   

Then the scriptures are silent so we can only imagine what life was like for this holy family.  

Can parents and grandparents learn anything about family life from this Holy couple?  The scriptures again give us some clues that tell us their family life was not unlike ours.  Those who knew Him as a child growing up in Nazareth were no less astonished as He began His ministry.  When they first heard Him teaching, they exclaimed: “… “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven” (Jn.6:42).

At every baptism on of the first things that happens is the parents are asked to name their child and express their consent to accept the responsibility to raise them in the practice of the faith by keeping the commandments and loving God and neighbor as Christ taught us.  Jesus was raised by Joseph and Mary.  He was taught to eat, to dress himself, to bathe, to read and write.  Jesus would have had chores and went to learn the Torah as all Jewish boys did.  But His early faith formation was by His parents.  They taught Him prayers, read the scripture stories to Him, and sang the hymns to Him.  They taught Him right from wrong and how to be compassionate to the poor and needy among them.

We cannot just oohh and ahhh at the Holy Family and think they were so holy we have nothing to learn from them as we raise our children to love God and neighbor. We accept that responsibility the moment we become a family.  Husbands are to be spiritual guides in their homes and yet far too often they have relinquished that responsibility to their wives.  Joseph would have been instrumental in teaching Jesus more than how to be a good carpenter.   Mary would have nurtured and loved Him while at the same time teaching Hiim manners, nursing His wounds and teaching Him aspects of God that can only come from a mother. 

This feast day is more than it may seem to us.  It should awaken us; hit us on the head by a two by four and grab our attention.  It is a challenge to mother and every father to ask themselves if they have lived up to the vows they made at their child’s baptism?  Have we taught them to love God and love neighbor.  Have we embedded in their hearts the demands of living a moral life and respecting others?  Have we given them the support they needed when they made choices that disappointed.   

Have we as parents learned to ponder the things our children do and what they believe.  Do we understand the influence others have on their decisions?  Have we considered the impact our choices have on them and are providing them with an example of how faith in God needs to be the North Star of their lives. 

This feast day should be a reminder that our children will make us anxious and often confuse us.  They will do things we do not understand and how we handle those moments are critical in their ability to grow in their trust in our love.  Have our actions shown them our love for them is not dependent on their ability to never disappoint us.  Love is unconditional and constant, ever giving and always there for them.   Let us learn from the patience of Mary and Joseph to act when things they do are confusing, unknowable, and uncertain. 

Let us embrace our children as gifts from God given to us to assist them in discovering their gifts and talents to become who God created them to be.