HOLY FAMILY
Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the
Holy Family. The Gospel describes the presentation of the child Jesus in the
Temple and shows Joseph and Mary as devout Jews, following the prescriptions of
the Law of Moses. According to the Book of Leviticus, a woman after giving
birth to a son, was considered to be ritually unclean for 40 days and giving birth
to a daughter considered to be unclean for 80 days. In order to be restored to
ritual purity, a Jewish woman needed to perform the appropriate rites of
purification.
Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day after
his birth, in accordance with the Mosaic Law. And as the angel Gabriel gave the
name, he was called Jesus. Mother Mary performed the appropriate purification
rites and made her offering at the Temple on the 40th day after
Jesus’ birth. Luke presents Joseph and Mary as being poor could only offer from
what they had. Another Jewish rite referenced in this Gospel is the
dedication of the firstborn son to God. In remembrance of the feast of
Passover, when the firstborn children of the Israelites in Egypt were saved
from death, the Law of Moses prescribed that all firstborn males of Israel
should be consecrated to the Lord. In this tradition, Mary and Joseph presented
the infant Jesus in the Jerusalem temple.
In the temple, Mary and Joseph encountered two
devout Jews, Simeon and Anna, who recognized the infant Jesus as the
fulfillment of Israel’s hope for redemption. In Simeon’s words we find a
prediction of Mary’s witnessing of Jesus’ death on the cross. The Canticle of
Simeon, also called by its Latin name, Nunc Dimitis, is prayed at
night prayer, or compline, during the Liturgy of the Hours.
The second reading deals with the
interrelationships of the family. Paul tells the Colossians and us to deal with
each other out of kindness, to be patient with each other, to forgive each
other continually. If we strive to live this way, then as a family we can pray
together not just in Church, but in every aspect of our lives. “Whatever you
do, whether in speech or in action, do it in the name of the Lord.” Paul goes
on to mention the roles of a family in his epoch. At that time the equality of
women was not recognized. In the Roman empire women were seen as property that
needed to be protected by their fathers or their husbands. The respect given to
a woman was different from that given to a man. That's why we have the phrase,
wives be submissive to your husbands. The heart of this reading is that
husbands and wives must respect each other.
The first reading from Sirach says that
children need to respect their parents. At first it refers to young children as
it notes that mothers and fathers have their authority from God. Then it refers
to older children when it says that children should take care of their parents
when they age. Little children learn respect for their parents from the respect
they see their parents giving each other and the respect their parents have for
their grandparents. I have always believed that the way you treat your parents
will be the way your children will treat you. If your relations with your
parents are motivated by respect and love, and are evident in your kindness to
them, your children will have learned this aspect of Christianity and will
treat you the same way as your years mount. Children need to remember that the
parents are co-creator of God. And God blesses us through our parents.
Tod
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