[ Today's Readings ]
Today is the feast of the Holy Family. God reminds us that family is not an accident of evolution, nor an idea created by man, but rather something which he himself designed. Family has a deep and essential purpose in God's plan.
Jesus calls God his Father and teaches us to do the same. The relationship of the first and second person in the Trinity is a family bond. That bond itself is the Holy Spirit that makes us cry out, 'Aba, Father.' The archetype of family exists in God before it ever manifests in creation. Our Father in heaven is not named because he happens to be like earthly fathers in some way. Rather fathers are earth are named because there is some similarity in what they are to what God the Father is.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named (see Ephesians 3:14-15)
Because this is so God really cares about how well we live family life here on earth. He wants the harmony, peace, and love which will help us not only to live together with one another, but to know will also help us to know him more deeply.
God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
Rules are important, but more than these we need to let Christ guide our homes and families by the Holy Spirit.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
The Holy Spirit will tell us how to be compassionate, humble, gentle, patient, and forgiving, and to put on love as the bond of perfection. These are fruits which only he can manifest. Only when the peace of Christ controls our hearts is it possible to live the family life God envisions for us.
After saying all of this we should realize it is no accident when Jesus himself chooses to be born into a human family. He does so precisely to offer it as an example to all families. He even allows the family to have an imperfect head, Joseph, to lead two sinless individuals. He really wants to help those of us who are also sinful to understand the lessons of obedience. He wants those of us in leadership roles to understand how to perform them in humility. Above all, he wants to teach us to be led by the Spirit just as Joseph is.
the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel,
for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”
Guidance from heaven is not just for Joseph but for all. Let us give thanks for the Holy Family and then put what in to practice what they have to teach us.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
No comments:
Post a Comment