Feast
of Holy Family 2017
A Reflection by Rev. Bob Johnnene OFM
Mission
Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Mercy/Divine Mercy Parish
Reformed
Catholic Church
Hopkinton/Upton
MA
The Gospel from Luke
tell us the following; “Joseph and Mary,
in the company of Jesus, go as pilgrims to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover” (Lk 2:41-52).
In his homily for the
feast of The Holy Family Father Thomas Rosica, CSB of Toronto begins this way;
“In the afterglow of Christmas, the
Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family. This weekend we are invited to
reflect on the gift and mystery of life and the blessing of family life in
particular.”
In Luke's Gospel
scene of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem, we
encounter four individuals who embrace the new life of Jesus held in their
arms: the elderly and faithful Simeon, the old, wise prophetess Anna, and the
young couple, Mary and Joseph, who in faithful obedience offer their child to
the Lord. Simeon's beautiful prayer
"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your
word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the
presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory
to your people Israel" (Luke 2:29-32).
The whole scene of
the Presentation and the carefully chosen words of Simeon's prayer raise
several questions for us and I believe them to be these; how are we, as
followers of Christ’s teachings living those teachings? How do we treat those children of God that we
encounter daily on our life journeyespecially those often refered too as
“Street People” or “Beggers”?
Do we discriminate
against some of God’s children because we feel they do not conform to our way
of life, are a different color, race, nationality or sexual orientation than we
are?
The gospel of Matthew
2: which we hear today tells of St. Joseph’s complete trust in Almighty God and
is but another lesson for us to put our complete trust in God for all things.
The word made flesh,
the light of the world, was Jesus Christ and he made it quite clear as to how
we should live our lives in order to please the Father/Creator who sent him.
Pope Francis in his
homily on the feast of the Holy Family had this reminder to all of us; “How important it is for our families to journey together towards a single goal! We
know that we have a road to travel together; a road along which we encounter
difficulties but also enjoy moments of joy and consolation. And on this
pilgrimage of life we also share in moments of prayer”
In my life, my mother
and father taught me to always say “Good Night and God bless You” The Pope went
further reminding us that we need; “To
bless them, that is, to entrust them to the Lord, just like Elkanah and Anna,
Joseph and Mary, so that God can be their protection and support throughout the
day.”.
The Gospel from Like
2: verse 51 ends telling us; “At the end
of that pilgrimage, Jesus returned to Nazareth and was obedient to his parents.
Returning home, Jesus surely remained close to them, as a sign of his
complete affection and obedience.
Christ taught us who
our neighbor was when he told the parable of THE GOOD SAMARATON. Our neighbor is everyone on the planet
regardless of race, nationality, sexual orientation, married or single.
If we are to be true
followers of Christ we need to treat all people alike and treat them with
dignity and respect. We need to stop aggression and greed. We need to put an end to poverty and care for
the sick, aged, and poor. We need to
educate all the children of the world and proclaim and acknowledge God by what
ever name. Every person in this world is
a part of the Family of God.
The Holy Family is
the example of how families should be.
Mary was the Theotokos, (God bearer)
Joseph the descendant
of David and earthly foster father of the Christ child was a faithful follower
of the Jewish faith and a firm believer in the creator/God and accepted God’s
will even though he knew he might be scorned for having “sired” a child without
being married to Mary.
Joseph heeded the
messengers of God who came to him twice without question but with faith.
As the words in that
wonderful Sister Sledge song WE ARE FAMILY say; “We are family I got all my sisters and brothers with me. We are family …. Have faith in you and the
things you do. You won't go wrong.
On this feast of the
Holy Family let us realize that we, every man, woman and child on the face of
the earth is a part of the family of God.
Let us strive to live
together in harmony and peace. Let us
seek ways to end injustice, poverty, homelessness, addiction, war and begin to
care for one another as Christ cared for all He encountered.
AMEN
