The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Reading 1: Sir 3:2-6, 12-14
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5.
Reading 2: Col 3:12-21
Gospel: Mt 2:13-15, 19-23
This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the theme of family stands out clearly in our readings.
The theme of family is something we are all very familiar with and does not require much commentary as we are all keenly aware of the responsibilities that family involves for each of us. First and foremost is the love and fidelity of the spouses and the recognition that marriage is not simply between the spouses but also involves God in the relationship if the marriage is to be strong and long-lasting. If the spouses keep God firmly imbedded in their relationship the marriage has every opportunity of success. There are also the responsibilities of bearing, raising and educating children with the Christian values that our parents instilled in us; and of honoring and obeying parents and paying them the respect that they are due, even in their old age when caring for them may become a burden.
Above all else, the binding force in any family relationship is love, and it is God’s will that love should be the binding force in all our relationships. We tend to think of the word “Love” as having only one meaning: a deeply held emotional response to one or more individuals. For example, the feelings we have for our spouses and children. But in the Greek language of the New Testament there are several words that we translate as “love” and they all have somewhat different meanings. “Eros” refers to the love between spouses and has a sexual connotation. “Storge” refers to the love in family relationships such as the love one has for his / her children and parents. “Phileo” refers to the warm relationships between close friends. And then there is “Agape” which refers to unconditional good will toward all others, even those who may be enemies. Each of these words may be translated as “Love,” but they each have different meanings; we don’t love our parents and children the way we love our spouses.
It is Agape love that God requires of us outside of our family relationships; a love that shows unconditional good will and respect for all others, even if they don’t show the same to us. In our second reading, St. Paul reminds us that through the Incarnation, Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, God has offered us forgiveness. Agape love requires us to offer the same forgiveness to those who have offended us.
All families face occasional dilemmas, and our gospel points out a dilemma that the Holy Family must face. Joseph must take Mary and the child to a foreign country to protect Jesus from Herod who wants the child dead. Our gospel passage this week is from Matthew and Matthew’s gospel was written primarily to the Jews in his attempt to convince them that Jesus is the long-awaited messiah. Faithful Jews would have been very familiar with their scriptures, so Matthew uses the Old Testament frequently in his gospel to draw attention to prophecy pointing to Jesus as the Messiah, prophecy the Jews would have been familiar with. For example, the Jews know that, when the messiah appears, he will be a Jew and he will be a descendent of David. Matthew’s gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus to show that Jesus is, first, a Jew and secondly a son of David to fulfill the prophecy in 2 Sm. 7, that David’s throne would be secure forever and his descendant would occupy that throne. And why is Egypt the country to which Joseph flees with the Holy Family? To remind the Jews of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land and to remind them of the prophecy of Hosea 11:1: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” When Joseph and the family return from Egypt they settle in Nazareth: “He shall be called a Nazorean.”
The theme of our readings this week is certainly family, but above and beyond the family bond is the love that defines that bond and the Agape love that God requires of us in all our relationships. Easier said than done! But if we keep in mind that God has forgiven us of our transgressions through Jesus Christ, we may be more inclined to pass that forgiveness on to others who have offended us. We don’t have to like our enemies, but we cannot hate them.
