LUKE 2:41-52
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, I
REMEMBER A SERMON GIVEN ON THIS FEAST. THE PRIEST WENT ON AND ON
ABOUT WHAT A GREAT PARENTS MARY AND JOSEPH WERE, AND HOW THEY FORMED
THE IDEAL FAMILY, AND HOW IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR EVERY CATHOLIC FAMILY
TO TRY TO BUILD A HOLY FAMILY LIKE THEY HAD. ON THE WAY HOME FROM
CHURCH, MY MOTHER, WHO HAD THREE FAIRLY NORMAL CHILDREN, REMARKED
THAT IT WAS EASY FOR MARY AND JOSEPH TO HAVE A HOLY FAMILY, AFTER
ALL, THEY ONLY HAD ONE CHILD AND HE WAS PERFECT. MOM THE THEOLOGIAN.
IN ALL THE GOSPELS WE
HAVE ONE STORY ABOUT JESUS BETWEEN HIS INFANCY AND HIS PUBLIC
MINISTRY, AND THIS IS IT. ODDLY ENOUGH, THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF
STORIES CIRCULATING IN EARLY CHRISTENDOM, SOME IF WHICH FILTERED DOWN
EVEN TO TODAY. THERE IS A SECOND CENTURY WRITING CALLED “THE
GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY OF JESUS” IN WHICH WE HEAR THAT ONE DAY
JOSEPH AND JESUS HAD BUILT A BED FOR A CUSTOMER, WHO WAS TOO LONG FOR
IT. SO JESUS JUST GRABBED ONE END AND STRETCHED THE BED ABOUT SIX
INCHES. ANOTHER STORY HAD TO DO WITH JESUS MAKING LITTLE CLAY BIRDS
AND PUTTING THEM ON A FENCE. SOME KIDS CAME ALONG AND STARTED
THROWING ROCKS. JESUS WAVED HIS HANDS AND THE BIRDS FLEW AWAY. THAT
STORY I FIRST HEARD FROM MY NEARLY ILLITERATE GERMAN GRANDMOTHER, SO
IT HAD GREAT STAYING POWER. THERE WERE PROBABLY A LOT OF STORIES
WHEN LUKE WROTE HIS GOSPEL; HE MAY HAVE EVEN HEARD MORE THAN THIS
ONE FROM MARY HERSELF. BUT HE ONLY CHOSE THIS ONE TO INCLUDE IN HIS
GOSPEL. I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS WAS THAT HE WANTED US TO SEE THAT
BEING A HOLY FAMILY DOES NOT MEAN EVERYTHING IS PERFECT. TO JOSEPH
AND MARY, THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING LOST THEIR ONLY SON WAS
DEVASTATING. I AM SURE WORDS WERE EXCHANGED ABOUT WHO WAS SUPPOSED
TO HAVE DONE WHAT. EVEN LOVERS, EVEN SAINTS, HAVE MOMENTS OF
FRICTION AND HARD FEELINGS; IT'S A HUMAN CONDITION.
SO WHAT MAKES A FAMILY?
POPE PAUL VI GAVE A DEFINITION: A FAMILY IS A COMMUNITY OF LOVE AND
SHARING, BEAUTIFUL FOR THE PROBLEMS IT POSES AND THE REWARD IT
BRINGS, THE PERFECT SETTING FOR THE REARING OF CHILDREN. WE KNOW
VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE FAMILY OF JESUS. BUT THAT IT WAS A COMMUNITY
OF LOVE IS UNQUESTIONABLE; JOSEPH LAID DOWN HIS LIFE EVERY DAY FOR
MARY AND JESUS – NOT TERRIBLY DIFFERENT FROM MANY OF YOU FATHERS.
MARY CREATED A HOME FOR JOSEPH – THAT DOESN'T MEAN SHE BROUGHT HIM
A DRINK AND THE NEWSPAPER WHEN HE CAME HOME AFTER A HARD DAY'S WORK;
WE KNOW THAT WOMEN IN MARY'S CIRCUMSTANCES WORKED EVERY BIT AS HARD
AS THEIR HUSBANDS AT MAKING A LIVING. SHE AND JOSEPH WERE NOT
COMPETITORS, BUT RATHER, THEY COMPLEMENTED EACH OTHER. AND THAT'S
MUCH LIKE MANY OF THE COUPLES IN OUR PARISH. IT ISN'T A MATTER OF
THE WOMAN'S ROLE OR THE MAN'S ROLE, IT'S THE FACT THAT IN A COMMUNITY
OF LOVE AND SHARING, EACH MAKES AN EFFORT TO HELP THE OTHER MEMBERS
BECOME THE BEST PERSONS THEY CAN BE; AND THAT MEANS THAT WE RECOGNIZE
EACH OTHERS STRENGTHS AND ENCOURAGE THEIR DEVELOPMENT; AND WHERE YOU
ARE NOT STRONG, I WILLINGLY TAKE ON THAT BURDEN. IF A WIFE COMES
HOME FROM WORK TIRED AND WORN OUT, HER HUSBAND BETTER KNOW HOW TO
COOK. IF A HUSBAND CAN BARELY ADD AND SUBTRACT, MAYBE HIS WIFE
SHOULD HANDLE THE FAMILY FINANCES.
THE COMMUNITY OF THE
FAMILY IS BEAUTIFUL FOR THE PROBLEMS IT POSES AND THE REWARD IT
BRINGS. I'M SURE YOU'VE KNOWN MANY COUPLES WHO HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR
FIFTY YEARS OR MORE. THEY CAN LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT TOGETHER THEY
HANDLED EVERY CHALLENGE, EVERY HEARTBREAK, EVERY ADJUSTMENT; AND THEY
TAKE GREAT SATISFACTION IN KNOWING THAT THEY MET WHATEVER WAS THROWN
AT THEM, EVEN THOUGH THEY DIDN'T SEE THOSE MOMENTS AS BEAUTIFUL WHEN
THEY HAPPENED. I THINK MOST COUPLES KNOW THE BEAUTY OF SOLVING GOOD
PROBLEMS TOGETHER; BUYING A HOUSE OR CAR; HELPING A CHILD SELECT A
COLLEGE. BUT THERE IS BEAUTY IN HOW THE BAD PROBLEMS ARE HANDLED;
THE LOSS OF A JOB; A CHRONIC ILLNESS.
AND A FAMILY IS THE
PERFECT SETTING FOR THE RAISING OF CHILDREN. I KNOW THAT THERE ARE
MANY CHILDREN WHO ARE RAISED IN BROKEN FAMILIES, OR BY A SINGLE
MOTHER OR FATHER. THEY'LL TURN OUT. LOVE CAN FIX A LOT OF THINGS.
AND THERE ARE CHILDREN WHO WOULD BE BETTER OFF IF THEIR PARENTS
WEREN'T TOGETHER. THEY'LL TURN OUT AS WELL. BUT TO BE THE CHILD OF
PARENTS WHO LOVE EACH OTHER; TO EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENT WAYS A
FATHER LOVES AND A MOTHER LOVES; TO LEARN FIRST-HAND THE BEAUTIFUL
COMPLEMENTARITY OF THE SEXES – THAT'S A PRIVILEGE WHICH SEEMS TO BE
GETTING MORE AND MORE UNUSUAL. THE TENTH MOST COMMON REQUEST KIDS
MADE FOR CHRISTMAS WAS TO HAVE A DAD.
CERTAINLY WE SEE THE
ELEMENTS OF A FAMILY IN MARY, JOSEPH, AND JESUS. WE KNOW OF SOME OF
THE PROBLEMS THEY FACED BY THE STORIES IN THE GOSPELS, LIKE THIS ONE.
WE KNOW MORE GENERALLY HOW PEOPLE LIVED IN THAT TIME AND THE
PROBLEMS THEY FACED TOGETHER. AND WHEN WE THINK ABOUT JOSEPH AND
MARY AND JESUS, WE SEE THAT THEIR FAMILY IS NOT ALL THAT DIFFERENT
FROM OUR OWN FAMILIES, AND THEIR PROBLEMS PRETTY MUCH LIKE OUR OWN.
THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN PERFECT PEOPLE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEY HAD A
FREE RIDE. EVERY DAY EACH HAD TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT AFFECTED THE
OTHERS, AND WE KNOW THAT WITH EVERY DECISION YOU GIVE UP SOMETHING
FOR SOMETHING ELSE. AND EVEN SAINTS PROBABLY HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS OF
WHICH GOOD THING TO GIVE UP FOR ANOTHER GOOD THING. FRICTION
HAPPENS.
SO HOW CAN A FAMILY BE
HOLY? CERTAINLY JOSEPH WAS A JUST MAN, AND HIS BEHAVIOR SHOWED A
WILLING OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S VOICE. AND MARY, NO ONE WAS HOLIER THAN
SHE WHOM AN ANGEL CALLED “FULL OF GRACE”. BUT WHAT REALLY MADE
THIS FAMILY HOLY WAS THE PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST. IF HE IS IN THE
MIDST OF THE FAMILY, IN EACH OTHER, IN THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS GOD
GIVES, THEN GOD HIMSELF LIVES IN THAT FAMILY, AND PRESERVES IT AND
NOURISHES IT. A HOLY FAMILY BRINGS CHRIST INTO THE WORLD.
MARY AND JOSEPH NEVER HAD
IT EASY. WE THINK JOSEPH DIED BEFORE JESUS BEGAN HIS PUBLIC
MINISTRY; THAT WOULD MAKE MARY SOMEWHERE IN HER LATE TWENTIES TO
EARLY FORTIES, ALONE AND WITHOUT MUCH IN THE WAY OF RESOURCES. AND
MARY HAD TO FACE THE TRAGEDY OF JESUS' DEATH ON THE CROSS ALONE, AND
I'M SURE SHE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SHARE THE JOY OF HIS RESURRECTION
WITH JOSEPH. BUT IN ANY HOLY FAMILY, YOU TAKE WHAT YOU ARE GIVEN,
YOU KEEP FOCUSED ON BRINGING JESUS INTO THE WORLD, YOU DRAW STRENGTH
FROM EACH OTHER, AND YOU KNOW THAT A DAY WILL COME WHEN YOU, LIKE
JOSEPH AND MARY, WILL ENTER THE PRESENCE OF JESUS WHO WILL SAY,
“WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANTS.”.
