26-Dec-2008 Dear Friend,
Christmas is truly a family feast. At Christmas Jesus came to be at home not only in the family of Mary and Joseph in Nazareth, but also in the human family. We celebrate Christmas at home and visit family and look forward to family members and friends visiting us. Those close to us are considered to be family members and we are at home with them. Is Jesus at home with us? How can we make our homes like the home of Mary, Joseph and Jesus? Enjoy the company of Jesus in your home! -Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections:–Feast of the Holy Family ‘Live for others to live together’ 28-Dec-2008 Ecclesiasticus: 3:-2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3: 12-21; Luke 2: 22-40; Obedience seems to be an old fashioned virtue today. Families are run on more democratic lines today and parents usually don’t order their children to do things. Strict discipline and rigid rules seem out of date with today’s generation. Yet the first reading reminds us of the duty to respect parents especially in their old age. Parental authority was over stressed in the Old Testament and at certain times in certain cultures. Yet there is still great importance in the command: Honour your father and your mother. Young children learn through obedience shown to the parents. As they grow older there is still need to show respect for old age. Care and respect for old age can earn God’s blessings. While grown up adults are not expected to obey their elderly and senile parents, they still have the obligation to care for them and their needs as far as possible. Kindness shown to them will not go unrewarded. Attachment In the middle of the night a young boy wakes up in a hospital bed. He feels very frightened and very alone. He is suffering intense pain: burns cover forty percent of his body. Someone had doused him with alcohol and then had set him on fire. He starts crying out for his mother. The nurse leaves her night-post to comfort him; she holds him, hugs him, whispers to him that the pain will go away sooner than he thinks. However, nothing that the nurse does seems to lessen the boy’s pain. He still cries for his mother. And the nurse is confused and angry: it was his mother who set him on fire. The young boy’s pain at being separated from his mother – even though she had inflicted such cruelty on him – was greater than the pain of his burns. That deep attachment to the mother makes separation from her the worst experience a child can undergo. –In the Christian family we learn that God never comes alone, He is always accompanied by legions of others who show us something of his kindness. In the Christian family we can catch something of God who accepts us as we are and who keeps on loving us stubbornly till the end. Denis McBride in ‘Seasons of the Word’ The second reading taken from the letter of Paul to the Colossians speaks of the ideal family life and the virtues and values that should be part of every Christian home. To live together we have to love and respect one another. Hence there is need of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. We have to bear up with one another and be ready to forgive one another in the family. Especially as we live constantly with one another there is a tendency to take one another for granted and rub one another the wrong way often unintentionally. The more we try to see Christ incarnate in the home and in one another, the more Christ-like we will become in our dealings with one another. Christ is the source and foundation of our family life. Prayer keeps us in touch with God, and keeps the family together. “Make Me a Great Big Good Man Like My Daddy!” Once a little boy of five was left alone with his father at bedtime. It had never happened before. After some maneuvering and a lot of fun, the father finally got the little boy into his night clothes, and was about to lift him into bed when the child said, “But daddy, I have to say my prayers.” He knelt down besides his bed, joined his hands, raised his eyes to heaven and prayed: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; but should I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” That was his usual prayer, but tonight he looked at his dad, then raised his eyes to heaven and prayed. “Dear God, make me a great big good man, like my daddy, Amen.” In a moment he was in bed and in five minutes asleep. And then the father knelt besides his son’s bedside and prayed, “Dear Lord, make me a great big good man like my boy thinks I am,” P Fontaine in ‘More Quotes and Anecdotes’ Today’s section of Luke’s gospel tells of the typical ceremonies in the life of a Jewish family from which we may learn today. These ceremonies took place at the presentation of Jesus in the temple, the ritual by which parents dedicated their new born child to God. The Jews believed that a good family life must be centred in a deep reverence for God and His law. According to the custom Mary and Joseph followed the ritual to dedicate their son Jesus to God. They knew their son was the Son of God, yet they followed the traditional ritual. Luke mentions that they followed the law, as Jesus comes to fulfil the law. Though these ceremonies may seem strange to us today, yet behind them lies a recognition of what many have lost sight of, -that a child is a gift of God and of all God’s gifts, there is none for which people shall be held more accountable. The Gospel mentions Simon a devout follower of the law waiting for the revelation promised to him. He comes to the temple to pray, just as Jesus is brought to the temple to be offered to God. As a result of his listening to the Holy Spirit he came to the temple. He recognizes Jesus as the foretold Messiah and picks the infant in his arms and thanks God for the revelation given to him and at the same time says that he is ready to depart this life in peace. His mission is fulfilled, he has seen the saviour of the world. Seeing God and acknowledging Him can be the fulfilment of our life as well. Mary and Joseph’s faith is confirmed as they listen to this stranger acknowledging and prophesying about their son- Jesus would be for the rise and the fall of many. Capping it all he prophesied that Mary herself would be pierced with a sword. Mary too would have to make a decision about whether to follow her son. Luke also mentions Anna a widow, who despite her age had not stopped hoping that she would see the promised Messiah. She had come to the temple to pray and her prayer gave her strength and faith to recognize Jesus as the promised one. She thanks God first and then speaks to others about this child. Nothing happens by accident for those who believe. God always fulfils his promises and reveals himself in his time. The Gospel does not tell us much about Mary and Joseph except that they kept the law and did everything the law required of them before they went home to live their ordinary routine lives. In that family Jesus grew in age, wisdom and grace. The silence of the family in Nazareth should teach us how to meditate in peace and quiet, and to be open to the voice of God’s wisdom revealed in daily living. Home a Treasure George was in his seventies. He had never married. Most of his life he was a sailor travelling around the oceans of the world. He had no home of his own. His nephew Bill always liked his uncle George, so he invited him to live with Bill, his wife and five children. It was a mutually agreeable arrangement. George now had a home, while Bill’s family could travel the world in imagination as they listened to Uncle George recount his experiences. At times Bill became bored and discontented with family life. How nice it would be to roam the world carefree and footloose. One evening as Uncle George was telling of some faraway place, he mentioned a map of a buried treasure. The idea stuck in Bill’s mind so that when Uncle George died a few years later, Bill went through the old man’s few belonging. Sure enough there was an envelope addressed to Bill. It was a map. With shaking fingers and pounding heart he tried to figure out where the treasure was located. Finally he pinpointed the spot. It was his own home, the very spot he was right now. Uncle Bill had truly left him a treasure, the realization that his own home, his own family, was a treasure. Excerpted from ‘Parade Magazine’ “We celebrate the mystery of the child Jesus living with his parents. The tone of the celebration is a meditation wholly centered on Christ from which all Christian families can learn. Where does the Messiah come from? asked the contemporaries of Jesus of Nazareth. They knew nothing of his birth in Bethlehem of Judah and they were amazed that one who claimed to be the Messiah should come from Galilee. This is why Matthew goes over the journeying of Jesus while a child: his career as a displaced person. As a result of the menace of Herod, his parents were forced to take refuge in Egypt, where Jesus re-enacted the history of the chosen people. Afterwards the family settled in Nazareth, -hence the surname ‘Nazarene’. From the time of his birth Jesus was under the shadow of the cross. The accounts of the presentation of Jesus in the Temple, and of his being found, again in the Temple, after his first Passover at Jerusalem, both underline the growth ‘in wisdom’ of a child dedicated to his mission from his tender years. In this way also Luke proclaims his vocation to suffering and to glory. Jesus will be a sign of contradiction – but he will also be the light for the Gentiles and the glory of his people Israel. In the temple at the age of twelve, the child Jesus anticipates his Easter destiny – lost, but found again on the third day in his Father’s house. -Glenstal Bible Missal Overcoming the Absence When an American playwright reflected on his childhood he told the story of how his father who was a telephone engineer sometimes worked away from home. At first, his father was away from home only a couple of days and this happened rarely, but then his absences became more frequent and also lasted longer. Eventually, his father never returned home. The telephone engineer had fallen in love with long distance and his son had to live his life in the felt absence of his father. There was no word, no call, and no contact. Just silence and absence. It‘s impossible to have a relationship with someone who is always absent and always silent. Usually we overcome our separation from touch through phoning or writing. And Christmas has become a traditional time for keeping alive old bonds of friendship by a word of greeting. Of course the best way to keep alive the love of absent friends and relatives is to visit them. The visit is the traditional way of conquering distance and overcoming absence: so we talk of “Going to see” someone, “showing our face”, and “spending some time together”. And in the giving and receiving of hospitality, in being present to each other again, our relationship grows and deepens. Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’’ The Star Trek Family When the movie Star Trek III was introduced it became an instant success. Much of its popularity flowed from its science fiction format and its space age technology. But there were other reasons for its success, too. One of these reasons is its human appeal to our deep instincts for family, not only for the natural family as we know it, but also for other family groups – like parishes, civic organizations and work communities. The Enterprise crew of the Star Trek movies forms a family. Capt. Kirk is a father-figure who tries to keep the family clan together. Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Scotty the engineer, and all the crew members belong to the Enterprise family. They are bonded together by more than their common work. They share with one another deep feelings of friendship, commitment and loyalty. In their own way, today’s readings from Scripture also focus on family values. Albert Cylwicki in ‘His Word Resounds’ To live with others let us live for others! Fr. Jude Botelho [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my web site www.netforlife. net Thank you. Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/
