Lk 2:22-40
Dear Friends,
Today we acclaim the feast of the Holy Family. We continue the Christmas celebration. The focus is the Incarnation, the Word made flesh. This takes place in a specific time, place, people and a particular culture. These were the circumstances of the family of Joseph and Mary as a Jewish family. The Jewish rituals of today’s story basically were a recognition that a child, any child, is fundamentally a gift from God. You could even say the child was on loan from God.
In two Maccabees we read of a mother who has lost six sons in martyrdom. She is now encouraging her last child as he faces the emperor’s wrath: “I do not know how you came into existence in my womb; it was not I who gave you the breath of life, nor was it I who set in order the elements of which each of you is composed. Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe who shapes each man’s beginning…” (2 Mc 7:22-24)
In the opening payer of today’s liturgy, we say that God gave us the Holy Family as an example. We pray “graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing the virtues of family life and in the bonds of charity.”
Simeon and Ana are individuals deeply immersed in the traditions of the Jewish people and religion. Their hearts are filled with yearning for the long-awaited day of salvation. Prayer and fasting had prepared them for the mystery of this child. The arrival of this the poor family with its child immediately touched their hearts. Simeon and Anna were very different from the poor and simple shepherds and the Wise Men with their sophisticated worldliness. Yet, they too were gifted to recognize God’s plan in this helpless baby and the poor and trusting parents.
Each these special individuals was open in a basic faith to the evolving contradictions of the gospel in their midst. Here they were encountering weakness, poverty, simplicity and peace. These characteristics of the child stood in deep contrast to the commonly held traits of the longed-for Messiah: power, wealth, prominence and military expertise. They were able to see the gospel truth in the family that uprooted the ordinary with the truth hidden in their simplicity and freedom: “a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.” (Lk 2:32)
Starting with the first visit of the angel, Mary and Joseph seemingly experienced little besides these paradoxes and upheavals of the gospel. Having been called to this special role in God’s plan of salvation, the joy and wonder of the birth of their child captivated their hearts. At the same time, they were displaced from all the security and support of their family and village. They were caught in the poverty of the stable and its animals. The simplicity of the shepherds was joined by the glorious choirs of angels. Now, the two-elderly persons of prayer and wisdom offer further insight into the journey of faith that was emerging before them. Simeon and Anna represented the connection with the great figures of Israel’s past and its longing for the saving power of God. Their lives proclaimed a deep trust in God’s promises. Simeon’s words recognized the magnificence of the child in his arms: “My eyes have seen your salvation which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples.” (Lk 2:35)
This passage captures the deep ambiguity that pierces the heart of any parent. All parents live with the burning hope for all God’s good things for their child. The reality of the human journey offers a life filled with sin and grace. Justice is not a guarantee. All efforts at security face the severe arbitrariness of life that is the human condition. All of these elements that are part of every human journey are crystalized in the daily challenge of life’s constant struggle with sin and grace.
Mary did not know what the future held. She was to learn it would be filled with confusion, ambiguity, fear and ultimately the overwhelming evil of the Cross. The same is true of any family. Love and trust are the only answer in the final measure of all human relationships facing the sword that assures the ever-present ambiguity of sin and grace. The Holy Family is the great model for all of us. In the end, we need to trust that the salvation recognized by Simeon and Anna will permeate our life. Then like Mary, we will learn that love will win out and life that is eternal will be the final word.
Today we acclaim the feast of the Holy Family. We continue the Christmas celebration. The focus is the Incarnation, the Word made flesh. This takes place in a specific time, place, people and a particular culture. These were the circumstances of the family of Joseph and Mary as a Jewish family. The Jewish rituals of today’s story basically were a recognition that a child, any child, is fundamentally a gift from God. You could even say the child was on loan from God.
In two Maccabees we read of a mother who has lost six sons in martyrdom. She is now encouraging her last child as he faces the emperor’s wrath: “I do not know how you came into existence in my womb; it was not I who gave you the breath of life, nor was it I who set in order the elements of which each of you is composed. Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe who shapes each man’s beginning…” (2 Mc 7:22-24)
In the opening payer of today’s liturgy, we say that God gave us the Holy Family as an example. We pray “graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing the virtues of family life and in the bonds of charity.”
Simeon and Ana are individuals deeply immersed in the traditions of the Jewish people and religion. Their hearts are filled with yearning for the long-awaited day of salvation. Prayer and fasting had prepared them for the mystery of this child. The arrival of this the poor family with its child immediately touched their hearts. Simeon and Anna were very different from the poor and simple shepherds and the Wise Men with their sophisticated worldliness. Yet, they too were gifted to recognize God’s plan in this helpless baby and the poor and trusting parents.
Each these special individuals was open in a basic faith to the evolving contradictions of the gospel in their midst. Here they were encountering weakness, poverty, simplicity and peace. These characteristics of the child stood in deep contrast to the commonly held traits of the longed-for Messiah: power, wealth, prominence and military expertise. They were able to see the gospel truth in the family that uprooted the ordinary with the truth hidden in their simplicity and freedom: “a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.” (Lk 2:32)
Starting with the first visit of the angel, Mary and Joseph seemingly experienced little besides these paradoxes and upheavals of the gospel. Having been called to this special role in God’s plan of salvation, the joy and wonder of the birth of their child captivated their hearts. At the same time, they were displaced from all the security and support of their family and village. They were caught in the poverty of the stable and its animals. The simplicity of the shepherds was joined by the glorious choirs of angels. Now, the two-elderly persons of prayer and wisdom offer further insight into the journey of faith that was emerging before them. Simeon and Anna represented the connection with the great figures of Israel’s past and its longing for the saving power of God. Their lives proclaimed a deep trust in God’s promises. Simeon’s words recognized the magnificence of the child in his arms: “My eyes have seen your salvation which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples.” (Lk 2:35)
This passage captures the deep ambiguity that pierces the heart of any parent. All parents live with the burning hope for all God’s good things for their child. The reality of the human journey offers a life filled with sin and grace. Justice is not a guarantee. All efforts at security face the severe arbitrariness of life that is the human condition. All of these elements that are part of every human journey are crystalized in the daily challenge of life’s constant struggle with sin and grace.
Mary did not know what the future held. She was to learn it would be filled with confusion, ambiguity, fear and ultimately the overwhelming evil of the Cross. The same is true of any family. Love and trust are the only answer in the final measure of all human relationships facing the sword that assures the ever-present ambiguity of sin and grace. The Holy Family is the great model for all of us. In the end, we need to trust that the salvation recognized by Simeon and Anna will permeate our life. Then like Mary, we will learn that love will win out and life that is eternal will be the final word.
