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First Reading: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
Responsorial: Psalm 128:1-5
Second Reading: Colossians 3:12-21
Gospel: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122919.cfm
https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/
As we wind down the year, we pause to celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and today we have some great readings that offer guidance about how we should live our lives as disciples. Our faith is not limited to whatever time we spend in church. We need to carry our faith with us always – especially into our families. This time of year can be wonderful especially with visits from all sorts of family members. But, let’s be honest. Sometimes we can get on each other’s nerves pretty darn quick. So, today we pause and we sit at Jesus’ feet and allow Him to give us three examples of a wholesome family life.
In the first reading from Sirach otherwise known as Ecclesiasticus, we read: My child, help your father in his old age, and do not grieve him as long as he lives, even if his mind fails, be patient with him, because you have all your faculties do not despise him. For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, and will be credited to you against your sins, (Sirach 3:12-15). This excerpt comes from a modern translation the Bible by Nicholas King, a Jesuit priest from the UK.
I think this is a fairly straightforward text. I don’t believe that it’s harmful to apply this wisdom to both mothers and fathers. The idea of course is that no matter how much our parents might drive us nuts sometimes, we need to treat them with love and compassion. This is especially true for us today as people live longer and longer and the threat of dementia, senility and Alzheimer’s are quite real. Before Jesus passed away, he entrusted his mother to the beloved disciple to make sure that she would be cared for after he was gone. So, our first lesson is that kindness toward our parents and taking care of our parents in their old age will not be forgotten.
In our second reading today from Colossians, we hear that familiar line, “Wives, be subordinate to your husbands…” (Colossians 3:18), and of course that’s all we ever seem to remember from this reading. What’s Paul getting at?
Some might claim that this is just another manifestation of patriarchy, but I think saying that about Paul is a copout. It’s too easy to accuse Paul of saying something and moving on without actually digging into the Scripture. In the Catholic tradition, we call “digging into Scripture” lectio divina, which is a method for reading, meditating, contemplating and praying with Scripture. This text is not about patriarchy because Paul does two extraordinary things here. First, he addresses women directly. Now this flies in the face of Greco-Roman household codes where the father should be addressed. Second, he addresses her as a free agent. Both are extraordinary if not revolutionary ideas in the Greco-Roman world.
This subordination he speaks about is in the context of Christian community lived as the body of Christ. So, subordination in the Christian context is not like a lord and servant relationship. Rather, it is the harmonious cooperation of members so that the body can move as one. Anyone who has ever experienced tripping because your foot and leg went one direction and the rest of your body moved in the other direction can understand what I’m saying. Just as the foot is subordinate to and not independent of the leg and the body, so too is a woman subordinate to her husband. He says the man should love his wife and children should show respect to their parents. As a family, we move as one – not untethered leaves blowing in the wind. That’s our second lesson today.
And in today’s we find Gospel, the angel of the Lord comes to Joseph in a dream again. This time the angel tells Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and to flee because Herod was hunting Jesus. Later when the troubles are over, the angel tells Joseph in a dream to return to Israel.
How many times has the Lord tried to speak to us, but we didn’t recognize the Lord or understand the message? How many times have we simply dismissed the dream or superstition? No, this third lesson isn’t about dream interpretation. It’s about discernment. You see, discerning the will of God isn’t straightforward or clear – especially if God is trying to reach us through our dreams or through other people. So, the process of discernment means taking the idea and praying about it, but it also means discussing this idea with your family and perhaps close friends and even your pastor or spiritual director. (Just a side note, a spiritual director can be a priest or a deacon or a specially trained priest, deacon, consecrated religious or a lay person).
The point is and indeed the third lesson is that the family should be a safe place in which we can discern God’s will. It should be the kind of place where we are not afraid to share what we feel God is asking of us and getting input from our family. Of course, if a family is a safe place to discern God’s will, then it’s also the sort of trust-filled environment where we feel generally free to share other thoughts, feelings and ideas.
These three lessons about family life that we hear today (taking care of our parents when they are old, being a loving cohesive family community, and being a safe place to discern God’s will) are wonderful examples as we contemplate the Holy Family. Of course, our contemplation is enhanced by our homework!
After being nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and by the Eucharist, I encourage you to consider the following two questions this week:
- The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. How and where do I hear the voice of God and how can I be more attentive to Him?
- After considering the three examples of family life we learned today, what conversion of mind, heart and life is the Lord asking of me?
I think by doing our homework we get better insight into what it means to be a disciple rooted in family life. Do you got it? Do you get it? Then go make disciples!
One quick announcement before we part. Our new segment, “All Things Catholic,” will launch in mid to late January. It will appear in this same podcast feed every Wednesday, so there’s nothing special you need to do. Our first episode will hopefully set the stage for the show – let you know what we’ll be doing and why. But I’m totally open to any suggestions for subsequent shows. Please either use the comment form on the website or send me an email to rudy@deaconrudysnotes.org. I wish each of you a blessed Christmas season and a happy new year!
The Lord be with you! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!
References:
- Barron, Robert. “Re: Daily Gospel Reflection (12/29/2019).” Message to Deacon Rudy Villarreal, et al. E-mail.
- Hamm, Dennis. Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2013.
- Lectio Divina Of The Gospels. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2019.
- Mitch, Curtis, and Edward Sri. The Gospel Of Matthew. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2014.
- Catechism Links: Easily search the Catechism at http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm
- Flight to Egypt, 530
- Angels in Jesus’ life, 333
- Love as bond, 1827
- Singing and music, 1156-58
- The Christian Family, 2201-31
Mass Readings:
First Reading
Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
When he prays, he is heard;
he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,
and, when he prays, is heard.
Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.
My son, take care of your father when he is old;
grieve him not as long as he lives.
Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him;
revile him not all the days of his life;
kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
firmly planted against the debt of your sins
—a house raised in justice to you.
Responsorial
Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5.
R. (cf. 1) Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Second Reading
2 Colossians 3:12-21
Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged.
Alleluia Colossians 3:15A, 16A
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let the peace of Christ control your hearts;
let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod had died, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel,
for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”
He rose, took the child and his mother,
and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea
in place of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go back there.
And because he had been warned in a dream,
he departed for the region of Galilee.
He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth,
so that what had been spoken through the prophets
might be fulfilled,
He shall be called a Nazorean.
