GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 3OTH DECEMBER 2016
FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY
FIRST READING: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
PSALM: Psalm 128:1-5
SECOND READING: Colossians 3:12-21
GOSPEL: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
THEME: HOLY FAMILY
It is not uncommon to read in the newspapers or hear from gossip transmitters that a man has beaten his wife mercilessly or that a wife has jilted her husband in a very painful manner.
Divorce and broken homes are on the increase. For a moment take a look at your own family (particularly the extended family) and you would most likely observe that there is at least one person in the family whose marriage is tilting or has tilted. Many so-called Christian families are on the rocks.
We are in a world where parental responsibility towards children has diminished considerably. Some parents had hoped to raise up gentlemen and ladies in their families but they ended up ‘rearing’ monsters in their homes and they feel threatened by their own children.
In the face of such heart-breaking family experiences, the Church invites us to reflect on the family and sets before us the holy family (Jesus, Mary and Joseph) as a model.
A model Christian home is described in our Second Reading, “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” (Col. 3:18-21).
Mary and Joseph played their roles and carried out effectively the task the Lord entrusted to them in helping Jesus realize and fulfill his mission on earth. In terms of responsibility, both Mary and Joseph sought to safeguard the life of baby Jesus, leaving their home, property and familiar background and going far away to Egypt to ensure that baby Jesus was safe and sound.
There is an interesting line in the Book of Sirach which reads, “My child, support your father in his old age, do not grieve him during his life. Even if his mind should fail, show him sympathy, do not despise him in your health and strength; for kindness to a father will not be forgotten but will serve as reparation for your sins” (Sir 3:12-14). It does not matter how old you are, the position you wield at your workplace, the number of academic degrees you have or your status on the socio-economic or political domain. No matter who you are, your father is still your father, and your mother is still your mother. Like Jesus, we are called upon to be submissive to our parents and honour them (cf. Lk. 2:51).
The character of any nation to a very large extent depends on the kind of characters that families in that nation produce. When we destroy our families, we destroy our nations, and when we destroy our nations, we destroy our world. Similarly, when we build our families, we build our nations, and when we build our nations, we build our world.
Prayer: Eternal Father, we bring before your throne of grace, all marriages and families. In your mercy, repair what is broken and raise up what is fallen. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).