The Sánchez Archives HOLY FAMILY - YEAR A

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

FAMILY: NESTING GROUND AND PROVING GROUND OF THE FAITH

SIRACH 3:2-6, 12-14
COLOSSIANS 3:12-21
MATTHEW 2:13-15, 19-23

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, an intensively private person was loathe to give personal interviews. On one of those rare occasions when she consented to answer a reporter’s questions she remarked, “If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do well matters very much.” (quoted in Goodhousekeeping, July 1994). Coming as did from a woman whose wealth, education, background and connections could have assured her a prestigious career in politics, academia or diplomacy, this statement may seem surprising. But Mrs. Kennedy was convinced that family was the most important element in her life. The readings for today’s feast of the Holy Family also underscore the necessity of a wholesome and holy family life. But there is little doubt that many factors in society today militate against such a value, viz. divorce, separation, economic tensions, mobility, decreased contact with relatives, lack of communication and time spent together.

In his book, The De-Valuing of America (Summit Books, 1992), former U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett observed, “We have ceased being clear about the standards we hold and the principles by which we judge. As a result, we have suffered a breakdown of sorts, in areas like education, family life, crime and drug abuse, as well as in our attitudes toward sex, individual responsibility, civic duty and public service.”

Aware of the situation of the contemporary human family and sympathetic to its needs, the participants at the Second Vatican Council affirmed, “The family is the principal school of the social virtues which are necessary to every society. It is above all in the Christian family, inspired by the grace and the responsibility of the sacrament of matrimony that children should be taught to know and worship God and to love their neighbor. . . In it, they will have their first experience of a well-balanced human society and of the church. . . It is through the family that children are gradually initiated into association with their fellow human beings in civil life and as members of the people of God” (Declaration on Christian Education, # 3, 28 October 1965).

Today, thirty years after the Vatican Council, on the eve of a new year and on the brink of the third Christian millennium, the Church once again reminds its people of the fundamental importance of family life.

Jesus ben Sira (first reading) offers sage advice to both parents and children. Mutual honor and respect will result in long lasting family ties; those who reverence one another thereby offer praise to God who hears and answers prayer. The author of the letter to the church at Colossae (second reading) lists the necessary virtues and attitudes which bind together and strengthen family members. Matthew (gospel) allows his readers a glimpse of Jesus’ family as they struggled together to realize God’s saving plan in their lives.

As part of the universal human family, each family gathered in this place of worship represents a unique facet of God’s nurturing and forgiving love. Whether it be the traditional nuclear family, the single parent household, or the community comprised of care-givers or significant others, family is the nesting ground for the faith and the first proving ground for Christian disciples.

SIRACH 3:2-6, 12-14

Among all the living species on the planet, only human beings require between 18 to 20 (or more) years in order to mature and face life independently. Even when physical maturity has been achieved, human offspring remain with their parents. In order for his/her personality and unique gifts and talents to develop, a protracted period of loving nurture between parents and children and their siblings is necessary. In reality, the familial bond is never broken; it remains all through life and imparts a sense of stability and security in an often unfriendly and unstable world When parents wish to impart a sense of identity and rootedness to their children, they often use the image of a family tree which includes as many relatives, for as many generations as can be traced. To understand one’s place within the structure of the family tree is to know who I am and from where I came. All the roots and relationships which comprise a family form the matrix in which healthy people develop and from which they derive a sense of self-confidence and belonging.

Jesus ben Sira, a wise teacher and author of the second century B.C.E. (ca. 180) understood the bonds and roots fo family as a gift from God and he counselled his students and readers to value it as such. Parental authority is delegated and confirmed by the Lord (vs. 2); and therefore a child’s loving and respectful acceptance of his parents wishes is tantamount to obedience to God.

The ancient Hebres sage was also aware that at a certain point in human growth and development, there is a reversal of roles. Caregivers grow old and enfeebled and children must take on the responsibility of caring for aged parents. Often this role-reversal is compounded by such difficulties as sickness (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease) diminishing funds, etc. But those who remain loving and considerate of old and failing parents, will not be forgotten by God. Indeed, ben Sira even suggested that such kindness would serve as a sin offering (vs. 14), i.e. that it would effect forgiveness of sin. The notion of atonement for sin by honoring a parent is a feature new to biblical teaching. “Before ben Sira’s day, it was taught that atonement is accomplished by sacrifice. Ben Sira also develops the atoning value of alms (3:20, 28:2; 34:26; 35:3). Atonement however is not automatic; repentance is required.” (John E. Rybolt, “Sirach”, The Collegeville Bible Commentary, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville: 1989). Theologians are quick to add that ben Sira’s statement (vs. 14) should be understood as an incentive or impetus to filial love and not as a divine guarantee of forgiveness. It should be noted however that, as part of this same exhortation, the wisdom author said that those who anger and despise their parents are “blasphemers, accursed by God” (Sirach 3:16).

No doubt ben Sira was so forceful in his challenge to familial love and loyalty because he understood the family to be an institution protected by divine law. In fact, many scholars regard this pericope as ben Sira’s midrash (interpretation and adaptation) of the fourth commandment: “Honor your father and mother” (Exodus 20:12). By offering his contemporaries (and us) a fresh and relevant reading of their ancient law, he kept them attuned to the traditions in which they were rooted and which were necessary for their continued survival.

COLOSSIANS 3:12-21

Because the coming of each new year offers the hope and promise of a clean slate and a new beginning, it is customary in many cultures to greet the new year with fresh resolve. Buoyed up by newly made promises and resolutions, people choose to face the coming months with an improved attitude regarding work, leisure, diet, exercise, bad habits, spiritual growth, relationship, etc. In this regard, the author of today’s second reading has provided his readers with several excellent suggestions for happier, holier Christian living in the coming year.

Part of the longer parenetic or exhortatory section of his letter to the church at Colossae, (3:1-4:6), this pericope follows the author’s teaching concerning: (1) the primacy of Christ over all creation (1:15-2:3) and (2) above all false teachers. If therefore Christ is accepted by the believer as pre-eminent, then that acceptance must be reflected in a life-style consonant with Christ.

In terms reminiscent of the rite of baptism, the Colossians’ author had earlier advised his readers to “put to death” and “put away” all that was not of Christ, viz. immorality, impurity, evil desire, greed, anger, malice, slander, lies, etc. (3:5-9). This language may reflect the practice of putting away or taking off one’s garments before entry into the baptismal waters as a sign of putting away a life influenced by sin. Immersed in the water, the believer was said to have died with Christ, whereas, when the newly baptized emerged from the water and were clothed in white garments, they were said to have “put on” Christ and to be raised to life in him.

Continuing to describe the Christian life-style in terms of a “new wardrobe,” the author calls believers to “clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patience . . . forgiveness and over all, put on love” (vss. 12-14). Then “whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus” (vs. 17).

Contemporary readers of Colossians should not allow this outstanding counsel from a first century Christian author to be overshadowed by the verses which follow it, concerning the submission of wives to husbands (vss. 18-19). Nor should literalist interpreters of scripture use these verses to support or perpetuate male dominance. As part of a household code popular in Hellenistic philosophy, the advice regarding the relationship of spouses to one another and parents to children is reflective of the social mores of the time. Of significance for Christians is the fact that these customs were to be practiced “in the Lord” (vss. 18, 20). Obviously, this stipulation required that spouses honor one another with the altruistic and self-sacrificing love of Christ himself.

Each family has its established rules and regulations or household code. Today’s feast of the Holy Family may occasion the opportunity for rethinking these rules together, “in the Lord.”

MATTHEW 2:13-15, 19-23

In a homily on the Matthean infancy narrative, Herbert F. Smith observed, “If we tried to draw from the experience of Joseph and Mary a general religious principle, it might sound like this: When God comes into our lives, we have trouble.” Smith went on to explain that God’s saving plan caused conflict, in that, Mary was found to be pregnant before her marriage to Joseph; for his part, Joseph was in a quandary as to know best to deal with the situation. Then, according to the narrative, after they married, Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus were forced to take refuge in Egypt to escape Herod’s lethal jealousy. But, as is reflected in today’s gospel, when we consider the experience of Mary and Joseph we are also led “to formulate a second principle: When we have trouble, God comes.” (Sunday Homilies, Alba House, New York: 1989). Through the vehicles of angel-messengers and dreams (scriptural signals for divine revelation) God made it clear that all the events and circumstances surrounding Jesus and his family were known to him and in accord with his plan. Regardless of the troubles his people may experience, as his saving plan evolves, God remains ever present, ever provident.

But today’s gospel includes another level of meaning which also requires our consideration. Please recall the explanation of formula or fulfillment citations and their function in the Matthean gospel (see commentary on gospel for Advent 4, December 24, 1995). Supported by two of these formula citations (Hosea 11:1 in Matthew 2:15, and Isaiah 4:3 and Judges 16:17 in Matthew 2:23), today’s gospel draws on ancient Hebrew traditions in order to portray Jesus as a new Moses and a New Israel who recapitulated in himself the history of his people.

Like Moses who was saved from death at the hands of Egypt’s Pharaoh (Exodus 1:15-2:10), and like the enslaved Semitic tribes who were called forth from Egypt by God (Exodus 14-15), so also was Jesus saved from death and called forth from Egypt by God. Matthew’s reference to Hosea indicated that what was transpiring in Jesus’ life was the divine fulfillment of his prophetic word.

In the second formula citation, Jesus’ identity as a Nazorean was established. Both John P. Meier and Raymond E. Brown concur that the formula citation in verse 23 is rather vague. Meier believes that Matthew may have been referring: (1) to Samson’s birth (Judges 13:5, 7) whereupon he was designated as a nazir, i.e. one set apart to lead a holy life and to save Israel, and/or (2) to the Isaian (11:1) reference to the Davidic offspring as a neser, a branch or shoot from the stump of Jesse. (Matthew, Michael Glazier, Inc., Wilmington: 1980). Brown acknowledges and agrees with Meier’s observations and further suggests that the Matthean citation (vs. 23) may also refer: (1) to Isaiah 4:2-3 wherein the neser or messianic shoot is proclaimed as Holy and to Judges 16:17 wherein Samson declares himself to have been nazir or consecrated as holy from his mother’s womb (The Birth of the Messiah, Doubleday and Co., New York: 1979).

By referencing these ancient traditions, Matthew wished to present scriptural support for his identification of Jesus as the messianic shoot (neser) and descendant of David and as the holy One (nazir) and consecrated from his mother’s womb for the salvation of Israel.

In that capacity, we celebrate his presence among us today as we ask his blessing on our families and on the coming year.

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