The Holy Family
Sunday liturgy (Cycle C) — White
1st Reading
1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28
Lectio (Reading)
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
Psalm 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10
Lectio (Reading)
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.
2nd Reading
1 John 3:1-2, 21-24
Lectio (Reading)
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.
Gospel Reading
Luke 2:41-52
Lectio (Reading)
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast
of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor
before God and man.
Meditatio (Reflecting)
Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?
Oratio (Responding)
Jesus gives this answer (“Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”) as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. This is because to be in the Father’s house, is the desire of every soul in the world, whether we know it or not. The innocence of this question is beautiful though. It is the response of a child, but He is also God. I love this because it clearly shows the dual nature of the incarnate Jesus, better than anything else. Jesus was 100% God, and 100% man, I know that the math does not add up, but it is the simplest way, I have found, to understand this mystery.
Many books have been written trying to explain this mystery of the incarnate God, and what He did and did not know. God the father is infinite, His will encompasses everything and everyone in the universe. He holds all of creation in existence in His mind, He is in fact, existence itself. Mankind is much much smaller. We are finite, we are weak, and we are fallen, but we are made in gods image. And it is this fact alone, that gives us the most insight into the essence of the incarnation. Human beings are infinitely weaker and less powerful than God, but were made for communion with Him. Think of that, God creator of the universe made us to be in relationship with Him. To be made in His image is to be capable of that relationship, and to be in relationship with God is to be eternally wedded to Him forever. Nothing else in the universe has that ability, not even the angels.
This relationship though, requires that we reach our full potential as Humans, and that full potential is to be espoused to Him, fully and completely. But to achieve that kind of connection and relationship requires that we strive for perfection. To do good and resist evil, and to trust completely in God’s love and providence. As humans, we have the potential to aspire to this perfection, and many saints have shown us that it is possible. But while many of us will never even get close, Jesus did it perfectly.
The incarnate God Jesus Christ, was able to achieve this perfection, perfectly, at every stage of His life. I like to think of it this way. When Jesus was in infant, He was the most perfect infant that ever lived. When He was a toddler, He was the most perfect toddler that ever was. And so on, for every stage of His life. As an infant, the human body and mind are simply not capable of deep complex thought, but they are able to love, and to receive love, almost perfectly. And so we understand that this is the point of the incarnation, it was to show us how we are to live with each other, and how we are to commune with God, at every stage of our lives.
In today’s reading we have a young Jesus. He knows that He needs to be with His Father, and He knows that the temple is where He can be closest to Him, and so that is why He stayed behind with the rabbis. A child’s mind is not fully developed, it cannot process the complex ideas of His divinity inside this little developing human body. But the child Jesus understood His mission, He understood who God was, and He knew where He needed to be. But He did not yet understand that family relationships would be harmed by Him not being with them, and He had to learn that as a Human we have obligations to each other as well. This is the mind of a child, processing His place in the world, but He is also God, and processing what He has been called to do. It is so beautiful, and it shows us His two natures better than anything else.
God somehow figured out a way to shoehorn His infinite omnipotent being into a human form, and the result is a child that knows that He must be with God, but has not yet learned the idiosyncrasies of human relationship yet. Thank you for this vision into your incarnation, and how you were truly a man, and while at the same time still truly God.
Contemplatio (Contemplating)
Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.
Resolutio (Resolving)
Oh lord, help me to achieve sanctity in my life, so that I can more perfectly commune with you, both here and someday in heaven.