Lk. 2: 41-52
Today we keep the feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Isn’t it amazing to think that Jesus, the Son of God lived among us. Like anyone of us he experienced the tender loving care of Mary and Joseph, grew up in wisdom and knowledge; obviously, he might have been trained in carpentry work by his foster father Joseph. After the death of Joseph, he became the breadwinner of the Holy Family. I used to think about the possibility that He could have incarnated into our midst as a grown up man, avoiding all these difficulties of being part of a family and could have accomplished the salvation history. Then why did he live as part of the Holy family of Nazareth for 30 years?
I believe the presence of Christ sanctifies our family life. The holy family becomes the model to all families because just as the members of the holy family sanctified each other we are called to do the same. They gave primacy to God and for His will than their own wills. The Son of God, abandoned all his glory, even equality with God and and took human form. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, who might have dreamet about a married life like any other young man of his time, had to make tremendous sacrifices to be the protector of the holy family. Mary, who responded to God with a firm yes, never doubting but pondering everything; lived as the divine mother of Jesus by accompanying him from crib to calvary. This attitude of giving primacy to God made this family as a Holy family. They did not have financial security, they were migrants, fleeing from place to place in order to protect the child but it was heaven on earth because God, Emmanuel was with them. The lesson that the Holy Family of Nazareth imparts to us is that if we give primacy to God in our families, then whatever be the difficulties, our families would remain as heaven on earth…