Sunday Gospel Reflection (Dec 29, 2024)

Holy families need balance because holiness is about balance. 

In these readings it was initially hard to find a connecting thread because there are so many options. You have either Sirach 3 or 1 Samuel 1 for the first reading, for the Responsorial Psalm either 128 or 84. The second reading simplifies to just a short and long option of Colossians 3 and the Gospel is its own, the classic Luke 2 episode, the fifth Joyful Mystery, the finding in the Temple. However, taking a step back one is able to find that it is the sense of balance that holds them all together. It is a similar balance that holds families themselves together, maybe even especially holy ones. 

While the Sirach reading focuses more on the importance of a father and the duties a child has in honoring him, 1 Samuel 1 shows the beauty of the sacrifice of motherhood in Hannah. The fatherly passage is more direct and didactic whereas the motherly passage is narrative and relational. These provide a contrast in approach as well as the objects of honor. 

Next, each Psalm focuses its praise on two essential aspects of holiness in the family. Psalm 128 focuses on the role of God in standing above even the authority of the parents. He becomes the first principle of guidance in the family, moving them forward. But even after moving, where does one return? This is where the focus of Psalm 84 comes in, which is that of the house of the Lord. These two Psalms create a balance between the departure and return, the first and last legs of every hero’s, or heroes, journey. 

Finally, the Gospel. While it stands alone, it provides a balance to the entire set of readings because they have all been the focus on the parents or parental stand-ins (God for the father, the home for the mother). This is all about the Son, but fittingly, the Son’s focus is rightly on his Father in heaven (remember the Sirach reading). This scene is often pitted against the important of Mary and Joseph, but, fittingly again, the reading also ends with Luke informing us that even Jesus remained obedient to his parents for the rest of his childhood. 

Ultimately, family needs to be about balance...

This is family reflects the love of the Holy Family, where there had to be balance because Jesus was God, but also had subjected himself in humility to human parents. It is also a reflection of the Holy Trinity, where there is a balance between the Persons of the Trinity who all share in divinity, but whose nature is sacrificial love. Like how St. Paul describes marriage itself in Ephesians 5:32, the thing God uses to build these holy reflections of Himself (families), it is a “great mystery.”