Commentary
Sunday, 12/30/2018, Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
The Fourth Commandment
First Reading Commentary: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
Today’s prophecy from Sirach is all about obeying the Fourth Commandment: Thou shall honor your father and your mother. Obeying our parents is a significant part of honoring our parents. So much so, that the Fourth Commandment is often quoted as: Obey your father and your mother. Sirach tells us that great rewards come to those who obey this commandment.
Sirach goes on to say that we receive atonement for our sins and we are gladdened with children if we honor our fathers and our prayers are heard if we honor and revere our fathers. Sirach also tells us that we will live a long life if we revere our fathers. In addition, if we take care of our fathers when they get old, our kindness will not be forgotten but will be firmly planted against the debt of our sins.
Is it possible to honor God if we do not honor our fathers? One might think that we can because our father on earth is not God. But the answer is; no. The Fourth Commandment is directly linked to the Second Greatest Commandment from Christ which is to love thy neighbor as thyself. And, it is not possible to break that Commandment without also breaking the First Greatest Commandment which is to love God with everything.
We may become angry with our fathers and/or our mothers because like every other human being on earth, they are not perfect and therefore make mistakes. But that does not make it okay to not honor them.
We may become angry with our parents because they do not give us everything that we ask for or do things in the way that we want them done or in our time frame. But that does not make it okay to not honor them either.
God is our Creator and our Father in heaven and if we break the Fourth Commandment, we will also break the Greatest Commandment because we fail to honor God or show our love for Him because of our disobedience and we separate ourselves from Him. This is why great rewards will come to those who honor their fathers.
Sirach tells us that a father confirms a mother’s authority over her sons. If we revere our mother, we will store up riches. In other words, we should show no, less honor to mom than we show to dad and everything that we should do for dad when he gets old; we should do for mom when she gets old.
This part of Sirach’s prophecy should also remind us of Mary, our mother in heaven. It is through Mary that Jesus came into the world and the Word became flesh. As the Word came through Mary, so does God’s grace come through Mary which; is why she is the Mediatrix of All Grace.
As we cannot honor our Father in heaven if we do not honor our father on earth, we cannot revere our mother in heaven if we do not revere our mother on earth. Not everyone understands the relationship of Mary to the Trinity but those who do also understand that they cannot expect God’s grace to flow upon them if they do not revere both of their mothers.
Many Non-Catholics misconstrue the high honor that Catholics have for Mary as worship. We only worship the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But we do honor Mary because of her special relationship with the Trinity as the mother of Jesus. As the Father passes all things through the Son, the Son brought the Word through Mary by bringing Himself through Mary.
As we meditate on Sirach’s prophecy today, we have to remember once again that Jesus was one hundred percent human as well as one hundred percent divine. The Son obeyed all of the Commandments including the Fourth. Jesus honored and obeyed His mother and his father here on earth. We should also keep in mind that when we are nice to our parents on earth and obey them and honor them; we are also nice to and obey and honor our parents in heaven—God and Mary.
Sometimes we hear defiant teenagers say, “I can do whatever I want to do.” Well, Jesus, being the Almighty, really could have done whatever He wanted to do. But Jesus was obedient. This should tell us two things. 1- God is serious enough about His Commandments to obey them Himself through the Son when He was here on earth. Jesus was not only obedient to Mary and Joseph. He was also obedient and showed humility to the Father in heaven. 2- God does not expect us to do anything that He is not willing to do nor does He ask us for more than what He is willing to give.
Mary and Joseph Set the Example
Second Reading Commentary: Colossians 3:12-21
I want to focus on the second part of today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Colossians because it is the essence of why we celebrate the Holy Family. In this short paragraph, Paul gives counsel on what makes a perfect family.
“Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them.” Marriages fail because at least one of the people involved, fail to take this advice from Paul. In fact, most people do not understand what it really means. This is because some people make the mistake of getting caught up in the words and thereby missing the message.
That said; forget how the dictionary defines the word “subordinate.” Paul is not saying that a wife should do as her husband says simply because he said it or vice-versa. People get hung up on the word “obey” in marriage vows too. Some people refuse to take that part of the marriage vows because of their hang up on the word “obey.”
Once again, if you get hung up on the human definitions of words, you will miss God’s message. It is not about subordination or obedience as we understand those words in the dictionary. It is about being committed to standing by your partner—always wanting your partner to be happy and always wanting whatever is best for the relationship and the family. Marriages fail because somebody did not stand by their partner. Paul is saying that husbands and wives must stand by each other at all times.
When a husband and wife live their lives together always totally committed to standing by each other, they live their lives following the example of the “perfect partnership,” the “perfect couple,” and the “perfect marriage.” They follow the example and the footsteps of Mary and Joseph.
Paul says, “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.” This is the Fourth Commandment which we explored in Sirach’s prophecy. But notice Paul’s use of the word, “everything.”
We should be reminded once again of Jesus and His obedience, especially to the Father. Why? Because: Jesus was obedient to the point of sacrificing Himself to the cross for our sake. In return, it is pleasing to Him that we be obedient to our parents.
Paul also says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged.” Before I explore this, remember that Sirach told us that a father confirms a mother’s authority. Therefore, mothers should not provoke their children either.
All of the things which can and will give children legitimate reasons to rebel against their parents, a parent should never do. A parent should never hate, abuse, neglect, abandon or lie to their children. A parent should never break their word. If a punishment is threatened, it must be carried out if the offense is repeated. If a reward is promised, it must be granted.
When parents fail to make mistakes that will cause their children to become discouraged, their children will honor them and with that honor will come respect and obedience. I am not saying that in this imperfect world that this is easy, but it is that simple. Parents should just follow God’s lead and try their best to treat their children in the same way that He treats us.
Why is Paul’s advice in this letter the essence of a perfect family? Because it is God’s way which means that it is the only way that it will work! Mary and Joseph followed God’s lead and together with Jesus, the Son, they were the perfect family.
The Fourth Joyful Mystery and the First Sorrow of Mary
Commentary for Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
Today we hear the story of the Presentation of Jesus to the Temple according to Matthew.
During the time of the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary and Joseph), under Mosaic Law, a woman who gave birth to a son could not enter the temple for forty days. This was the purification period according, to the Law of Moses. So, when Jesus was forty days old, it was time to present Him to the temple for consecration.
In atonement for sins, the law of the Lord stipulated that a year-old lamb or a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons be offered as sacrifice. According, to Luke’s gospel, Mary and Joseph offered the turtledoves or the pigeons. We see that long before the institution of baptism, there was a religious ritual of presenting children to the temple for consecration to God which is a forerunner to baptism. Circumcision was a part of that ritual for boys. Jesus replaced the presentation ritual with the Sacrament of Baptism.
Jesus was presented at the temple to Simeon who was a righteous and devout man. He had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen Christ. The Spirit was with Simeon when Jesus was presented by Mary and Joseph and when Simeon took Jesus into his arms, he blessed God because he knew that this was the Christ that he had been waiting to see.
Simeon testified that he could go in peace for he had seen God’s salvation which was a light for the revelation to the Gentiles and glory for the people of Israel. This is the Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. It is a prophecy which tells us that God was to not only come for the Jews but for all of mankind. It is a revelation that the Trinity was present in the arms of Simeon. It is also Simeon’s testimony that the Holy Spirit had kept the promise which was made to him. Finally, there is a connection here to baptism because when we are baptized, the Holy Spirit descends upon us with His gifts.
Simeon blessed Mary and Joseph and told Mary that Jesus was destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel and that Jesus would be a sign that would be contradicted. This was a prophecy that not all Jews would follow Christ but that those who did; would be raised into the Kingdom.
Mary was then told that she would be pierced by a sword so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. This is the First Dolor of Mary. It was a prophecy that she would endure much pain because of her Son’s mission on earth. It was a prophecy that her Son’s pain would be connected to her and that she would share the pain of her Son’s Passion.
The worst kind of pain for any parent is to watch their child die. But Mary suffered and endured a much greater pain than can be imagined by watching Jesus suffer on the cross because she knew that her Son had taken on the sins of the entire world. Indeed, Mary’s heart breaks every time we reject her Son with our sin.
The prophetess Anna, who never left the temple, also spoke about Jesus to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke does not elaborate on what Anna had to say which might suggest that she confirmed Simeon’s prophecy. But because she spoke to those who awaited Jerusalem’s redemption, Anna may have confirmed that Jesus was the Savior.
Then the Holy Family left the temple and returned to Nazareth where Jesus grew up and Luke tells us that He was filled with wisdom and that the favor of God was upon Him. In his accounting, Luke proclaims that the baby presented to Simeon in the temple was the Trinity, three distinct persons but one God. The wisdom of the Spirit and the favor of the Father together with the Son: one God.
The account of the Presentation of the Lord is a story of great joy but it is also a story of great sadness. But with God, there is no such thing as sadness without joy. There is no such thing as pain without comfort and relief. We know that the unimaginable pain that Mary shared with her Son as He took our sins to the cross paved the way for our eternal peace and happiness in heaven.
Mary pondered many things in her heart including this news from Simeon. As we meditate on this gospel, we should ponder its news in our hearts with gratitude because even though it is a good—news—bad—news revelation, it is also testimony that with God, good news will always prevail.
