Readings: 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28; Psalm 84; 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24; Luke 2:41-52
THEME OF THE READINGS
What other concept can unite this Sunday’s texts, if not the family? Reference is made to the family of God: God the Father, the Son of God, and human beings who have become children of God through faith (
Second Reading and Gospel). In the first reading and in the Gospel two families are mentioned, between whom there seem to be some analogies, with some similarities and many differences. They are the families of Hannah and Mary. To both women, God granted a son in a unique way: the prophet Samuel to Hannah, and Jesus of Nazareth to Mary.
DOCTRINAL MESSAGEThe family of God. When we talk about the family of God, we can only do so by analogy. For example, there is no gender in God, which is why we don’t have a father on one side and a mother on the other. In God we don’t have the multiple facets of nature either, as a result of which the same and unique nature is shared by the Father and by the Son. However, revelation tells us about God as Father, about Jesus Christ as the natural Son of God, and about Christians as adopted children of God. The loveliest and fullest features of the father and mother - their generous and disinterested love, their ability to give, their fruitfulness, their dedication to their children, their burning desire for their children to grow healthy and be happy - we find these and other features in God in an eminent way. In the Son of God the qualities of affection and filial obedience shine forth, as do his gratefulness, his wanting and seeking what pleases the Father, his closeness to and absolute trust in his Father. The Christian is a son in the Son, and for this reason, the Father only recognizes as his children those who have taken on the same filial traits as Jesus Christ, his Son. Before this reality of God’s family, St John exclaims, as if in ecstasy: “You must see what great love the Father has lavished on us by letting us be called God’s children, which is what we are!” (
Second Reading) And in the Gospel, when Jesus was found by his parents in the Temple after they had been looking for him for three long days, he says to them: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” It is important to elevate oneself up to the family of God, because in a way, it is the archetype of the human family.
Hannah’s and Mary’s families. The Bible tells us of two families. One, Hannah’s family, belongs to the Old Testament, while the other, Mary’s, belongs to the New Testament. Both families, Elkanah and Hannah and Joseph and Mary, were upright in God’s eyes. Hannah was married and could not have children because she was sterile, Mary was betrothed to Joseph and she was a virgin. Hannah prayed to Yahweh to give her a son, Mary asked that his will be done. God listens to Hannah’s prayer, making her bear a son; God fulfills his will with Mary, making her a mother without her ceasing to be a virgin. Samuel, the son of Hannah, occupies a significant place in the history of salvation; Jesus, the son of Mary, is at its summit and expresses its fullness. Elkanah is Samuel’s natural father, Joseph is only Jesus’ legal father. When he was three, Samuel was taken to the temple at Shiloh before Yahweh, and he was consecrated to him for his entire life. Jesus was consecrated to Yahweh forty days after his birth, and for thirty years lived in Nazareth with his parents. Samuel lived in the temple, at the service of Yahweh; Jesus, when he was twelve, stayed behind in the Temple without his parents knowing it, amazed the teachers with his intelligence and answers, and replied to Mary and Joseph with an enigmatic question: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” The Sacred Scriptures tells us nothing more about Samuel’s relationship with his parents; Jesus, however, lived in Nazareth with his parents until he was thirty years old, in filial obedience. In both cases, a common element is emphasized: both in Hannah’s and Mary’s family, God is important and he is relied on. The cultural and sociological conditions of the family may change greatly, but the fact that God is important and that one relies on him is an essential aspect of every family, whatever the cultural, political or sociological conditions.
PASTORAL SUGGESTIONSBeing and building a family. Being a family implies a father, a mother, and at least one child, although the more the better. We must respect all human beings, whatever their state or condition, but at the same time we need to identify situations with honesty and frankness. This is why I think that a single woman with a child is not a family in the ideal sense, nor is a single man with a child, although such cases today are not rare. Two lesbians or two homosexuals with a child are not a family. Most of the time if not always, in such cases God is not important, and is not relied upon.
Second, being a family means building a family. In other words, to build the family means building day after day, brick after brick. The family is built with the partnership of all of its members, with each member fulfilling his or her task as father, mother and child. If the tasks or roles are shifted or distorted, the family cannot be built. For example, if the parents give in to their children’s whims, or if the children are often subjected to the whims of the parents (a divorce, a lover...), things don’t work. One never finishes building the family, it’s a life-long process. It is a task that requires sacrifice on the part of all involved (parents and children), so that they can make each other happy.
Save the family! It is rather obvious that the family is being attacked from all sides. It is equally true that so far, although many have fallen in the battle, the institution of the family has survived these attacks fairly well. It seems increasingly clear to political scientists, sociologists and communications specialists that the clear voice of the Catholic Church, always but more intensely so since the advent of the 20th century, is a prophetic voice filled with wisdom, which must be listened to. As the Jubilee of the Incarnation of the Word draws to a close, the Church and all upright and just human beings must raise their voices and cry out: “Let’s save the family!” The family must be saved from the ambiguous language that lies in ambush everywhere. It must be saved from all the viruses that destroy it: divorce, infidelity, hedonism, selfish individualism. It must be saved by promoting the sense of family, by enhancing the human and spiritual richness of the family. It must be saved by educating young people to love, teaching them responsibility and the ability to give oneself. It must be saved by offering examples of the family. No one must be excluded. We all have a part to play in this great task of saving the family.
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