Feast of the Holy Family – December 29, 2024
Sister Victorine Mansanga, SNDdeN –
Luke 2:41-52
Three days after Christmas when we adored the Christ Jesus in his crib, the Church, our mother, encourages us to contemplate the Holy Family of Mary Joseph and Jesus as seen in the Gospel of Luke 2, 41-52. Each time when I meditate on this text I think about separated families and abandoned children, who are victims of separation. Without doubt, this contemplation leads us to draw appropriate lessons about the holy family.
Let us begin by observing the entire family: Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus who walk together along the route to Jerusalem on pilgrimage.
Let us now look at Mary and Joseph after their reunion at the end of a day’s walk, their astonished gaze fixed on one another after looking for their lost child. Having found him in the temple after three days of searching, their anxiety and the anguish of Mary are expressed in one single sentence: “My child, why have you done this?
Let us now glance at Jesus who seemingly has no concern about the pain caused to his parents. He had stayed in Jerusalem while his parents left for home.
He responds to his mother with a question to remind his parents of his mission. “How is it that you have sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Did Mary and Joseph really forget the mission of Jesus that was communicated to them at his conception? Whatever the child’s mission, any parent would be concerned about the disappearance of their child. I wonder what Joseph’s reaction was to this answer
Despite the importance which Jesus attributes to his mission and the house of his father, at 12 years of age, Jesus remains obedient. He leaves the house of his Father and returns with his parents. The Gospel highlights that he was submissive to them, a sign of a good education received in his family.
I ask myself if Jesus had intentionally stayed in Jerusalem in his father’s house, or even if he was concentrating so intently with the doctors of the law and had not realized that his parents had left – or simply, he was lost, not knowing where to go, he returned to the temple to begin to accomplish his mission which unfortunately had been interrupted by the arrival of his parents. I question also what would have happened to Jesus if his parents had not returned to Jerusalem. All these questions lead me to think that the temple of Jerusalem had a meaning in the mission of Jesus. Actually, a mystery was revealed there during his presentation in the temple and every time he returned. The doctors of the law were astounded by his wisdom which seems to be beyond his age.
This gospel about the Holy Family provides a beautiful example of a united family united where there is love, joy, understanding and which promotes peace in misunderstanding. The text shows that neither of the two parents blames the other for the disappearance of the child. On the contrary, the two forget their fatigue of a day of travel. Together they return to Jerusalem to go in search of their child. Mary and Joseph show that the solution of a problem for a couple is not found in arguments or separation but in understanding and agreement. For his part, Jesus gives the example of obedience to parents. Despite the fact that he had made them suffer by having to seek him for three days and that he reminded them of his mission in the world, Jesus does not claim freedom from his parents. His submission eased their anguish.
Let us continue our reflection as we think about what we would have done had we been in the place of Mary, Joseph or Jesus. Let us pray for broken families, for families who live under the same roof without true love, for abandoned children and all those who suffer as victims of separation from their parents so that they may build their family like that of the holy family.
Luke 2:41-52
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Meet Sister Victorine Mansanga, SNDdeN
