Our journey in time of the Twelve days of Christmas takes us on a journey of Faith, a journey in which Faith and history meet. The birth of Christ takes us to St. Stephen the First Martyr, then to St. John the Apostle, then to the Holy Innocents, and to St. Thomas A Becket, another martyr. Each of these individuals are who they are because of the birth of Christ, because of the Incarnation, because of the promise of Eternal Life. St. John wrote his life of Christ, the Holy Innocents gave their lives in anticipation of Christ's redemptive death, and St. Thomas Becket gave his life rather than compromise his Faith and belief: all consequences of the birth of Christ.
Another stop in this journey of the twelve days of Christmas is Holy Family Sunday: always the Sunday between Christmas day and January 1. Normally the readings are given to help us reflect how we should be, and relate to each others and model a Christian family. However, this is year B in the lectionary, and the readings have a bit of a different slant: they focus on journey, Faith, and the person of Jesus and his mission--and therefore how our families should reflect this.
Abraham had though the days of his clan had come to an end, because he and Sarah had no offspring. Yet God told him otherwise, and he trusted and believed in what God had said. Because of this, he did have descendents, and Abraham and Sarah set out on a journey to a new land. Their Faith made an impression on the generations to come as his praises are sung by the letter to the Hebrews, which is in many ways a
hymn in praise of Faith.
Finally, we come to the Gospel, to the touching scene of Ann and Simeon, who had waited for their salvation for many years: another journey of life trusting in God fulfilling his word in their lives. When the Christ child was brought to the temple for the Presentation, they knew that God had been true to His Word: They saw the Light of the world in their own lives. The Holy Family was the bearer of that light to Anna and Simeon, to the World! And, at the same time, this light to the world will also be a sign of contradiction, as Simeon foretells!
On this Holy Family Sunday this year we have much to reflect about. Our families are exhorted to be places where the light of Christ is seen and lived. Places to step out and journey in Faith each day of the new year. Recent headlines about cloning remind us again how the family is really under attack by dark forces far from God. We live in an age in which technology has become its own God and admits no higher authority or higher power! Live and journeying in Faith in our families ultimately means living that contradiction between what Faith calls us to, and what popular culture expects and tries to impose! In the journey of Faith what is front of us, a new journey and a new year on the horizon, with many troubling shadows, we can ask ourselves do we trust in the light of our Faith to guide the decisions in our families and in our own personal lives? Do we stand up to defend our values and our families in the civil and public forum? Do we live Abraham, trust in, the seemingly impossible from a human point of view, power of God? Do we pray that the favor and protection of God may be upon our families? Each night, at night prayer, the Church prays the Canticle of Simeon. It would be worthwhile for us to hear again and pray once in a while for our families.
