Holy Family from America Magazine
Here’s a great reflection from America Magazine about how we all could turn to the Holy Family for an example of how to live faithfully in troubling times:
A snippet:
Into such a place came Jesus: a world riven with differences between rich and poor, facing the threat of violence and, like that world, hoping for salvation. To enter this world, Jesus was born into the Holy Family, each of whose members offers a distinctive lesson for believers during Christmas—especially for those facing hard times, financial or otherwise.
Again we turn to Joseph, who is often relegated to second-class status in the Nativity scenes. A “righteous” man, as the Gospel of Matthew has it, Joseph shoulders the confusing task God has given him. Not only is he asked to accept the strange message from an angel about the miraculous circumstances of his wife’s pregnancy; he is also charged, later, to guard his family in their perilous trip to Egypt. This would have been a particularly hard road for a Jewish family—Egypt lies in the wrong direction. Joseph trustingly accepts God’s upending of his expectations.
Mary’s great yes to God offers not only a model for women, but for any disciple. Indeed, Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel offers a model of discipleship for those under duress. When God invites Mary to accept a strange future, she initially hesitates and, like any believer, voices her honest emotions. “How can this be?” she asks in the Gospel of Luke. In reply, the angel points to the example of her cousin, Elizabeth, in essence saying, “Look what God has already done.” How often this happens in our own lives. When doubtful, we are invited to look backward, to see God’s hand more clearly and magnify our trust. But even after Mary’s Fiat, her story provides a lesson. “Then the angel left her.” Then comes the part that we know well: faith.
