The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Dec 30 2017 (Cycle B)

 

Genesis 15:1-6, 21:1-3

Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19

Luke 2:22-40

 

Let me start this week by saying that for the Sunday readings, there are options for the 1^st and 2^nd reading. I have selected the Genesis and Hebrews reading because they both refer to Abram and his wife Sarah. They were childless, and through the promises God had made to Abram and the faith they had, Sarah bore a son in her old age.

 

The other readings from Sirach and Colossians reference family as having respect and honor for one another. So, while both sets of readings would fit in nicely with the theme of the Holy Family, I believe the Genesis and Hebrew’s readings reflect more of the idea we want to present.

 

In the Genesis reading, Abram has a vision from the Lord telling him to fear not and that he will be protected and rewarded. This idea of the Lord telling Abram to fear not is one that occurs frequently in the Old Testament and it usually accompanies the appearance of the Lord or some sort of manifestation of His presence. In Old Testament writings, the presence of the Lord usually brought great fear and usually meant it was a terror filled event. The idea of the shield and reward is one where God is telling Abram that he is protecting him and will reward him for his fidelity.

 

Abram then begins to protest to the Lord, not so much as in disbelief, but due to the fact that he has no heir, no offspring on whom the promises made to him in Genesis 12:1-3 where he tells Abram to leave the land of his ancestors and go to Canaan and that he will make of him a great nation.

 

Abram was concerned about the lack of an heir because the ancient customs of Mesopotamia dictated that if a couple were childless, then a child born of a slave in the household, would become the heir. So Abrams questioning of the Lord is based on the facts and the customs of the land, not on disbelief.

 

The Lord then replies to Abram that the slave child will not be his heir, but that he will have his own issue from which his heir will come about. The Lord them adds that Abram’s descendants will be a numerous as the stars in the sky.

 

It is finally at this point that Abram lets go of all that is holding him back, lets go of his fear, lets go of his question on an heir, lets go of any disbelief he has and puts all of his faith and trust in the Lord. It is this concept of totally letting go and trusting in the Lord to fulfill His promises that Abram is credited with righteousness. This is what it means to be in a relationship with the Lord. This is what it means when we stop trying to control all the events in our lives and let the Lord be in control, trusting in Him and trusting that He will do what is best for us in our lives.

 

Chapter11 of Hebrews is full of examples of faith from the Old Testament, so in reading just a few verses as we do today, we miss a wide range of individuals whose faith was an important part of their life. Even verse 1 has an important concept that we need to take to heart even today. Two translations follow: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not see” and “Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see.’ Both of these translations are very powerful and should lead us even deeper in our faith. This idea of faith in things we cannot see is the basis of our faith, the very fact that we believe in God, that we believe in His Son Jesus, that we believe in the Holy Spirit are all manifestations of that unseen faith and expectations of what this faith will do for us.

 

All of the examples from the Old Testament are the role models for us to follow in our faith journey, but todays reading just focuses on three aspects of Abraham’s faith, courage, trust and obedience. The writer starts with the call of Abraham in Genesis 12 when the Lord calls him to go forth. Not knowing where he was to go, he obeyed the Lord and went as he was directed. The second example of Abraham’s faith is taken from Genesis 15 where he questions the ability of he and Sarah being able to have heirs. Again, he sets aside his questioning of the Lord about his being too old and Sarah being barren and lets the Lord be in control, thereby having faith that Sarah would conceive an heir. The third example in Hebrews is taken from Genesis 22 where he is told by the Lord to take Isaac up to the mountain to sacrifice him. Because he did not withhold his only son and was willing to make the sacrifice, the Lord promised him great rewards of land and of a great nation of people more numerous than the stars. He had not qualms about the sacrifice because he expected the Lord would raise his son from the dead. Sound familiar? It should remind us of the Lord raising His only, Son Jesus.

 

At first glance of the passage from Luke’s gospel today it is easy to miss the fact that Luke combines two different passages from the Old Testament to describe the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. When we remember that Luke is writing to the Greek speaking Gentiles who were living throughout the Roman Empire, many of whom had very little knowledge of the writings in the Old Testament, then it makes sense for him to bring together the teachings of the Old Testament to emphasize the importance of what had occurred. The Book of Exodus required the presentation of the first-born son in the temple because all first-born sons “belong” to the Lord. In Leviticus the ceremony is described as the ritual purification of the mother forty days after giving birth. The gospel today is not about the purification of Mary, but is centered on the presentation of Jesus in the Temple.

 

For Luke, the temple provides the central location where both the Jews and for the early Christians, can come together. It is where the announcement of salvation takes place, it is where we find Jesus teaching, and it is where the early Christians worshiped for many years. In todays gospel it is also where we hear from two humble and devout Jews, who through the Spirit of the Lord, recognize Jesus. Both Simeon and Anna recognize Jesus as the anointed one sent by the Lord and tell the others around them about the child.