Holy Family (Year A) Dec. 26

Sir 3:2-6, 12-14;  Ps 128;  Col 3:12-21;  Mat 2:13-15, 19-23

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughterinlaw, and fouryear old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table.

But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor.  When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughterinlaw became irritated with the mess.

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl!

The fouryearold watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.

He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?"

Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up."

The fouryearold smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents so that they we speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

Sirach tells us in our first reading the number of things that come from the honour we give to our fathers and mothers.

• Atone for sins,
• prayers will be heard,
• treasure will be laid up,
• joy in the own children,
• a long life
• all these are blessings in our lifetime, and fringe benefits in the next.

Care for and respect of aging parents is very relevant issue these days since we live longer lives. We have parents in their late eighties and early nineties. This is not an exception but something quite common. It is always a tough decision. Our parents want to live on their own, they are pretty firm or stubborn in what they want to do, even if it impracticable, they do not want to give up their independence and rightly so.

 We on the other hand, feel guilty of having to put them in senior’s homes. We know that they cannot live on their own, and they are not willing to move in with us, or our houses are so constructed (with stairs) which makes it impractical to do so. As they grow older – there are these dangers:

they forget to eat or do not want to do so,

they forget their medication,

they leave electrical appliances on,

they slip as they get out of the bath tub. These are only a few of the hazards.  Sirach reminds us of

the sacrifices our parents made

the weaknesses of old age, similar to our own weakness when we were infants.

The best way to say Thank You is treating our parents with respect, care and compassion.

Appendix: As I sit talking to people in the 55+ age group – their biggest feeling of guilty, is: losing my temper, loosing my patience, being harsh with my parents. I love them very much and I know how much they did for me.

What Sirach tells us is so important. The Breakdown in families results in the deterioration of our parish, our community, our cities and our country. Instead of Bob Ford, we could have Solomon as the Mayor of Toronto, and even he in his wisdom could not set things right, if our families are not our #1 priority. So how do we do this? We must work at it the same way we work at

• Loosing weight
• Keeping within our budget,
• Living a joyful rather than a pessimistic life.

We have to work at it. We have to will and want it. As the Nike logo would say: “Just do it.”

Our second reading from Colossians gives us a paradigm or a floor plan of how to go about making our familes the first priority.  The letter tells us

Clothe yourselves in compassion, kindness, humility, and meekness

Forgive one another, and strive to live in harmony

Be grateful.

Gosh! If each one of us could live like this, you would be too sweet to live with. As I reflected on these qualities, it reminded me of the Guyanese Christmas cake. There are lots of fruits, nuts like cashews, walnut, almonds. However the key ingredient is the Rum. The more the Rum the richer the cake. So the key ingredient in keeping the plan according to the Letter to the Colossians is a selflessness. It is a life where we constant put others ahead of ourselves. As Jesus would say in Luke 17:33 “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” This is a constant challenge in our lives no matter how hopeless, no matter how hard It is a matter of life and a better life.

Our Gospel is symbolic of this struggle. There are three statements which stand for a way of life in reality:

The Angel of the Lord said to Joseph, Pick up the Child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Herod is seeking to destroy the child.

In my own life: the Child Jesus stands for Love and Compassion.

Herod stands for greed, fear and self interest:

Fear:– why? What can a little new born baby do against his army and strength

Greed: - He already has a palace and all he wants. But he is not satisfied.

Self Interest: - sounds very much like our recent G-20 summit meeting and the impact it had on Canadians especially those in Toront. It gave a bad stain to our police, it put a billion dollar tax on people –now we have cuts in hospitals, day care etc. It was done to make an impact on the Leaders. It had an opposite effect. Even the leaders seemed disgusted.

Joseph stands for self sacrifice. He constantly put the Child and the mother (Mary) first. He got out of his own traditional comfort zone.

Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph pray for us.