Holy Family C

There were three important feasts for the Jews, the Passover, Pentecost and the Feast ofTabernacles. Many Jews used to go to Jerusalem for one of these feasts. The Holy Family used to go for the Passover, the greatest of the three. Nazareth is just some eighty miles from Jerusalem. For the trip they used to go several families together; the journey took four or five days. Coming back to Nazareth, Jesus stayed in Jerusalem without the permission of his parents. They used to travel in two groups, one of men and another of women, and the children could go with either. Mary and Joseph thought that Jesus was part of the other group. It is easy to think that God is with us, but it is more important to ask ourselves if we are with God.

When they realised Jesus wasn’t there, they returned to Jerusalem. After three days, they found him in the temple. One day leaving Jerusalem, another returning, and on the third day, early in the morning, he was where he should be, at the temple in Jerusalem. For the Jews the temple was everything. It was where God was. Jesus wanted to be closer to his Father God, to spend time where he could feel his presence. Do we try to find the best place to encounter God? Do I know the fastest way to connect with Him? Have I found the best hot spot? It is important to have a desire to be with God, to find the peace and joy that only God can give us.

We can imagine the distress and anxiety of his parents. They were supposed to look after him and they lost him. Why did Jesus do that? He was twelve years old, the age when they were supposed to go to Jerusalem once a year. For us he was still a boy; for their society he was a young man. He wanted to teach them a lesson and to find answers to many of his questions. They found him talking to the religious leaders of the time. We too need to ask questions and find out the meaning of our lives, what we are here for.

Jesus’ mother complained: “Why did you do that?” He answered them, a bit perplexed: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” He must have put on that beautiful smile that his mother loved, just to soften his words. He told them that the temple was his place, that he came to earth to do the will of his Father. This should be our attitude in front of things that separate us from God. We should ask ourselves this question: Is this helping me to become closer to God? If the answer is in the negative, we should get rid of it. This should be the benchmark that measures everything we do.

The Gospel says that they didn’t understand him, but Mary kept all these things in her heart. She was pondering everything, trying to find out what it meant, what God wanted her to do. There are many things in our lives that we don’t understand, and many times we rebel and we get upset with God, because he is not doing what we want him to do. Better the attitude of Mary: to reflect on what all this means. God has a reason for everything and everything is part of his plan, immersed in the great scheme of things. We are just a little speck of dust in his universe. All we need to do is contemplate how God is acting in our lives.

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Christmas

During this Advent, in our quest for Jesus, we have been following the example of John the Baptist, Joseph and Mary. They have led us to him. We have arrived at our destination. We have reached the center of our lives and the focus is a baby. Now we realise that baby Jesus is all that matters. These days of Christmas are days of calm and serene contemplation of baby Jesus. All we need to do is to look at him, to plunge into the mystery of God becoming man, admiring the mingling of humanity and divinity. Just that, to look at him, and nothing else. Trying to enter deeper and deeper, into the infinite abyss of God’s love for us, a bottomless pit of his majesty and power. And all this is concentrated in a little tiny baby.

Why did he have to come to us? He didn’t. But he wanted not only to live with us, but to become one of us, and go through the same things we are going through, except sin. And he is now as we were when we were born, just a baby. A baby that cannot open his eyes, doesn’t have teeth, he cannot utter a word, and he’s got his little hands closed. All he does is eat, sleep, cry and dirty nappies. He is completely useless, a hundred percent dependent on his mother. All he can take is his mother’s milk. A God so defenceless, that if you leave him alone, he would die. At this moment he cannot even smile. His face is red and he doesn’t have much hair. If we could open his eyelids, we would see his beautiful brown eyes.

And this baby is what we need to contemplate, even though he cannot look back at us; he is sleeping. It is a one way gaze, trying to learn from his professorial chair, from his cathedra, from his open book, the book of his life, his first lessons of his life on earth. He could have come to us as a grown up man, but he wanted to start from the beginning, because we are slow learners. We need hours of patient contemplation in front of the statue or a painting of him in the manger, suffering cold, or in his mother’s arms, sleeping peacefully. Two simple, important lessons we learn straight away: poverty and humility. He came like us, with nothing, and when he goes, his only possession is going to be the wood of the cross. And what about humility? Can you find a better example than God coming to us as a baby?

And now in front of this baby, what do we do? We don’t need to do much. What do mother’s do with their babies? They look after them, giving them attention, love, tenderness. Many of us we don’t know how to look after a baby, but we can give him plenty of love. Some people don’t know how to love. This baby can teach us how to do it, just hold him in your arms, being careful not to drop him. We drop him many times a day. We can also offer ourselves to him. A baby brings out the best in us. In front of him we cannot say no. We need to be ourselves. The first thing he tells us when we get closer to him: get rid of your fancy clothes; be yourself. We cannot pretend, show off or try to deceive him.

But maybe the best thing we can do is to sit down in a corner of the cave, out of the way, hidden in the shadows, and contemplate how Mary looks after Jesus. It is an amazingly beautiful scene. She tends him knowing that he is God and man. She teaches us how to deal with his humanity and his divinity. You cannot become tired of looking at the mother and the child. Many artists tried to catch a glimpse of it. It is all in our imagination.

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Fourth Sunday of Advent

After the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel left Mary, Saint Luke says that she set out in haste to a town in the hill country of Judah. Mary was in a hurry to fulfill the will of God. Even though God didn’t ask her directly to help her cousin Elizabeth, Mary understood immediately what God wanted her to do, and she didn’t waste time thinking about it. Joseph would have accompanied her, on a trip of three or four days, walking dangerous paths through the mountains, and would have asked her why her sudden change of plans. She couldn’t tell him about her own pregnancy, but she told him that her cousin was expecting. The Fathers of the Church saw in this episode an example of Mary’s entire life: a prompt, joyful obedience, to whatever God asked her. We need to learn from our Mother and be quick to fulfill God’s will. We cannot drag our feet. Once we see what God wants us to do, we should do it.

Another lesson we learn from the Visitation of Mary to her cousin, is her willingness to help others, even though she had to prepare herself for the birth of baby Jesus. She had plenty of excuses to postpone her trip, but knowing that Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age, and that she was already in her sixth month, triggered in her a quick reaction. When the Holy Spirit through many different ways, places on our heads the realisation of other people’s needs, we should follow the path of Mary, and be ready to give a hand. We cannot forget that we are happy when we give ourselves to others. We all have problems, but the best way to solve them is focusing on others. Most of our worries are created in our minds and they disappear when we use our talents for the service of others.

Mary brings Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth. She also brings Jesus to us. We are now in a time of waiting anxiously for Christmas, for the birth of Jesus in our soul. Mary fulfills her role of mediatrix, channel of all graces. The closer we are to Mary, the closer we are to Jesus. Having God in our hearts, we can share our faith with others. Mothers experience the blessing of giving birth to a new life for the world. We can also experience spiritual birth when we bring Jesus to others.

When Mary greeted Elizabeth, her baby leapt in her womb. Two babies met in a very strange way, in their mother’s wombs, and they recognised each other. Saint John couldn’t contain his joy and wanted to get out straight away. Six people were witness to this scene: two babies, two mothers, and two fathers, Zachariah and Saint Joseph. Theologians say that John was sanctified in his mother’s womb, in a way baptised by giving witness to who Jesus is. This is why we celebrate his birth. It is not easy to recognise Jesus passing by our lives, sometimes very hidden behind the cross. We ask today Saint John the Baptist to help us, to witness him and to leap with joy at this encounter.

Elizabeth began to praise our Mother full of the Holy Spirit: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” We say these words every time we say a Hail Mary, many times without realising what we are saying. Let us too be witnesses of Jesus in our lives and bring him to others.

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