The Holy Family (Luke 2:22-40)

Simeon and Anna have been waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled. They represent all that has happened in Israel’s history before this moment. What kind of Messiah were they expecting? Simeon had been assured that he would not die before this moment came and he is there to welcome this family who must have seemed ‘ordinary’ and poor. Simeon can see that this child will be ‘a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory of your people Israel’. Already there is a note of reversal; of boundaries being stretched. Mary is told that this child ‘is destined for the fall and the rising of many’. There will be trouble ahead; there will be challenges for many. Simeon knows that many thoughts will be exposed, what people really think will be revealed, who they welcome and who they exclude will be challenged; for God’s invitation and welcome has no boundaries. Anna rejoices for all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. In this statement she knows that this child will overturn systems of oppression and exclusion.

Luke is interested in how humanity responds to the Gospel. If Jesus’ message is really good news, then this requires a shakeup; a shakeup which challenges comfortable assumptions about the way God works. God’s abundant invitation to all may not sit comfortably with many. While Anna prays and fasts for a change of heart in the way Jerusalem operates, Simeon warns Mary that this will not be an easy road.

30 Dec Lost in the Temple? (Luke 2:41-52)

In this Gospel we get a glimpse of Jesus as a young boy as he disappears for three days while the family are on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Searching for a lost child for even 20 minutes is a most nerve wracking event for a parent. But to lose the Son of God for three days is something else. You might think that Jesus is even being disobedient to his parents in this story. We should remember that ancient writers often included a scene from the childhood of their hero in order to show the signs of great things to come. Jesus is eventually found sitting with the teachers in the Temple and is revealed as a very wise teacher.

While this gospel gives us a glimpse of the young boy Jesus, it is also a reminder of our own helplessness to do anything but let God’s dream be dreamed. Jesus knew this in a way that his parents could not fully grasp: “Why have you done this to us?” Mary and Joseph experience the tension between the anxieties of our world and the need to listen and live centred on God. Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, we pray for families everywhere, for parents and children and ask God to be with them, to guide them and protect them. “The attraction of the journey is stronger than the pull of all the picnics on the way” ~ Margaret Silf.