Feast of the Holy Family – Year A
THE ELDERLY: BUILDERS OF A YOUNG WORLD
Introduction
The sons of Eli, the priest of the Lord at Shiloh, were depraved and did not pay any attention to the call of their father (1 S 2:12). One day a man of God appeared to Eli, who told him: "In your household, no one will live to a ripe old age" (1 S 2:32). It was not the promise that his descendants would be freed from hasslesrelated to the care of the elderly and the sick but the announcement of a terrible calamity. Educators of new generations, the guardians of sacred traditions, the leaders, and the transmission of the faith would be forever missed. His grandchildren would never have experienced the commotion of the psalmist who exclaimed, "With our ears, O God, we have heard: our ancestors have declared to us the works you did in their days" (Ps 44:1-2).
There was the commandment ‘Honor your father and mother’ in Israel; however, the formation of new generations was often marked by tension and conflict. There were spoiled, arrogant, and astute young people(1 K 12:8). Some wise old men watched, with serenity and trust, beyond the narrow horizons of their time. There were also dull old people who fought for a nostalgic return to the past, trying to curb the future evolution.
The prophets indicate that generational reconciliation is the sign of the advent of the Messianic era. The Old Testament closes with the announcement of the return of Elijah, who will reconcile parents with their children and children with their parents (Mal 3:24). The New Testament opens with the words of the angel toZechariah: "Elizabeth will bear you a son; … he will be great in the eyes of the Lord; … he will reconcile fathers and children" (Lk 1:13-17).
In families where there is no elderly person, life can, at times, be easier, but it is undoubtedly the poorest of humanity.
- To internalize the message, we repeat:
"Even when my strength lessens, my heart will remain young."
First Reading: Sirach 3:2-6,12-14
God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons. Whoever honors his father atones for sins, and preserves himself from them. When he prays, he is heard; he stores up riches who reveres his mother. Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children, and, when he prays, is heard.Whoever reveres his father will live a long life; he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.
My son, take care of your father when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him; revile him not all the days of his life; kindness to a father will not be forgotten, firmly planted against the debt of your sins—a house raised in justice to you.
Sirach, a book of the Old Testament, contains many excellent and valuable counsels for a wide variety ofsituations in life. It teaches how to deal with friends, guests, and women, manage money, and maintain rapport with leaders, servants, and disciples. A good part of the book is devoted to family life, husband and wife's duties, and the obligations of children to their parents and vice versa. Some delightful verses can be helpful, such as Sirach 30:1-13 and 42:9-14, although some teachings can no longer be applied to the latter since some educational methods are definitely outdated.
The author, a certain Ben Sirach, from whom the book takes its name, is a wise rabbi who lived in 200 B.C. He is a scholar of the Bible who has assimilated the message and draws counsel for all. At the time of Jesus, Sirach, although not included in the holy books of Israel, was used by teachers to educate young people. Even Christians have always appreciated it. In fact, after the Psalms, it was the most widely read bookof all the Old Testament. The book was also called Ecclesiasticus in the past. It means ‘book to be read in the churches.’
The passage mentioned in today's reading speaks of the duties of children towards their parents. We introduce it recalling the first verse of the chapter, not mentioned in the reading. It allows us to capture the identity of the author. He is a father of the family concerned with teaching his children the way of life: "My children, it is your father who speaks, listen to me and follow my advice, and so be saved" (Sir 3:1).
To save in the Bible means ‘to put in a large, spacious place.’ Its opposite is to enslave, ‘to reduce free space.’ Taught by experience accumulated over the years, Ben Sirach knows that young people riskwithdrawing into their projects to thinking only of themselves. So, a misunderstood yearning for completeindependence can lead them to fall into the most subtle of hardship, that of selfishness. There is a way to save them from the narrowness of the heart by educating them on gratitude and making them sensitive to the needsof others, especially the needs of those from whom they have received life. "Honor your father with your whole heart and do not be forgetful of the sufferings of your mother. Remember that they gave you birth. How can you repay them for what they have done for you?" (Sir 7:27- 28).
In the first part of the reading (vv. 2-6), Ben Sirach summed up the term to honor—the children's behaviortoward their parents. He repeats this verb five times and applies it equally to both the father and the mother. This is no recent news in a world where women were still discriminated against and considered inferior to men. This is not an absolute novelty because Ben Sirach has inherited it from the holy books of his people. After those about God, the first commandment that appears is: "Honor your father and your mother" (Ex 20:12; Deut5:16).
The first, most apparent, and immediate meaning of the verb to honor is to render honor. The children are asked to lead a good, whole, and correct life so that parents can feel proud of them. The second duty of children expressed with the verb to honor is to provide financial assistance to parents when they need it. At the time of Ben Sirach, the elderly did not receive pensions. After a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice, they were sometimes forced into dire straits and humiliating circumstances. No child should endure seeing their parentsin such a condition.
Finally, there is a third meaning of the word honor. In Hebrew, it means to give weight to something.Parents are to be honored while continuing to give the value of their lives the weight they deserve. It is a dramatic experience for older people to feel snubbed, sometimes even derided, and realize that their words,advice, recommendations, and gestures of affection no longer carry any weight.
The love of children for their parents is something God appreciates. This is clear from the promises ofblessings given to those who care for their father and mother. Ben Sirach enumerates five. The love of parents—he says—atones for sins (v. 3.14). It does not mean that God reduces the debt that one may have to anyonein proportion to the services rendered to the parents. To show attention to parents, giving them love and care isan opportunity not to let pass. It makes one mature, helps discover the true values of life, detaches fromtemporary, and draws away from sin.
Love of parents makes one acquire treasures before God (v. 4). Maybe before people, it cost time, reducing the chances of success and accumulating wealth in this world. The assessment to consider is notthat of people but what the Lord gives at the end of life. Those who honor their parents will, in turn, be honoredby their children (v. 5). Wise judgment! Children, as we know, learn with their eyes more than with their ears. They see and do not forget the behavior of their parents towards their grandparents. The attention given to children can also be manifestations of possessive love, the ones given to the grandparents, especially when they need everything done for them, can never be misunderstood. They are an unrivaled life lesson.
The prayer of one who honors their parents will be granted (v. 5). The love of parents produces an inner feeling that brings one closer to God. When this love lacks, rapport with the Lord becomes a formality, a cold and heartless religious practice not of God's interest.
Finally, those who honor their parents will have a long life (v. 6). It was only much later (in the second century B.C.) that Israel's belief in a life after death. Before, they thought only in terms of this earthly life, so that the highest good was to die as Abraham "in a good old age … after a full span of years" (Genesis 25:8). The promise of blessing for those who care for their parents could not be missed (Deut 5:16; Ex 20:12).
The second part of the reading (vv. 12-14) suggests how to behave towards elderly parents. It is possible that the weakening could be not only physical but also mental. To take care of one who has lost his memory, who repeats the same boring and sometimes even offensive phrases, is an extremely heavy burden. That is the time to show the depth of affection.
The reading speaks only of the duties of the children, which is understandable as Ben Sirach is an old man. Rightly, the children would like to address a word to their parents because, as we know, they are not always exemplary. Should they be ‘honored’ anyway?
True love is always free and unconditional. A person is not loved because they are good, but to become good by being loved. If this applies to all, it especially applies to parents. Loving them does not mean favoringtheir flaws and limitations, endorsing their caprices, but understanding and helping them. They are not‘honored’ if we do not try to help them overcome their uncouth behavior, obnoxious habits, or ways of impolite speech. When they create irrecoverable situations, then all that remains is patience.
Second Reading: Colossians 3:12-21
Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them. Children, you’re your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged.
Clothing is important. It differentiates us from the animals that go naked. It is an extension of our body. It reveals tastes and our feelings and shows if we are happy or mourning, having a day of celebration orbusiness. Its style cannot be imposed because everyone has the right to choose the image they want toproject themselves.
In biblical language, one's clothing symbolizes what externally manifests the interior disposition, the heart's choices. The Christian, who has risen with Christ to new life in baptism, cannot continue to wear an old robe. "You must give up your former way of living, the old self, whose deceitful desires bring self-destruction" (Eph 4:22-24)—Paul recommends. The same image occurs at other times: "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom13:14), "have put on Christ" (Gal 3:27). The letter to the Colossians also recalls it: "You have put on the new man" (Col 3:10), and it is developed in the following verses of today's Second Reading.
In the first part (vv. 12-15), Paul lists the characteristics of the Christian robe: "Put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, to bear with one another and forgive whenever there is any occasion to do so." We count the threads in the fabric from which it is woven: there are seven fine but almost impossible to isolate.
But the description of the Christian robe is not yet complete. One must also gird oneself with a bond (love) that gives a touch of elegance and finesse to everything else. This cannot be reduced to a vague feeling butmanifests itself in a constant attitude of service of brother and sister, the willingness to sacrifice self for the brethren. This habit (suggest ‘robe’) is not reserved for anyone in particular. Every Christian should wear it; it is the same for everyone: men and women, priests, nuns, and laypeople. It should be worn day and night and not be taken off.
Some ways are indicated to maintain or build harmony among family members in the middle of the reading (vv. 16-17). "Let the word of Christ dwell in you in all its richness" (v. 16). It is an invitation to meditate together on the Gospel. The family that finds time to devote to reading a page of the Gospel regularly provides a solid basis for always agreeing and making enlightened choices.
"You teach and admonish one another" (v. 16). When an agreement is arrived at with the choice of the word of Christ as a reference point, it is possible to engage in a constructive dialogue. The counsels andcomments are not interpreted as undue interference, as a constraint in what does not concern us, but as manifestations of loving care for the person one loves.
"With thankful hearts sing to God, hymns and spontaneous praise." How many tricks and strategies do we employ to achieve the mutual trust, harmony, and accord that reign in our families? Paul suggests his way: family prayer.
In the third part of the reading (vv. 18-21), Paul applies the law of love to the rapport among Christian family members. Above all, he says that women should be submissive to their husbands, then recommendsthe latter to love their wives. Women usually do not like Paul's language and wonder why he did not tellhusbands: ‘Be subject to your wives.’
It must be recognized that the wives have every good reason to complain, but what Paul was really saying must be understood. He does not apply the word to serve husbands but employs another word that means precisely the same: love. Does ‘to love’ mean ‘to become a slave’ for a Christian?
The Master has dictated to his men and women disciples, without distinction, the rule that should guidebehavior: "And if you want to be the first of all, make yourself the servant of all. Be like the Son of Man who has come, not to be served but to serve" (Mt 20:27-28).
In the concluding verse, Paul asks for obedience from the sons. Unlike Ben Sirach, he has a word for parents: beware not to fall into authoritarianism that does not educate but instead stiffens, creates distrust, and exasperates the children.
Gospel: Matthew 2:13-15,19,23
When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land ofIsrael, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was rulingover Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazorean.
The people of Israel were waiting for a Messiah who would repeat the glorious deeds of Moses, the great leader. This expectation was founded on what the liberator had said before he died: "Yahweh, your God will raise up a prophet like myself, from among yourselves, from your own brothers" (Deut 18:15). Matthew, in his Gospel, wants us to understand that Jesus is this new prophet. Using the teaching method of his time, he does not say so explicitly but explains to us how the life of Jesus was similar to that of Moses.
Pharaoh ordered that all male children of the Jews be thrown into the river (Ex 1:15-22). Herod ordered the killing of all the children in Bethlehem. Moses was the only one who escaped the massacre (Ex 2:1-10), which happened to Jesus. Later on, Moses had to flee to avoid being killed (Ex 2:15). Jesus was forced to do the same. Finally, when those who wanted to kill him had died, Moses was told, “Go, return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.' Moses then took his wife and his son and putting them on a donkey started back for the land of Egypt" (Ex 4:19-20). These are the exact words we find in today's Gospel (v. 20).
Matthew wanted to show Jesus as the new Moses. I have insisted on this point because we shall be commenting on Matthew's Gospel this year, and we will often come across this parallel between Moses and Jesus.
Today's Gospel is also linked to the quotation from Hosea's prophecy: "I called my son out of Egypt" (v. 15). The prophet probably means the people of Israel who in the Bible are called "my first-born son" (Ex 4:22). The Israelites were called out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Matthew tells us that Jesus identifies himself with the people he wants to save by applying this saying to Jesus.
READ: The Book of Sirach instructs us in the Fourth Commandment—honoring our father and mother and the many blessings it brings. Paul speaks of what makes for a peaceful and holy family—love, deep respect, mutual submission, obedience, compassion, forgiveness, and the centrality of God. Matthew narrates the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt.
REFLECT: What made the family of Mary and Joseph holy? Even amid life's struggles, they remained faithful to God and each other. Do I expect God to remove all the struggles of everyday life just because I have remained faithful to him?
PRAY: Pray for broken families in our midst. Pray that our families may become holy and blessed. Pray for the values of love, deep respect, mutual submission, obedience, compassion, forgiveness, and centeredness on God to reign supreme in our families.
ACT: Visit other family members and dine with them, especially your parents. If distance prevents you, give them a call and engage in loving and respectful conversation. Bless each other in your family.
