EVERY FAMILY HAS A CHALLENGE TO FACE
SOLEMN FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY
Once, a person visited me after a violent encounter with his family. He came with huge bags of personal belongings. I nervously thought that he might decide to stay with me. True enough, he begged me to let him stay. He did not want to return home again.
Today many people want to get out of their homes. Young people want an end to the fights and quarrels of their parents. Men want to escape boisterous wives after a tiring workday. Women want an end to their experience of physical and emotional violence. Old people want to feel welcome and cared for.
After Christmas, we focus on the initial experiences of Jesus, the God-made-man and the people who received him into their lives. Jesus’ first experience of human history took place within the warm environment of the loving, protective, assuring family with Joseph and Mary. This Holy Family is the ideal family that serves as model for any human relationship.
But today’s families are not as ideal as the Holy Family. We will not be truthful if we insist that families today are generally happy. What family does not have a share of parental differences, disappointing members, or competitive, envious and selfish characters? As Christians how do we deal with situations like these? How do you deal with a nagging wife, a serial adulterer, a rebellious son, an irresponsible parent?
The mystery of it all is that whatever we do, we are stuck with our families. We may leave them physically behind but the marks of our family experiences stays in our hearts forever.
The Holy Family was never depicted as having interpersonal troubles but the gospel today shows that even from the start, they met obstacles and trials. How can the Holy Family inspire us to accept and love our families and grow in appreciation of our family members?
The Holy Family stayed united. In the midst of difficulties they loved one another and protected one another. From the travails of finding a place in Bethlehem to the flight from Herod’s wrath, the Holy Family learned to appreciate that there is no other family worth saving and loving than their family.
We cannot evict people from the sphere of our lives so easily. We are only given these particular people to call our family. It may be painful but many times, we have to continue embracing people in spite of their imperfections and weaknesses. Many times, the solution is not to find a way out of our family relationships but to discover a way into the experience of acceptance, forgiveness and understanding.
Let us pray for our families and for ourselves that God will make us creative in dealing with the challenges that we face in our family lives.
Comments