A House Raised In Justice To You

December 29, 2019

From today’s reading…

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.”

Today we celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph with readings from Sirach 3, Psalm 128, Colossians 3, and Matthew 2.

Family is a vital concept throughout the Bible and in our salvation. In fact, since 1964 Pope Paul VI has called the family “the domestic church.” 

Family is the root, the core, and the foundation of our faith, which is the key to our salvation.

We know that God the Father has always been and that He is love.

But in order to love, there must be someone else to love, which is how we know that God the Son has always been.

We also know that the sum is greater than the parts, which is how we account for God the Holy Spirit.

In our families we mirror and emulate the family of the Trinity.

Sirach discussed the importance of family in how he described the honor of the father and the authority of the mother.

Psalms likens the wife of a good husband as a fruitful vine and their children surrounding them like olive plants.

Colossians instructs wives to be subordinate to their husbands and husbands to love their wives and to “avoid bitterness toward them.”

Finally, in Matthew we see Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, stepping up to do what is right. He listens to the word of God and does the will of his Father by setting the example for Jesus of what a good father looks like.

And I can guarantee you Jesus followed the advice in Sirach and cared for Joseph as he got older, once again showing us how to…

Stay the course.Keep the faith.Endure.