Word to the Wise
Sunday, December 31, 2006 - Feast of the Holy Family
[1 Samuel 11:20-233, 24-28; 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24; Luke 2:41-52]Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been searching for you with great anxiety.
Whatever the theological significance of the event of Jesus' wandering off in the crowds during the festival and winding up impressing the teachers in the temple, the human side of the parents' anxiety is an important theological note as well. It shows the normal concern of parents for a child! On this weekend, when I have administered the sacrament of baptism for Lucy Danielle Baker, I have witnessed the parents' care for this little girl. I have received pics from another set of proud parents out in Hawaii of Emily Grace Powell, born today. The mystery of the Incarnation should not sideline the parental and familial reality for Jesus. We should not think that somehow his divinity relieved him and Mary and Joseph from concerns that are common to any family. The passage from Luke shows us that even Jesus and his parents could have communication snafus! The reality of the family is the domestic church. Herein come all the challenges and struggles to love. Leaving a child behind at a festival may be the least of them! AMEN