Hearing The Word

A weekly newsletter delivering context and insight into the Sunday Gospels.

We Are Members of the Divine Family

~ Rev. Jordan Kelly, O.P.

Chaplain to the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters at the Convent of Divine Love + Philadelphia, Pa.

Today’s Gospel presents us with the reality of what it means to belong to both the Father’s Divine Family as well as our natural families.  

With historical reliability, Luke impresses upon us that these events really happened to call us into relationship with Christ Himself.  The author of all history assumes human flesh and nature, in order that He may change history, and even more, change us. 

The full meaning of the Incarnation changes family life as Christ points us to our goal: to be joined together in heaven.  Families, united not only naturally but spiritually, enjoy a higher level of affection and unity.  Natural bonds are not destroyed but heightened when they are ordered to our eternal end.  Family life must be brought up into God, not pushed down by transitory goods. 

Responding to Mary’s “Why ...” with “Did you not know…”, Christ reveals the purpose of His mission: to attend to His Father’s mission.  These words introduce Mary to the reality of the cross in her vocation: her son is maturing and as he matures, he shows Mary and Joseph that He has a higher purpose – a greater goal. The translation “in my Father’s House…” limps. A more faithful rendering would read, “Did you not know that I must be involved in the things of my Father?" Christ is not concerned about a place to do the Father’s work but attending to that work. This clearer translation reveals the reason Mary and Jospeh do not understand their son. This is what Mary ponders in her heart. 

Luke concludes, “Jesus advanced in wisdom, age and (grace) ...”. The Divine grows humanly in His family, just as our families are to lead us to the Divine. 

The Search Is On: Finding Jesus and Finding Peace

~ Cheryl Kehoe Rodgers

Saint Patrick Church + Norristown, Pa.

Seek and you shall find…

Luke’s Gospel on the Feast of the Holy Family is all about searching -- Mary and Joseph frantically looking for their lost little boy. After experiencing tremendous stress and anxiety, they finally find Jesus in his Father’s house.

As a parent, I can totally relate to the anguish Mary and Joseph felt when they realized their young son wasn’t with the caravan. But as someone who spends a good deal of time searching for Jesus myself, I can also imagine their relief when they finally found him in the temple.

That’s what is palpable to me, the relief. There were times throughout my life when I felt abandoned, alone and confused. The death of my father when I was 8, my brother’s death when I was 17 and my husband’s passing 7 years ago – financial struggles, my youngest son’s diagnosis of Down syndrome and related health issues. There were moments when I thought the stress and anxiety would never subside – that I’d never feel peace again. 

But each time, knowing I was spiraling into despair – I did the one thing I knew would lift me out of that downward spiral. I looked for Jesus. My faith taught me to find Jesus, meet him wherever he was, and surrender all my worries, concerns, fears and problems – everything -- to him.  

During those emotional moments, I’d look for Jesus – and find him always. And I realized that searching for Jesus always brought me closer to him. And it always brought relief. 

Unlike Mary and Joseph at that time, we don’t have to spend days looking for Jesus, feeling anxious and stressed out, wondering if we’ll find him. Because he’s always with us, always there for us. We know where Jesus is at all times.