20181230
BECOMING MEMBERS OF
GOD’S FAMILY
30 DECEMBER,
2018, Sunday, The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
EITHER:
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First reading
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1 Samuel 1:20-22,24-28 ©
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This is the child I prayed for: he is made over to
the Lord.
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Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son,
and called him Samuel ‘since’ she said ‘I asked the Lord for him.’
When a year had gone by, the
husband Elkanah went up again with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice
to the Lord and to fulfil his vow. Hannah, however, did not go up, having said
to her husband, ‘Not before the child is weaned. Then I will bring him and
present him before the Lord and he shall stay there for ever.’
When she had weaned him, she
took him up with her together with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and
a skin of wine, and she brought him to the temple of the Lord at Shiloh; and
the child was with them. They slaughtered the bull and the child’s mother came
to Eli. She said, ‘If you please, my lord. As you live, my lord, I am the woman
who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. This is the child I prayed for,
and the Lord granted me what I asked him. Now I make him over to the Lord for
the whole of his life. He is made over to the Lord.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 83(84):2-3,5-6,9-10 ©
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They are happy who dwell
in your house, O Lord.
How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of
the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
They are happy who dwell
in your house, O Lord.
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
They are happy, whose strength is in you,
in whose hearts are the roads
to Zion.
They are happy who dwell
in your house, O Lord.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer,
give ear, O God of Jacob.
Turn your eyes, O God, our shield,
look on the face of your
anointed.
They are happy who dwell
in your house, O Lord.
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Second reading
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1 John 3:1-2,21-24 ©
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We are called God's children, and that is what we
are
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Think of the love that the Father has
lavished on us,
by letting us be called God’s children;
and that is what we are.
Because the world refused to acknowledge
him,
therefore it does not acknowledge us.
My dear people, we are already the
children of God
but what we are to be in the future has
not yet been revealed;
all we know is, that when it is revealed
we shall be like him
because we shall see him as he really is.
My dear people,
if we cannot be condemned by our own
conscience,
we need not be afraid in God’s presence,
and whatever we ask him,
we shall receive,
because we keep his commandments
and live the kind of life that he wants.
His commandments are these:
that we believe in the name of his Son
Jesus Christ
and that we love one another
as he told us to.
Whoever keeps his commandments
lives in God and God lives in him.
We know that he lives in us
by the Spirit that he has given us.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 2:41-52 ©
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Mary stored up all these things in her
heart
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Every year the parents of Jesus used to go
to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they
went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the
feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it.
They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey
that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When
they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.
Three
days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening
to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded
at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and
his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how
worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’
‘Why
were you looking for me?’ he replied. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy
with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.
He
then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority.
His
mother stored up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom,
in stature, and in favour with God and men.
BECOMING MEMBERS OF GOD’S FAMILY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 Sm 1:20-22,24-28; Ps 84; 1 Jn 3:1-2,21-24; Lk 2:41-52 ]
“Think of the love that
the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that
is what we are.”
This is such a wonderful privilege, to be called God’s children and to be one
of them. That is who we really are. All of us are God’s children
because we have the same heavenly Father who is the source of all
life. Unfortunately, not many of us realize our dignity as God’s
children, not only those who do not believe in God but even among
Christians! This is what St John said, “Because the world refused to
acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us.”
Those who do not
acknowledge God do not know their identity. This is the main reason why today in
the face of secularism and atheism, many people are confused about their
identity. They do not know who they are. They are confused about
their sexual identity, whether they are male or female. They are confused
about what a family is, whether it is comprised of a man and a woman with
children or simply three persons. Disagreement over our identity is
rooted in the fact that we do not know God. The bible says, “So God
created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and
female he created them.” (Gn 1:27) The failure to understand our dignity
also arose from the fact that many do not know that God is their Father, as St
John said, “Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not
acknowledge us. My dear people, we are already the children of God.”
However, those of us who
know that God is our Father and we are His children are called to deepen this
identity by purifying ourselves. “All
who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 Jn 3:3) The truth is that children are
called to reflect their parents. We are the product of our parents and
often children follow the footsteps of their parents in life and sometimes even
in work. So if we believe and claim to be God’s children, then we must
live as one.
So what does it mean to
be a member of God’s family? Firstly, it requires that “we keep his commandments and live the
kind of life that he wants.” This entails that “we believe in
the name of his Son Jesus Christ and that we love one another as he told us
to.” Children must reflect the lives of their parents just as Jesus the
Son of God is the image of the Father in His love and mercy for us. Just
as God is glorified in Jesus, we too are called to be the glory of God.
(cf Jn 17:1-4) In other words, we are to live a
life of love and service after our Lord who came to serve us and empty His life
for us. When we love like Jesus, believing that He is our brother and
leader in salvation, we become adopted sons and daughters of God in and through
Him. This is what St John wrote, “Whoever keeps his commandments lives in
God and God lives in him. We know that he lives in us by the Spirit that he has
given us.”
Secondly, to be children
of God means that we desire to stay in the House of God. This is what the psalmist says,
“How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, God of hosts. My soul is longing and
yearning, is yearning for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my soul ring out
their joy to God, the living God. They are happy, who dwell in your house, for
ever singing your praise. They are happy, whose strength is in you, in whose
hearts are the roads to Zion.” We read in the gospel that Jesus stayed
behind at the Temple because He wanted to be with His Father. To be God’s
children means that we desire God’s company and we want to be in relationship
with Him in prayer and in worship. If God is our Father, then we
want to bask in His love and in His intimacy as Jesus did when He would pray to
His Father daily.
Thirdly, to be children
of God means that we want to belong to the family. All children find happiness and joy
in being with their parents and family members. The family is where we
can be ourselves when we are loved unconditionally and accepted for what we are
and how we can grow to become more and more the children of God. We all
need to belong. When we do not have a family whom we can belong to, life
becomes lonely and meaningless. We are social beings and we need to find
a niche where we can belong to some people. Otherwise, we seek for a
family outside our homes if our family does not provide that supportive and
welcoming ambiance.
That being the case, as
parents we have a grave responsibility to ensure that our children are brought
up as children of God. We
must not forget that our children do not belong to us. They belong to
God. God has entrusted them to us to look after and raise them up to the
fullness of their identity as God’s children. We should therefore not act
as if our children are our property and we can do what we will with them.
We are accountable to God as to how our children are formed in love and service
and in character.
This was the disposition
of Hannah in the first reading. She was childless for many years. She prayed to
God to take away her shame because of her infertility. God answered her
prayers and she “conceived and gave birth to a son, and called him
Samuel.” She was ever grateful to God for giving her a child.
Instead of keeping the child for herself, she knew that the child came from God
and therefore it was right that she consecrated the child back to God. So
after three years of weaning the child, “she took him up with her together with
a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and she brought
him to the temple of the Lord at Shiloh.” And she came to Eli saying, “If
you please, my lord. As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside
you, praying to the Lord. This is the child I prayed for, and the Lord granted
me what I asked him. Now I make him over to the Lord for the whole of his life.
He is made over to the Lord.”
How many of us are
conscious of this truth that our children must be consecrated to the Lord? They belong to Him and therefore,
as parents it is our duty to ensure that our children are given over to the
Lord for His service. Our task as parents is to form them to be
God’s children, growing in virtue, in maturity, in truth and in love. We
are to help them to find their vocation in life, how God wants them to serve
Him and His people. We are to help them grow in their charisms, in
knowledge and skills so that they can be of better service to God and His
people. Most of all, we are called to mold them in our faith so
that by growing in relationship with God, they will become more godly in the way
they conduct themselves. This was what Mary and Joseph did when they
brought Jesus to the Temple on pilgrimage.
Unfortunately, many
parents do not bring their children up in the faith nor help them to realize
their dignity as God’s children and to live out their vocation in life. What do parents teach their children
today? That they must work hard so that they can be successful in
life. They must hold some distinguished positions in society. They
must earn big bucks, drive big cars, stay in a condominium and live a life of
luxury. It is all about themselves, their interests, their desires.
It is not about helping them to live a life that is meaningful, purposeful,
contributive to society and giving glory and honour to God. Instead
of encouraging their children to serve God and be involved in Church ministry
or social work, they discourage them from even coming to Church!
Children on their part
are called to be docile and receptive like our Lord. We read that Jesus was humble enough to
learn from the adults. He was left behind in the Temple for three days
“sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them
questions.” Jesus was not afraid to learn and to ask questions and to
propose answers as well. Indeed, “all those who heard him were astounded
at his intelligence and his replies.” He was ever ready to learn and to
inquire further into the truth. Young people today have many questions
about life, suffering, meaning, purpose and God. You must not be afraid
to explore these questions and find answers to them so that your faith can grow
and deepen each day. Adults must not be defensive when they do not know
the answers but together they should discover the truth by searching the
scriptures and consulting the teaching of the Church on such matters.
Indeed, Jesus was not
only docile but He was obedient to His parents. When they found Him, “He then went
down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother
stored up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom, in
stature, and in favour with God and men.” Jesus was ever ready to
submit to His foster parents, and taking His time to grow in wisdom and in
stature in the eyes of God and men.
Whether as parents or
children, we need to ask whether we are faithful to our calling as God’s
children and whether we are faithful to Him in relationship and whether we are
immersed in the family of God, His Church. If we want to receive the blessings
of God for our children, then let us form them and raise them up to be like
Christ in love, in service and in virtues.
If we have done what we
could, then our conscience can be clear, like Hannah before God. We should not feel guilty or be
dismayed or condemn ourselves if after doing all we can to bring them up in the
faith, they choose to follow the ways of the world. The truth is that
today, parents have limited influence over their children because of social
media, internet, peer pressure and the negative influence of society. Our
young people listen more to the internet and their friends than their own
parents. We can only commend them into the hands of God in prayers.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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