20231231 FAITH DIMENSION OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY
31 December 2023, Sunday, The Holy Family
First reading |
Genesis 15:1-6,21:1-3 © |
Your heir shall be your own flesh and blood
The word of the Lord was spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great.’
‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘what do you intend to give me? I go childless…’. Then Abram said, ‘See, you have given me no descendants; some man of my household will be my heir.’ And then this word of the Lord was spoken to him, ‘He shall not be your heir; your heir shall be of your own flesh and blood.’ Then taking him outside he said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can. Such will be your descendants’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.
The Lord dealt kindly with Sarah as he had said, and did what he had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the time God had promised. Abraham named the son born to him Isaac, the son to whom Sarah had given birth.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 104(105):1-6,8-9 © |
He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
O sing to him, sing his praise;
tell all his wonderful works!
He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.
Be proud of his holy name,
let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.
He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, the judgements he spoke.
O children of Abraham, his servant,
O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.
He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.
Second reading |
Hebrews 11:8,11-12,17-19 © |
The faith of Abraham and of Sarah
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing where he was going. It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.
It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though the promises had been made to him and he had been told: It is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back Isaac from the dead.
Gospel Acclamation | Heb1:1-2 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
At various times in the past
and in various different ways,
God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
but in our own time, the last days,
he has spoken to us through his Son.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 2:22-40 © |
My eyes have seen your salvation
When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, – observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:
‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace,
just as you promised;
because my eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared for all the nations to see,
a light to enlighten the pagans
and the glory of your people Israel.’
As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’
There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.
FAITH DIMENSION OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GEN 15:1-6,21:1-3; HEB 11:8,11-12,17-19; LK 2:22-40]
Life is not complete without a family. We all belong to a family. We come from a family. We do not come from nowhere. A family gives us a sense of belonging and an identity. A family means that we are born from parents who give birth to us. They give us not only biological life but nurture us in love, give us security and protection. Many married couples long for a child to complete their life because love, in order to grow, must be fruitful. Children add life to the family. Consequently, we can understand the desire of Abraham and Sarah to have a child. We can appreciate the importance of having children to sustain the growth and continuity of humanity. This explains why those nations that have penalized married couples from having children so that the country could become affluent now suffer generations of declining birth rates, a crisis in development because of the lack of manpower and a growing number of elderly people that require massive resources.
Indeed, this is a clear warning that we too must not take things into our own hands. We cannot afford to make the same mistake that Abraham did when he took Hagar to bear him a child. He did not trust God enough that He could do the impossible. We cannot manipulate the laws of nature. This is what the world is doing today, such as the promotion of cloning, social egg freezing and Invitro Fertilization. Nor should we manipulate the true meaning of marriage and family life. A marriage is between a man and a woman, and children are the fruit of that love that makes a family. It is said that when we abuse the laws of nature because we want to have things our way, we will eventually suffer the backlash. Climate warming is but the consequence of man abusing nature. Unfortunately, man lacks foresight because he only wants to fulfil his desires here and now, but lacks the wisdom to look ahead of the consequences of our actions we take today.
In such a situation, the Church invites us to have faith in God and to surrender to His plans. The scripture reminds us that our life is in the hands of God. God can do the impossible. We are called to trust Him and to surrender our lives to Him as Abraham and Sarah did eventually. “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing where he was going. It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to it. It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac.” Indeed, for God, nothing is impossible to those who believe Him. “Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.”
We must trust that God is faithful to His promises. He will never revoke His promise made to us. “Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the time God had promised.” The psalmist testifies to this truth when he prayed, “Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. O sing to him, sing his praise; tell all his wonderful works! He remembers his covenant forever, his promise for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham.” Again, this truth is reiterated by Simeon, “Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel”.
On the other hand, we know that family life is very challenging today, whether it is marriage, or raising our children. It is under threat because of increasing individualism in the world today. Many put their own interests above others and society. It is a very individualistic approach to life, about ‘my’ happiness and not the happiness of the family and society. The negative influence of the mass media normalizing divorce, infidelity, LGBT relationships and promoting promiscuity, weaken family life. Instead of promoting the joy of family life, the world promotes individualistic values. Indeed, many of us suffer from broken marriages and dysfunctional families. We are caught in a situation that we cannot get out of. Due to the lack of communication, we are estranged from our spouse and children. A loving marriage and a closely knitted family seem to be a lie. So many are afraid to get married because they feel they do not have the capacity to love or to make the sacrifices for their loved ones, or care for their children, whether financially or nurturing them, as parents today have demanding work and social engagements.
Faith in God is what enables us to live the life of a family. Even if we are divorced and separated, or bereaved, let us continue to have faith in God, like Anna in the gospel. She was a young widow just after seven years of marriage. Instead of being resentful and angry with God, we read that “she was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.” She made the best of the situation she was in. She did not dwell in the past. Instead, she lived in the present fully by offering herself to the service of God at the Temple.
Today, we are called to be like Simeon and Anna. Let us trust God and seek His wisdom and grace. Only Christ can give us the wisdom and show us the way. As Anna says, He will deliver us. “She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.” Only Christ can lay bare our thoughts and our mistakes. “You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare”. We might not know what is ahead of us, but we walk by faith, not by sight. We surrender everything like Mary did into the hands of God. He will provide us the strength when the time comes.
Together with them, let us consecrate ourselves to the Lord. Just as Mary consecrated Jesus, the first born, to the Lord, we too must consecrate our marriage, our family and our children to the Lord. This means firstly, to be like Simeon, Anna, and Mary, to present ourselves in the Temple in prayer and worship. It means, like them, to offer our turtledoves and pigeons, that is, the daily tasks and mundane things we do each day for the love of the Lord and our fellowmen. We must consecrate, that is sanctify our daily chores and work by doing them for the greater glory of God and the good of our fellowmen.
In this way, even our sufferings and the challenges of family life will sanctify us. They are not seen as problems but as means by which we are sanctified in love. Like Anna, we must use our suffering for our purification and deliverance. This is what the psalmist is encouraging us to do. “Consider the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face.” This is the test of faith, the test that Abraham took in saying “Yes” to God to migrate and the sacrifice of Isaac. Let us live in faith and surrender our lives to Him knowing that He will look after us. Let us offer all our trials, pains and suffering from family life to the Lord. Through all these, like Jesus, we will grow in wisdom and maturity.“Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.” Indeed, only when we look back later on, will we then realize how much the hand of God has been with us.
But most of all, the joy of loving, the joy of having a family, is what gives us great consolation. For only in the family, can we feel truly a sense of belonging. Caring and supporting each other in good and bad times help us to go through life. God gave us to each other. He does not want us to be alone. He wants us to have a foretaste of what it is like to be in the family of God in the communion of saints. The Church as the family of God begins with the domestic family at home. We do not grow in faith alone. Families must be supported by the bigger family of God. We cannot build up our family alone. We need the help of the larger family of God to support us in our difficulties and challenges and keep us strong in faith and love. We are called to grow the family of God in heaven on earth.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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