The many beautiful Christmas cards we received portraying
serene scenes of a tranquil birth and a simple bucolic life are still fresh in
my mind. However, while the Gospels speak little of Jesus’ life or The Holy Family, before Jesus’ public
ministry, historical accounts point out that Jesus was born into a turbulent,
dangerous world of political and social upheaval. Serenity and peace were at a
premium. This week our liturgical calendar celebrates The Presentation of Jesus in the temple Luke2:22-40 . Despite
the many hardships and challenges, I’m struck by how diligent Mary and Joseph were
in discharging their parental duties, as they faithfully adhered to the tenets and
practices of their religion.
And so, here we have in Luke’s
account of Jesus’ presentation, the
ceremonial “brit milah” performed on the eight day following his birth. Along
with Jesus’ parents, there are two other attendants, Simeon and Anna, who upon
seeing Jesus, praise and give thanks to God for granting them the opportunity
to witness the arrival of the child whom they “recognize” as the fulfillment of
the prophecy and the One for whom they waited.
This
story of Jesus’ first religious ritual prompts memories of our own parents’ involvement
in the practices of our faith, and although our early memory is clouded over by
infancy, many of us still cherish the pictures and artifacts that call these rituals
to mind, if only second-hand. These memories pay tribute to the personal
commitments our parents and caregivers made with regard to our religious
development. Like the child Jesus, our religious lineage began with the
faithful hopes and practices of our parents and others who may have been
responsible for our care.
As
with most of us, my mother and father were responsible for my attending weekly
church services and as with most, I often resisted the call; after all, it was
Sunday and I could sleep late or go out and play with those friends, who
somehow were “excused” from Sunday services. As for the Church, except for
worship, there was little in the way of social activities to keep me coming or
hold me. We just went to Church and we returned home. Yes, there were choir
practices and altar boy calls and during Lent we attended seasonal services, but
it was my parents who established the practices, and saw to it that I followed their
lead. I had no choice. So, we went, we listened, we learned and eventually
patterns were established as requisite attendance became ingrained.
The decline of the family unit has been
linked to a myriad of economic and social problems in our country. It is a fact
that our children suffer most from this decline and while we look for help from
outside agencies, I often wonder if we are too quick to relegate the care of
these precious lives to external resources. There’s a fine line between
delegation and abdication. It seems that as the problems grow more severe,
additional resources are proposed to expand support for childhood development,
and to entrust the educational, social and even religious development of our
children to institutions. While help is invaluable and with regard to
education, essential, I do not believe that it
takes a village to raise a child. Luke’s Gospel reminds me that Jesus didn’t
just leap from the manger and begin performing miracles and preaching God’s
love. Yes, the focus is on Jesus, but it reminds us of the role Mary and Joseph
played in Jesus formative years. Sure times have changed but parental duties in
the rearing of children, despite challenges and obstacles, still fall to the
loving family unit.
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