Church of the
Annunciation

Is anyone watching Downton Abbey – a Masterpiece Classic on PBS? Some folks are. It is a story about an aristocratic family living in England before, during and after WWI. Viewers are fascinated with the ladies and gentlemen upstairs and their servants downstairs and how their lives intertwine. Although removed from us, we still connect with them. Today is the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. St. Matthew and St. Luke, in their respective Gospels, give us some snippets of the family of Nazareth from their sources that are shaped by their theological points of view. Can we identify with Jesus, Mary and Joseph? Do they still speak to us? Our Lucan Gospel recalls the family travelling to Jerusalem for Passover. After the feast, Mary and Joseph discover that Jesus is not part of the caravan returning to Nazareth. They return to Jerusalem and find Jesus in the Temple in the midst of teachers listening and asking questions. Mary directs a hard question to Jesus: “Son, why have you done this to us. Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety?” Jesus, twelve years of age, responds with honesty: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” What we can learn from this exchange is the respect that the parents and son have for each other even when difficult words are being said and not fully understood. We live in a society that is often rude and crude. We have lost good manners and civility. Can we learn from the Holy Family a way of speaking without verbally demeaning the dignity of the other person? In our 2^nd reading, the first Letter of St. John, we learn the key revelation for the beloved community: believe in the name of God’s son, Jesus Christ and love one another as he has commanded; then Jesus Christ will remain with us. When we are conscious that Jesus abides within our family circle, hidden mysteriously in all members, we will change the tone of our conversation even when difficult words are spoken.