HOLY FAMILY SUNDAY CYCLE A 2010.
" Arise take the child and his mother and flee into Egypt . " (Mt 2, 13-25).
Again the angel appears to Joseph in a dream and invites him to act. God not only sends us dreams, but invites us to put to work, to realize our dreams.
also these words of the angel to Joseph, they highlight the human drama of the family of Nazareth who must flee the country and emigrate, many families today, to a foreign country. Jesus is the son of immigrants. Since childhood he has lived under threat, as many children now threatened by hunger, misery, war and abuse. The God who is born in Bethlehem is one of them, an immigrant more.
Joseph receives this notice Angel dreams : " Arise, take the child and his mother and flee into Egypt " Jose angel requires that you stayed on the road again. In Bethlehem and is in a strange land. You might think that is happy to return to his village, Nazareth. But the angel of the Lord appeared to him and invites him again " rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, stay there until I tell you . And he got up and walked with the boy and his mother to Egypt. That is, Joseph is implementing the interior invitation . Again and again, God sends us " his angel" and tells us what to do.
Amid the insecurity of our lives, the angel of the Lord (meaning the proximity of God in our lives) is support and a light. The dream tells us where we stand, if danger threatens us still: What danger can threaten our lives? Herod What threatens the lives of so many human beings? We need to discern which way forward on our path.
Jesus also had to live in a foreign country, as emigrant, with all the hardships of those who emigrate. This Gospel takes special relevance today when the displaced and refugees, (one of the greatest human tragedies of our time), threaten to become one of the most explosive in the coming decades. There has always been migration, displacement, but today, when the world has become a global village, migration flows have been gigantic.
remembered today, to proclaim the Gospel the flight into Egypt is a warning: it is to believe and remember that He is still God-with-us . Is to assume that Jesus is present in the displaced, refugees, migrants today. To Mary and Joseph were not saving any of the concerns, the plight and the difficulties that exist in all families.
we celebrate Christmas is not for the privileged of the earth be celebrated with dinners and gifts abundant superfluous but that we share our lives by opening a path of hope for those who can not expect much from anyone but God is.
" Arise, take the child and his mother and returned to Israel . " Again the angel uninstall Joseph and his family. again have to be on the way ... We too often have to start again, and resumed our way to a fuller life and meaningful.
Today, the Feast of the Holy Family , need to remember that Jesus was educated, grew, love received, learned, worked, took values \u200b\u200bin the environment of an ordinary family: the family of Nazareth. The family of Nazareth is a meeting place human is experience of life and tenderness, and luminous sign of "God with us." Yes, Jesus reveals that God is with us, which is Emmanuel.
Certainly, the family is now threatened by a individualistic culture, which shuns any relation. It is becoming increasingly difficult the host of "you" involving the acceptance of others with their differences and care of the relationship. Costs to be faithful to the end ... Sometimes love is reduced to a "pleasant feeling" sensible level which soon passes, or love lives as a possession and not as generous. We live until they are "over." And ends "running soon."
need bet on the family: The family as a place of love and security is fundamental in the process of personal growth. Without this fundamental experience of the family the person reaches a certain maturity. The family is what gives us the experience basis of living together in love, respect for differences, mutual aid, tolerance. Jesus' family mediation is for us to open ourselves to the great family of the children of God.
We today before God to every family in the world and the entire human family to say: Lord, bless us in these days of Christmas Bless our families and give us further along the path of peace and brotherhood. Let your light shine on us all, your life will give us strength to follow you every day of our lives.
; ;
Benjamin Garcia Soriano
Sevilla December 26, 2010.