••Sirach 3:2-6 •• Psalm 105 •• Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19 •• + Luke
2:22-40 ••
Title: “Do we get what we deserve? Holy Family Sunday”
[__01__] Walking home from school one afternoon, I was
asked this question: why are you walking? Where is your bicycle?
I had been hoping to avoid this question because the last
time I saw my bicycle it was unlocked outside of school.
You got what you deserved. You left your bicycle – unlocked ??!!?? There was no hue and cry about crime rates
or injustice.
I simply got what I deserved, logical, like a scientific
proof.
The immediate consequence was that there would be more
walking, still some cardio (cardiovascular exercise), but slower from home to
school.
I valued the bicycle and was now missing it.
[__02__] It is Holy Family Sunday. We read in this
Gospel about Simeon and Anna, the prophet and prophetesses of the Temple. Both of them discover the newborn Messiah,
Jesus, whom they see being brought to the Temple by Joseph and Mary.
Simeon’s words form part of our
traditional Catholic night prayer, a late evening reflection where we also
naturally ask together with prayer with our Savior – what happened today? We
may also, at times, ask – did I get what I deserved?
Simeon is rejoicing because his
prayers are answered.
[__03__] This prayer was answered but it took quite a
while. Perhaps, Simeon had been
disappointed with other Messiah candidates. Yet, he persisted in prayer.
He know that he was missing something
in his life – he persisted in prayer, persisted in asking, seeking, knocking.
[__04__] We also see in Simeon that his prayer is not
only for the SOLUTIONS. Rather, Simeon
is seeking a SAVIOR, and a PERSON. It is a reminder that Jesus comes to us
personally.
In our relationship and conversation
with him – in prayer – we discover answers, we gain insight, we gain
imagination and compassion.
In our conversation – we may not gain
the ANSWERS or INSIGHT or WISDOM we expected.
You and I are called to talk this out – in prayer with Jesus.
Is there not an analog (not a perfect
digital replication ..just an analog) in our relationships with others?
That is, we talk things out with to
others – we disclose ourselves to others – so that we are able not only to
examine the other person – but also to examine ourselves.
We want to understand not only what
are missing but what we truly value.
Was Simeon, from the outset, expecting
a Messiah who would be an infant? Perhaps, not always. But, after years of
prayer, he came to this realization. He had come to realize not only what he
was missing – what he deserved – but what he truly valued.
[__05__] This is Holy Family Sunday and we recall that
it is in and through our families that we not only ANSWERS but QUESTIONS.
We gain not only COMFORT and
CONVENIENCE but also we have a place to share our SUFFERING and DIFFICULTY and
what we are missing.
From my own parents and family, I am
grateful they taught me about friendship and love and that friendship begins
not with ANSWERS, but with QUESTIONS.
[__06__] Through
the silent partnership and gift of my grandparents, the bike was replaced
several months later.
The Holy Family also reminds us that
we experience Christ together – in moments of forgiveness and of crisis – and
that he gives us more than we deserve.
Jesus Christ is our true and greatest
value. [__fin__]
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