Can you complete this line from the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song? “On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, five________. Did you guess it? Today is the 5th day of Christmas and the gifts from God keep flowing our way. So, what does the song suggest that our true love gives us? Right! Five golden rings!
Now take a deep breath, close your eyes, and think for a minute. If each ring stands for a precious gift that God has given you, what are the five at the top of your list?
For me, my mind goes immediately to family members. I’d guess it’s the same for you. Cars, jewelry, clothes, furniture, houses, free vacations, diplomas are all wonderful gifts, but none of these compares to a beloved family member.
On this 5th day of Christmas, the Church has us reflect on family life. On the first day of Christmas, we travelled to Bethlehem; today we walk to Nazareth.
In the gospel story we read of the greatest family crisis Mary and Joseph ever faced (Luke 2:41-52).
“Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn’t know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances…”
There are few experiences more frightening than losing a child. It never occurred to Mary and Joseph that Jesus might do the unthinkable—stay in Jerusalem when the caravan to Nazareth left the city. Imagine their feeling when it dawned upon them that they had lost Jesus. They knew that twelve years prior to this, Herod set out to murder their infant son. Was the government still out to get him? Even after they returned to Jerusalem, they scoured the city for three more days before they found Jesus. Five days not knowing where their son was!
When at last they found him conversing in the temple with the scholars and the elders, Mary confronted Jesus with the words,
“Son, why have you done this to us?”
They were a real family, with real issues. After resolving this family crisis,
“Jesus went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them…And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.”
For the next 18 years Jesus lived a hidden life within a simple home in an obscure country village. It strikes us strange that when God sent his Son into the world to save us, he would let him spend over 90% of his life with his family rather than doing public ministry. What is God trying to tell us?
In the first reading (Sirach 3:2-14) the Holy Spirit gives wisdom regarding family life.
“Whoever honors his father atones for sins and preserves himself from them. When he prays, he is heard.”
“He stores up riches who reveres his mother.”
“Whoever reveres his father will live a long life.”
“My son take care of your father when he is old…kindness to a father will not be forgotten, firmly planted against the debt of your sins.”
Did we catch all these promises? Reverence to parents brings atonement for sins, protects us from sinning, guarantees prayer to be heard, makes us wealthy, and repairs the debt we’ve incurred due to sin. Imagine!
Holiness depends on what takes place in our homes more so than what takes place in public.
Not all family lives are ideal. Some have lost parents through death or divorce, and live with wounds stemming from family life. The good news today, however, is that when we accept Jesus into our hearts, he gives us his own mother and father as our own. We become part of the Holy Family of Nazareth, receiving the three “golden rings”—Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Add our Guardian Angel and patron saint, and that adds up to five!
