It’s
easy for us to forget that Jesus was raised in a devout Jewish family. Mary and Joseph faithfully observed all of
the prescribed rituals and obligations of their Jewish faith. Forty days after the birth of Jesus, they
made the long, exhausting journey to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the
prescription of the Jewish law that obligated them to present their son to the
Lord. This law stated that “every male
that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord”. As prescribed by this law, the holy parents
presented the sacrificial offering of two turtledoves.
It is touching for us to see how conscientiously and how
lovingly Mary and Joseph observed the Jewish faith traditions of their
ancestors, even though these traditions demanded considerable inconvenience and
sacrifice of them to make the arduous journey to Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph taught Jesus well, as he
carried out these Jewish faith traditions throughout his adult life and
ministry, interpreting these traditions in the light of his identity as the Son
of God.
It is important for us to note that for the Holy Family and
for Jesus, there is no tension, no contradiction, between their commitment to
the prescribed Jewish rituals & their personal spirituality, their personal
relationship with God. As integral
members of the Jewish faith community, the faith of Mary and Joseph was grounded
in the ritual traditions of the Jewish people, rituals that sustained the
community for generations. These same rituals sustained the Holy Family and
passed on their Jewish faith to Jesus.
As Jesus grew up with Mary and Joseph, he had intimate contact with the
Lord.
In our society, people often see a tension between being
religious in a ritualistic sense and being spiritual, in devoting ourselves to
the pious practices of our faith and obeying the laws of God requiring us to
practice social justice and to reach out to our neighbor, especially the poor
& the oppressed. May we follow the
example of the Holy Family that we celebrate today on the feast of the
presentation of the Lord, may we have a balance faith that follows all of God’s
laws and commandments.
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