Jesus is the Son of God and the Brother of all men and women.  To belong to his family means to keep in the heart his teaching.

Twelve-year old Jesus sits in the midst of the teachers.  He listens and asks them questions; all who hear him are amazed.  No doubt, it is worth it to keep in our hearts this scene that looks ahead to the future.

It looks, yes, to the one of whom all will speak well later (Lk 4, 22. 36).  To the one who will show that he is a Teacher, from whose mouth will come words of grace, power, authority.

No, there is no doubt that Jesus is the Teacher of teachers, the only one we have (Mt 23, 10).  The one who questions other teachers.  And to have such a Teacher means that no teacher should think he is better than others.  Just as true love, as St. Paul teaches, levels the prominence of all those who think they are above others.

We should, of course, remember all this.  But most of all, we should have in mind that the Teacher is in our midst.  We, in turn, should fix our gaze on him and keep his teaching in our hearts.

And the basic wisdom he shares has to do with his being in his Father’s house.  That is to say, he is all about taking care of his Father’s affairs.  The Father is his reason to be; he comes to do his will (Heb 10, 7).  In fact, he does nothing on his own and only seeks the will of the one who has sent him (Jn 5, 30).  He rightly says, “I and the Father are one” (Jn 10, 30).

To focus on Jesus and keep in our hearts his teaching is to see God and obey his commandments.

So then, to see the one the Father has sent is to see the Father also (Jn 12, 45; 14, 9).  He comes to become flesh, God-with-Us.  Thus, he makes known fully the God whom no one has ever seen (see also St. John of the Cross).

Hence clearly, Jesus is not only above all others in his devotion to the Father.  But also in his love for others (SV.EN VI:413).

And it is enough for us to follow Jesus to get to love God with our whole being.  And others as ourselves.  So, to seek God and his will turns out for us no other than to seek Jesus and his will.  And what does it mean to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God?  It means to be in communion with him who has the words of eternal life.  Besides, to eat Christ’s flesh and drink his blood is to have his food.  Which is to do the Father’s will and to finish his work (Jn 4 34).

Such is our challenge as Jesus’ disciples to worship and love as he.  For he asks also, “Do you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  And we too have to keep all this in our hearts, so that we may also grasp what he says to us.

This, of course, means we have to be men and women of prayer (SV.EN XI:76).  Like Vincentian archbishop Tulio Botero Salazar, a signer of the Pact of the Catacombs (see also).

Lord Jesus, make us belong to your family.  Grant that we listen, keep and do all that you teach us by word and deed.

26 December 2021
Holy Family
Sir 3, 2-6. 12-14; Col 3, 12-21; Lk 2, 41-52