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Dear Sister and Brother in the Lord:
Christians have traditionally celebrated Christmas not
just on one day of the year but as a season, from 25th December until
the Epiphany on 6th January. Our current liturgical calendar extends the
celebration until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Sunday, January
13, 2008).
This Sunday (December 30th) we celebrate the Feast of
the Holy Family. The Holy Family, of course, refers to Jesus, Mary and
Joseph. The Son of God and his family experienced all human conditions,
including being subjected to the rulers of this world and the perils of
human existence. An emperor’s edict compelled Mary and Joseph to travel
from Nazareth to Bethlehem; a king’s cruelty forced the family to flee
into Egypt; fear of Herod’s successor made them move from Judaea and
settle in Galilee.
As we hear in today’s reading from Luke’s gospel, Mary
and Joseph experienced the anguish of their son’s disappearance for
three days in a strange and bustling city. Through these difficult and
stressful times, the Holy Family placed themselves in God’s hands and
followed where God called them to go.
The feast of the Holy Family emphasizes the humanity of
Jesus Christ: ‘The Word became flesh and lived among us’ (John 1:14). In
Jesus we see a God who stands in solidarity with us all. Many people in
today’s world endure similar trials and anxieties as those experienced
by the Holy Family. The prayers of the feast ask God to ‘help us to live
as the holy family, united in respect and love’, to ‘live as Jesus, Mary
and Joseph, in peace with you and one another’. No special Preface is
provided for the celebration and one is chosen from the three prefaces
for Christmas.
Next Sunday (January 6th) we celebrate the Feast of the
Epiphany. The word epiphany comes from the Greek and means
"manifestation" or "revelation". The feast of the Epiphany originated in
the 3rd century in the East where it was celebrated on January 6 in
honor of Christ's baptism. The Epiphany began to appear in the calendar
of the Western Church in the 4th century but with a different focus.
Instead of being a celebration of Christ's baptism, it became associated
with the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in the person of the
Magi.
Our liturgies for Epiphany should hold together all
three aspects of Christ's revelation – the visit of the Magi, Christ’s
baptism and the miracle at Cana.
This antiphon from Morning Prayer for Epiphany does just
that: "Today the bridegroom claims his bride, the church, since Christ
has washed her sins away in Jordan's waters; the Magi hasten with the
gifts to the royal wedding; and the wedding guests rejoice, for Christ
has changed water into wine, alleluia".
The meaning of the Epiphany becomes clearer if we look
out for links between today's gospel and Easter. For example, there is
an exchange between King Herod and the Jewish leaders as also happens at
the trial of Jesus; Jesus is manifested to the Gentile Magi and it is a
Gentile (the centurion) who recognizes Jesus as the Son of God on the
cross. These parallels serve to remind us that all our liturgies have
the one "theme", the Paschal Mystery’, the life, death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ. |
