A gospel meditation for the home
The
Nazareth Page
A gospel meditation for the home
The
Nazareth Pages provide a reflection on each Sunday's gospel from a family
perspective, connecting the teaching of Jesus with real family life. The texts
provided each month have been used by parish priests as the starting point for
their homily, as inserts in a parish newsletter and as a take-home gift for
children participating in the Children's Liturgy of the Word. They can also be
used in schools as a means of evangelising families who don't attend the Sunday
parish liturgy.
Using the Nazareth pages can be as simple or as nuanced as you have time for. You can cut and paste the text or parts of it into an existing parish handout as shown on the left. You can copy the text into a standalone handout and copy as much or as little as you like to reach your target audience. You can order the Nazareth Pages by emailing us - we'll send an invoice - or by using the downloadable order form.
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The
A gospel thought for the home
Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23
Today
we have the account of a small family who were political refugees, running away
from imminent danger in their homeland. Due
to a very dangerous political leader, they had to quickly leave where they were
and escape for their lives. Their journey was especially difficult because they
had a new baby. They travelled by night so as not to be noticed. With each
passing mile, they wondered whether they would ever see their extended family
and friends again. As far as they could tell, they had no other option. Get out,
or be killed.
Fortunately,
after a while, they were able to return to their homeland because the political
situation changed. So with a feeling of God leading them, they made the long
journey on foot back to their village. We know very little about them during the
years that followed. They lived a simple life, day after day, year after year.
The father was a carpenter by trade and when his son was old enough, he taught
him how to work with wood. The mom did what all the other women in the village
did. She harvested and prepared food and kept their small home clean and
welcoming to neighbours.
We
call this family holy. In fact, the Holy Family. It is most interesting that Jesus, God’s Son and
our Lord, lived most of his life unknown to anyone but the people in his home
village. And there, he was probably viewed as simply “one of them.”
Think
about it. When God came to live with us, most of his time was spent in the quiet
confines of ordinary life. At that time boys became adults in early adolescence.
Thus, even most of his adult life was
spent in relative obscurity. Is there a message in that for us? Surely, there
is. Most of our lives are known only to those close to us. Our families know us.
Perhaps we’re known also by some friends, neighbours and a few co-workers.
But does that situation of ours diminish its value? Jesus didn't think
so.
David
M. Thomas
Bethanyfamilyinstitute.com