Feast of the Holy Family 2018 Growing Up Fast Kids grow up awfully fast these days. It seems like one minute you are trying to encourage your child to go faster on his bicycle, to get up enough speed to stay balanced, and the next you are pleading with the same boy now at the wheel of a car, pleading with him to slow down and live. One minute you're urging a shy daughter to say hello to strangers, and the very next, you're trying to discourage her from responding to strangers on the Internet. Jesus is growing up fast too. Here we are, less than a week from Christmas, from the baby lying in a manger. Now Jesus is already an adolescent wandering off on his own. Last week Jesus was "prophecy miraculously fulfilled." This week he is questioning the teachers of that very tradition. The classical confessions of the church hold that Jesus is "fully human, fully God," and in today's familiar story from Luke, we can see both sides. Jesus, fully human, is growing up as all mortals must. In the process, Jesus has scared his parents half to death as all teen-agers do. Jesus is asking questions, as should we all, and he is listening to learn, as all we must. And in this story, we see the twelve-year old Jesus fully divine with everyone amazed at his understanding and his answers. We hear Jesus declaring his unique relationship with God the Father as only the Son can do. (by Sid Burgess from Question Time) DonÕt Keep Christ in Christmas Jesus, of course, belongs to us as well. The infant child in the manger is our child too. As with all parents, thereÕs a part of us that wants to keep him there: to cherish him, to care for him. ThereÕs a crazy Will Ferrell movie, ÒTalladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby.Ó He plays a goodhearted Ñ but dimwitted Ñ racecar driver. One of RickyÕs idiosyncrasies is that, whenever he sits down to a meal, he folds his hands, bows his head, and offers thanks to ÒLord Baby Jesus.Ó RickyÕs wife, Carley, has heard this many times. Finally she gets up the gumption to call him on it. ÒHey, um, you know, sweetie, Jesus did grow up. You donÕt always have to call him Ôbaby.ÕÓ Ricky replies, curtly: ÒWell, I like the Christmas Jesus best andÊIÕmÊsaying grace.Ó There is no shortage of people who, like Ricky, Òlike the Christmas Jesus best.Ó WhatÕs not to like? Just about everybodyÕs got a soft place in their heart for babies! But, babies grow up. So, too, does the babe of Bethlehem. And heÕs a good bit harder to deal with than the babe in the manger! ÒRepent and believe in the gospel,Ó he teaches. ÒBlessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.ÓÊ(The MEEK Ñ what did they ever do to deserve that kind of bonus!) ÒYou are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.ÓÊ(Yes I know, but couldnÕt I just practice my faith anonymously?) ÒI say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.ÓÊ(Our ENEMIES, Lord? Not those people. You canÕt be serious!) ÒDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earthÉ. but, rather, treasures in heaven.ÓÊ(Yes, Lord, I know our treasureÕs in heaven Ñ but could I trouble you for a little cash advance?) The point is, as lovely as the Christmas story is, Christmas Ñ as they say Ñ comes but once a year. ItÕs only the beginning of this great witness of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. ThereÕs a lot more where that came from! Just yesterday I found myself driving, once again, behind a car that had one of those bumper stickers that says, ÒKeep Christ in Christmas.Ó I really do agree with the importance of keeping Christmas free from commercialism, but on the other hand, I donÕt think thereÕs much chance of keeping the Son of God anywhere he doesnÕt want to stay. IsnÕt it just a shade presumptuous for the likes of you and me to start giving him orders? Kids grow up Ñ as Mary and Joseph discovered, at the Temple. And the babe who was Òborn to you in the City of DavidÓ doesnÕt stay either a babe or a resident of Bethlehem for very long. Our society would be perfectly fine with us packing the Christ child up in a box, each January, along with the tree ornaments and the strings of lights. That would be keeping Christ in Christmas. But weÕre not meant to keep Christ in Christmas. The Christ child just lies there sweetly on his bed of hay, smiles back benignly, never confronts us, never challenges us. He never goes anywhere on his own. Other people have to carry him Ñ and if they donÕt, he stays right where he is. As with any other human child, the Christ child must grow and develop. He must become the adult savior, who nudges us beyond our comfort zone. New YearÕs is coming in a few days. What if, for our New YearÕs resolution, each of us were to pledge ourselves to be completely open to where the Lord is leading us in 2019? What changes could we then bring about in the world around us! With the Lord on our side, what love and justice could we help others discover and make real in our own lives! It wouldnÕt take a lot of us, making such a sincere, all-encompassing commitment. After all, look at what Jesus accomplished with just 12 people who were willing to take him at his word! No, letÕs not keep Christ in Christmas. LetÕs not keep him anywhere. LetÕs just open our hearts and let him enter in, to use us as he will. Copyright © 2015, by Carlos E. Wilton. All rights reserved. Humor: School Is a Part of Life A young woman named Donna who got good grades in high school was in her first year of college. She had done poorly on one of her courses. In an attempt to prepare her parents she wrote her mother, "If you see an unfamiliar letter on my report card, remember it's just my first initial. Signed, Donna." As the time neared for grades to be sent home, Donna began to worry. Her worst fears were confirmed one evening when her mother called her. Donna said, "Hi, Mom." Her mother replied coldly, "Hello, Frank." School is part of life. For the Christian there are two kinds of education. There is education at school and on the job. And there is religious education about our faith. We have just celebrated Christmas. Unfortunately, we don't know much about the next few years in Jesus' life. We can imagine he lived in a home filled with love. We can imagine as a boy he worked with his father Joseph in the carpenter shop, learning a trade although Jesus' real vocation would surface in our lesson for today. (by King Duncan from Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com) When Our Children Teach Us Some years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by Dr. Paul Ruskin on the "Stages of Aging." In the article, Dr. Ruskin described a case study he had presented to his students when teaching a class in medical school. He described the case study patient under his care like this: "The patient neither speaks nor comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on end. She is disoriented about person, place, and time. She does, however, respond to her name... I have worked with her for the past six months, but she still shows complete disregard for her physical appearance and makes no effort to assist her own care. She must be fed, bathed, and clothed by others. "Because she has no teeth, her food must be pureed. Her shirt is usually soiled from almost incessant drooling. She does not walk. Her sleep pattern is erratic. Often she wakes in the middle of the night and her screaming awakens others. Most of the time she is friendly and happy, but several times a day she gets quite agitated without apparent cause. Then she wails until someone comes to comfort her." After presenting the class with this challenging case, Dr. Ruskin then asked his students if any of them would like to volunteer to take care of this person. No one volunteered. Then Dr. Ruskin said, "I'm surprised that none of you offered to help, because actually she is my favorite patient. I get immense pleasure from taking care of her and I am learning so much from her. She has taught me a depth of gratitude I never knew before. She has taught me the spirit of unwavering trust. And she has taught me the power of unconditional love." Then Dr. Ruskin said, "Let me show you her picture." He pulled out the picture and passed it around. It was the photo of his six-month-old baby daughter.