Put On Love, The Bond of Perfection

December 30, 2007

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. Colossians 3:12-14

And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazorean." Matthew 2:22-23

Piety

God, show us the way to put on love so that we can live out our lives in total obedience to your Word.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/123007.shtml

God could not be here on earth to raise his son so he needed someone to stand in for him. God chose a family to do that important work. He chose Mary and Joseph to start this family.

Today, our reading focuses on Joseph. Joseph is a man marked in our Gospel readings by many positive traits but chief among them is obedience. Total obedience. Joseph's actions show us totally obedience to the word of God. Not once. Not twice. But every time he has to make a decision, God guides his actions. And every time he follows the instructions.

Don't divorce your fiancé.

Move to Egypt.

Go home.

Settle in Nazareth.

Never does he ponder whether to follow these instructions. Never does he go into a period of discernment. Never does he make a list of the "pluses" and "minuses" of each move. He Just packs up his family and obeys the Word of God. No bargaining. No denying. Only obedience. Just obedience. Joseph is for us the candidate with the "family values" exemplifying compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. But over all, he had put on love and that has cemented the Holy Family with the bond of perfection.

His obedience is the glue that holds him together with Mary and Jesus, cementing the bond of perfection that will form the human basis for the public ministry that Jesus will undertake as an adult.

Action

Are you ready like Joseph to stand in for God if he asks that of you? If God turns to you like he turned to Joseph to do His work on earth?

What decisions do you face? Are you prepared to turn to God and ask Him for help and answers?