"Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another..."
Colossians 3:12
Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family and this reading always seems to be spot on. Each time we celebrate this feast, it seems like a good time to hold our families up to the light and see how we measure up. The danger in that is that we may feel we've failed somehow. After all, whose family could ever measure up to the Holy Family of Nazareth, right? But if we flip back and dig into the Advent reading of Jesus' lineage (Matthew 1:1-17) we find all sorts of skeletons in those closets! Jesus being born into humanity--imperfect humanity--shows how God loves humanity, imperfections and all. There is no such thing as a "perfect" family, since families are all made up of imperfect people. Even Jesus' parents lost him in a crowd and accidently left him in Jerusalem...and what parent hasn't gone through THAT nightmare? The point is, that we take St. Paul's advice here and strive for compassion, kindness, patience and love in our families, "strive" being the operative word. Understanding that our families aren't perfect, we can ask for forgiveness and offer forgiveness to those with whom we struggle. That seems to be as good a New Year's resolution as any, don't you think? Blessings and love to you as we turn the calendar again...to 2019! May it be a year we all rejoice in and love God, and each other. Love, heidi
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