December 29, 2024 - Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

The Commands of God known to Mary and Joseph would have been central to any Jew (or Hebrew) of their time. In the Bible scriptures, Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5 would have been taught to Jesus in preparation for his Bar Mitzvah, which was why they were at the Temple.

Since, a boy’s Bar Mitzvah makes him a MAN and a member of the Men at prayer in Israelite society, Jesus would not need to obey his mother. However, as God, Jesus needs to show the example of the commandments - which He gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai (or Mt. Horeb).

Jesus, as a human, obeys the 10 Commandments. As God, Jesus gave the 10 Commandments to Moses and his descendants. We can see that the readings for the Feast of the Holy Family show us how even Jesus obeys the 4^th of the Commandments: “Obey your Father & Mother”.

Families are the basis of society and where we learn the first rules of living in society. Remember, society is a creation of God. He gives us the basic instructions for living together in these ten basic Commands – The Ten Commandments.

 1. I am God – you shall have No others                                   6. You must not commit adultery

 2. You must honor My Holy Name always                               7. Do Not steal or Defraud

 3.  You must Worship me on each Weekend                           8. Do Not give false witness/Deceive

 4. You must honor your Father & Mother                                9. Do Not covet another’s wife

 5. You must not kill or destroy another                                 10. Do not covet another’s processions

The listing comes from the ancient Greek and St. Augustine in 390 AD.

Jesus obeyed the Commandments that He gave Moses because they are the basics of society’s good ordering. To honor one’s parents (assuming they are good parents) is to learn obedience to AUTHORITY, law and social curtesy. Educate, law and order and good manners all begin with the obedience that is learned from the 4^th Commandment. The same extension of modeling a good society can be understood in the living out of every commandment.

God gives us life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness when we recognize Him in the very fabric of society and the pilgrimage to eternal life as part of this life’s lessons.

I wish each of you Peace!

May Our Risen Savior Bless you!

Fr. Patrick Nelson, SDS