Feast of the Sto. Niño

January 17, 2010

Is 9, 1-6
Eph 1, 3-6
Lk 2, 41-52

In the old Filipino culture, the 11th commandment given to children is: “Thou shall not talk back to thy parents.” And such a commandment was strictly enforced. Woe to any child who dared talk back to his/her parents.

It comes as a great surprise for a Filipino reader of the traditional mold to see the young Jesus talking back to his mother who had spent many anxious moments in looking for the lost child. “Why are you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s affairs?”

Like any good woman Mary must have felt an invisible slap on her face. Joseph kept a respectful silence, just as he did in all the trying moments of his life. His silence and composure are truly remarkable.

At those moments, Mary and Joseph realized that before them stood no longer the child whom they nurtured for years. According to the standards of the Jewish culture Jesus was considered a man, and for this reason could speak his mind.

Mary, too, realized, gradual and painful though the process was, that the child she bore into this world was truly someone special. He was “the Son of the Most High” just as the angel Gabriel told her. She had done her share in bringing up the Holy Child, and now she, like any good and wise mother, would have to stay in the background giving moral support. She would be happy in the good things she saw, sad at the painful, even shameful turn of events.

Joseph, too, like a good and brave man that he was, understood that he would remain the legal parent. God in heaven is Jesus’ real Father.

All through the years, parents have gone through the agony and joy of bringing a child into this world. What they got from God will always remain a mystery. At times, the children they begot would turn out to be big disappointments. Even sources of tragic chapters in their own lives.

The joy of having the child Jesus at Christmas, and the tragic sight of his death on Calvary provide some answers to the enigma of a child any parent can receive from God.

Fr. Flor Lagura, SVD
(Crestview, FL, USA)