The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Dante Barril SVD – Catholic Trade Manila
Today is the feast of the Holy Family – Jesus, Mary and Joseph, or as we usually cry out when surprised or scared or even angry, “Susmaryosep!”
And if we are being honest, we’d level this exact same interjection to Mary and Joseph in the gospel: “Susmaryosep” you were not aware that you’d left your only son behind and it even took you one whole day to notice it! This is surprising, to say the least, because we are so used to the idea of the Holy Family as, well, Holy: You have Mary, the handmaid of the Lord as mother, Joseph the righteous man as father and Jesus the Son of God the Word made flesh as son. So how can things go wrong when you have all three together as family?
But something did go wrong in the gospel…except that it is a different kind of wrong. It is the type of wrong that is sort of “right,” bad, that is in a way good. A beautiful mess, so to speak! It is today’s Gospel and Gospel is good news!
This not so right incident in the life of the Holy Family is good news. It is good news to all our weary, harassed and sometimes stressed out families. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the “Susmaryosep,” now becomes relatable, “ordinary” and real.
The incident in the Gospel reminds me of the little and sometimes the not so little incidents we’ve had at home: the times when nanay had to raise her voice or when tatay had to give us the silent treatment and the times when my brother and sisters and I fought and cried and raised hell. We’ve had our share of crisis in the family and somehow it is consoling to know that the Holy Family also had theirs.
So before “susmaryosep” become an expression of frustration and even anger, may it first and foremost remind us of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Holy Family, who suffered like our families, if not more. But they faced their problems and worshipped and prayed together as a family.
As our former rector, Fr. Fred Saniel, SVD used to say, “As long as we are together, never mind the weather.” It is a statement that draws strength and power in the promise of that obscure Galilean years ago who said that “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.”
