Luke 2:22-40
Lead #1: In Sirach 3, the image of the fruitful vine speaks to the health and happiness a family enjoys when life is going well. But as we know, family life does not always come that easy. Misfortune and tragedy can strike at any time. The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Jospeh were no exception to what families sometimes endure. Life would not be easy for these parents whose son would ultimately meet an untimely death.
Prompt #1: What have been the blessings that your family has shared over the years?
Prompt #2: What have been some of the hard times that your family has seen over the years? Where was God in that for you?
Lead in #2: In Luke 2, we hear of the story of Mary and Joseph presenting the child Jesus at the temple for purification according to the Law of Moses. Their offering of two turtle doves was the sacrifice of those too poor to afford a lamb. Now it happened that there was a holy man named Simeon who was at the temple that day. Holding the child Jesus in his arms, he offered a blessing for the child that was both beautiful and troubling. “This child will be a light to all nations.” But then to Mary he says, “A sword will pierce your heart.” Hers was a heart pierced with love out of concern for her child.
Prompt # 3: If your parents were to have known what the future would bring, what sorts of things come to mind for you as you look back at what your parents went through in your growing up years?
Prompt #4: What are some of the challenges that you are now facing as you watch your own family grow up?
Lead in #3: Learning to be family is not easy. There are different personalities with different expectations about how to get one’s needs met without stepping on the toes of another. Yet in Colossians 3, Paul reminds us that times of stress provide us with the perfect opportunity to practice what makes for a family united in God’s love: heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Prompt #5: Who in your life models what Paul talks about in Colossians 3, “heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience”?
Prompt #6: Where is it in your own life that you need to work on “heartfelt compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience” bearing with one another’s faults?
