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Our families certainly have an impact on us, don't they? But families aren't always predictable. They can be helpful and supportive; but they can also be hurtful and harmful.
Most of us here have had a lifetime of dealing with multiple generations of family, with those who preceded us and those who have followed. And I'm sure you all have stories you could tell. Just like the stories we encounter in Sacred Scripture. The Old Testament is filled with family stories of love and hate, of joy and tragedy and sorrow, of help and harm - the same kind of stories we encounter and live through today in our own families.
But families have a strong presence in the New Testament as well. First and foremost we have the example of the Holy Family, of Mary and Joseph called to prepare and protect the Redeemer of the World so He could fulfill His sacred mission. But notice, the Church doesn't extend that title, "Holy Family" to others in Jesus' extended family.
No, as we heard in today's Gospel passage from Mark, some of those relatives tried to pull Jesus away from that mission, thinking He was "out of His mind" [Mk 3:21]. The mere fact they were related to Jesus didn't mean they knew who He really was, or even accepted His mission. We get the sense they were embarrassed by Jesus' notoriety, that perhaps they'd been told to curb this radical relative of theirs.
As Christians, as disciples of Christ, we, too, might well embarrass even our own families when we openly proclaim the truth to an unbelieving world. If you have family members who resent your faith, take solace in the fact that Jesus, too, experienced this; that He, too, experienced the hurt of being rejected by those closest to Him.
Of course, just like the Holy Family, families can be very supportive. We get a glimpse of this in today's first reading. For today we celebrate the memorial of two New Testament saints, Timothy and Titus, friends and fellow evangelists of St. Paul.
Timothy was the product of a mixed marriage. His father was a Greek and his mother, Eunice, was a Jew who became a Christian; the same was true of his grandmother, Lois. It seems Paul took a real interest in young Timothy, and was like a father to him. Indeed, Timothy was often the recipient of Paul's advice.
"Let no one have contempt for your youth..." [1 Tim 4:12] Paul told this young man who was called to proclaim the Gospel to young and old alike. It must have been hard for Timothy, so Paul goes on to tell him to live a good, holy life and trust in the Lord. And it seems Timothy also suffered from illnesses, exactly what we don't know, but Paul gave him some interesting advice:
"Stop drinking only water...have a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent illnesses" [1 Tim 5:23].But Paul also recognized the importance of family. As we heard in our first reading, Paul addressed the roots of Timothy's faith:
"...as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also in you" [2 Tim 1:5].In other words, it was the encouraging, sustaining faith of these two women that formed Timothy's faith from the beginning. I know that the faith of my parents had a lasting impact on me, and I'm sure many of you can say the same.
The other saint we celebrate today is Titus, another of Paul's friends. Titus was a missionary and a peacemaker, the kind of man who could smooth things out when feathers got ruffled in the Christian community, in God's extended family. Yes, he was a wonderful example of how to deal with the conflicts and disagreements that can tear families apart.
Paul considered Titus, like Timothy, to be his "true child in our common faith" [Ti 1:4]. And as Paul's child in faith, Titus had been sent to heal the wounds experienced by the Christian family.
And so the message for us really hasn't changed. We are called to be peacemakers, bearers, as Paul reminds us, of God's "grace, mercy, and peace" [1 Tm 1:2].
All we can do is extend God's love and God's truth to others, and then let the Spirit do His work in their hearts. But if we resent the mistrust, the anger, even the hatred of others, especially those in our family, we reject our call to discipleship, and place our selfish needs above the will of God.
As the psalmist said: "Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory" [Ps 115:1].
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