Sunday 28 December 2025
Holy Family
Ecclesiasticus 3:2-6, 12-14. Happy are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways – Ps 127(128):1-5. Colossians 3:12-21. Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23.
Family living
Today, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. In the Gospel, Joseph strives to discern how to keep his family safe. The readings give us advice on living harmoniously with family. I find myself nodding along to St Paul’s letter, but there’s one line that gets me every time: ‘Wives, be submissive to your husbands.’ It feels unfair. It doesn’t fit with my feminist ideals.
As a person of faith, I can’t just throw the book out the window and say ‘Not for me, thanks’. I can’t even say that scripture has passed its use-by date. The Living Word just doesn’t work like that. Instead, I need to feel uncomfortable for a bit.
I remind myself that this line of scripture does not say ‘women, be submissive to men’ or ‘women, accept injustice and embrace the patriarchy’. It’s specifically talking about husbands and wives in the context of family. And it’s true that a healthy marriage requires flexibility, and, yes, submission from both spouses.
Perhaps that is enough for now. Perhaps I don’t need to feel entirely comfortable with it just yet.
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