It is strange and paradoxical how our family and our loved ones can be both the source of our greatest joys and deepest love and at the same time the cause of our greatest pains and deepest sorrows; how the home that nurtured us can sometimes look like most unwelcoming and even oppressive.
There is nothing that a father would not do for his children, nor anything that a mother would not be willing to give up for the sake of her children. Children would go to great lengths to please and make their parents happy and proud. When people want to have a good time like in a moment’s notice, the first person they would think of are their own brothers and sisters. And nothing beats a grand reunion with all of one’s cousins and relatives. Indeed, home is where the heart is.
And yet, no slight or insult cuts more deeply than one from a sister or a brother. Even husbands and wives are sometimes each others biggest burden or put-down. A wayward daughter or a stubborn son can break a parent’s heart like no other. Many have found acclaim outside the home and yet are taken lightly in their own families.
Why are the nest and the home that nurtured us so full of paradoxes? Yes, it is strange but it is this strange environment that brings out the complexity of the person and character that I am. It is this bizarre and unusual turn of events in a surrounding where I can afford to be vulnerable that prepares me for anything that life can throw at me.
I can get hurt or get to hurt people in my family but I am assured of their unconditional love. I am sure to be forgiven, to be taken back, to still be loved even if I am at my worst self. In my family, I can make mistakes without the fear of getting destroyed or rejected forever or being totally lost.
Seek always the face of the Lord.
Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew,
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Matthew 10:1-7