“Man shall not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

Your Word sustains.
It nourishes more deeply than food.
It shapes the interior life.

Yet I find myself wondering,
how important are families in Your eyes?

Those who turn away from You
often turn away from kinship too.
Duty feels burdensome.
Responsibility feels restrictive.
Individual freedom becomes the higher good.

But You entered the world through a family.
You lived in one.
You obeyed within one.
You sanctified the ordinary tensions of family life.

Tonight I will attend a large reunion dinner.
There are people I would rather avoid.
Conversations I would rather not have.

So I ask myself,
should I not make the effort
to open my ears,
to listen,
to be present?