God wanted to be born into a human family.

 

Holy Family   2023

On this First Sunday after Christmas, while we are still in the joyous climate of this celebration, we are pondering how God broke the silence of the centuries to reveal himself to us in the helpless infant of Bethlehem.  The power of God is revealed through a baby.  This is the Christmas mystery.

 As we continue the Christmas season in celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family, the Evangelist Luke tells the story of Jesus, Mary and Joseph – not as individuals, but as a family.  The dawning of our salvation is revealed to us in the context of family life.  This is such an important dimension of the Christmas mystery.  God wanted to be born in a human family.  He wanted to have a mother and father like us.  Wow!

 This family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is the holy family.  As we ponder the Scriptures today, we reflect on our own family life as well.  The message is that our family is a holy family.  We need to claim who we are.  Jesus is within each one of us and may we claim the centrality of Jesus in our family life.

One of the most difficult things for some Catholics to admit is that no Christian biblical author seems to suggest that the contemplative life is the ideal way to live one’s faith.  This is not to say that the contemplative lifestyle is not inspiring, but we see in both OT and the NT that our faith revolves around how we relate to others.  Though our relationship with God is always a first priority, the first step in forming that relationship is to connect with the people around – especially those closest to us: our family.

Family is the story of how each one of us has originated.  It is in family life that we first learned how to pray and to live our faith.  It is in our family we discover our holiness.  Our faith is interwoven, for better or for worse, with our family life.

There is a special presence of God in the family.   In the love that is such a beautiful part of family, God is present.  In fact, God is present in all aspects of family life.

God isn’t very fussy!!!  This is such an important dimension of who God is.  God is not fussy.   God isn’t very fussy where He lives and moves and has His being.  God desires to be part of our wonderfully imperfect family.

As we know, family life is very varied:  divorced and separated parents, gay parents, widowed parents.  All are welcome.  While all are welcome, the church does clearly and unmistakably propose that the family of mother and father is the most beautiful expression of the sacrament of marriage.

No matter what stresses there are in family life – the sacrament of marriage promises the help of God and the faith community.

The church encourages family prayer, like visiting the crib.  The Gospel today is about the life of Jesus growing in humanity and wisdom in his family life.  He was brought to the temple.  Mary and Joseph taught him to pray.  May the prayer of Mary and Joseph help us in our family life.  Bless us, O Lord, with the joy of love, and strengthen all families in your loving care.

The Gospel tells the account of Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the Temple.  There they encountered the elderly Simeon and Anna.  What causes two elderly people to encounter two young parents – Mary and Joseph.  Jesus brings together the young and the old.

In families where there is not an elderly person, life can, at times, be easier.  But they also may be missing the wisdom of our elderly.  The eyes and the hearts of our elderly teach us faith and the real meaning of life.

Now our family life is blessed and treasured yes, yes, yes, but family life can be a source of challenge and lead us to question the meaning of our faith journey.  In the second Scripture from the Letter to the Hebrews, we encounter what I would term the “Isaac Dilemma.”  In their old age, Abraham and Sara gave birth to their son Isaac, their beloved Isaac.  God had promised his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.  All this would come through their beloved son Isaac.  But then Abraham was given the ultimate faith challenge as he was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac.  Could there be a more unthinkable request from God than offering up your only son to God?

As we ponder the meaning of the Isaac dilemma in terms of our journey of faith, what in your family life has been your Isaac dilemma?  Could it be when your son or daughter has made life choices that don’t make sense to you?  Could it be death or significant illness in your family?  Could it be dealing significant depression or anxiety? What has caused sleeplessness for you in your family life?

 

In one way or another, we all face the Isaac dilemma in our family life.  In those situations, can we continue to trust that God goes with us?

At the end of the day, your family is not meant to be anyone else’s family life.  God’s plan for your family is to be exactly who you are.  Your particular family dynamic is not an accident; it is by God’s design you are who you are. 

God is present in your family life – with its joys, with its challenges, with its beauty and with its messiness.

Further, may we commit ourselves as a Church to reach out beyond our own family life.  May we be about finding solutions to homelessness and poverty in family life.  We need to be aware of the stresses of other people’s family life, to understand them and find funding for caring for them, especially children.

Today’s feast reminds us to seek God’s love anew through our loved ones in our own family.  It may be hard to spot at times.  The key to finding God in our family is for us to find God in our own lives.  God is within us, and God is with us in our family life.

Lord God, we ask for the spiritual sightedness to recognize your presence in each and every family relationship we are gifted with.

Have a blessed day.