December 30, 2018

Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
1 Samuel 1: 20-22, 24-28; 1 John 3: 1-2, 21-24; Luke 2: 41-52
On this feast of the Holy Family, it is good to remember our family of birth. We all come from different
places, cultures, situations. We come with our own backpack of memories of what it was like growing
up with our parents and siblings. Was it a happy experience? Was it sad? Was it filled with growing
experiences that brought our relationships closer or did these bring more entanglements and antagonisms
coupled with jealousy? Was our family unit able to ‘roll with the punches’; able to grow healthily with
the pitfalls, hardships and heartaches that are a part of family living? Were we able to learn about God’s
love and have our faith nourished in our developing years? Were we able to ‘survive’ these years and
walk away without a bitter taste in our mouths? Where did we learn about love? When were we aware
that God loves us all the time? Who were the primary teachers and examples of God’s unconditional
love? How easy was it in passing on these positive legacies?
Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family. I remember learning in my early years from the
good nuns of the ‘perfect family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph’. It seemed a little bit too hard for me to
understand? Weren’t they cold in the manger? They were all alone, how did they find stores to shop in,
where did they get the money to shop, where was their family while this was going on? So being the
‘perfect family’, left a big gap in my thinking. Today’s reading looks at ‘growing up’ in three different
perspectives: from parents side…child’s side…from God’s side. The bottom line is that of God’s
unconditional love; no matter what were the experiences of our early years, we are born from God’s
gracious, all-consuming love for ME. Family life is rooted in the unconditional love of God as
witnessed by the Holy Family.
In the first reading from First Samuel, Hannah had prayed long hours at the altar at Shilo which predated
the Temple’s building at Jerusalem. She longed for a child. In their culture it was looked at a ‘penalty’
or curse from God if one was childless. Hannah’s prayer was that if she was graced with a son, she
would surrender him to the temple at Shilo. “After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his
mother, approached Eli and said: ‘Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here,
praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the Lord;
as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.’ Hannah left Samuel there.” This certainly sounds staged
to us, but do we look at it from the faithfulness of both Hannah and from God, both of whom honored
their promises? I love you this much…I promise to do…and I have! I look at the power of prayer; and
the need to be totally willing to give up what is so longer for and so precious…what faith! Where have I
encountered that faith in my life? What impression did it make on me? How did I view these faithfilled
people? Have I been a witness to this type of faith in my life? Where did I receive the strength to
do what had to be done? How grateful was I?
John in this his first letter views the community as the children of God. We see this in John’s beautiful
Prologue to his Gospel explaining Jesus’ preexistence with the Father and how He came in the world to
us. “He was in the world, and the world came to be through Him, but the world did not know Him. He came to what
was His own, but His own people did not accept Him. But to those who did accept Him He gave power to become
children of God to those who believe in His name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice
nor by a man’s decision but of God.” (John 1: 10-13.) So how is one to live as a ‘child of God’? We are to
keep His commandments and do what pleases Him…we are to love one another…we know we are
living as His disciples when living this way. We fail…we keep trying…the Holy Spirit continually gifts
us to live in love. Jesus at the Last Supper said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Me. If you know Me, then you will also know My Father.” (John 14: 6-7)
We follow what Jesus taught and lived.
In the gospel we hear the only story that portrays Jesus as an adolescent. Luke is not giving us a
historical account but theological. Jesus is identified with God because the scene takes place in the
Temple. It is here, for the first time, that Jesus pronounces who He really is. It shares every parent’s
nightmare: where is my lost/late child…they aren’t home yet, they are long overdue…I haven’t heard
from them…are they lost…was there an accident…did they get kidnapped…are they OK? Mary and
Joseph did what many of you did: they investigated. Jesus is engaging the skilled teachers and experts
in questions and conversation. They are definitely impressed. Now Mary and Joseph obviously are not
aware of Jesus’ divine status. They were afraid, and Jesus gives a theological response to their question.
They don’t understand. I wonder if Mary thought how she was going to survive the rest of the teen
years with their extraordinary son. In the alternate second reading from his letter to the Colossians, Paul
describes what virtues we hopefully learned and must have been taught Jesus by Mary and Joseph. “Put
on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and
patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord
has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the
peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be
thankful.” (Colossians 3: 12-15)
“And His mother kept all these things in her heart.” And Mary reflected on these things in her heart. How
often do I just sit and think? I try to place myself in the scripture scene and let them surround me and
teach me that I am called to live what I am witnessing.
So I reflect on:
• I name what my family taught me about faith, love, and life…both the good parts and the not so good.
• How do I teach others to love and recognize the dignity of every person?
• I take time to remember the times I honored my parents. How did I do that? Was it difficult or
natural?
• Can I name personal examples of putting God before family?
• Do I realize that many elderly no longer have family to visit them? How will they hear these readings
today and celebrate this feast?
Sacred Space 2019 states:
“In My Father’s house.” Do I believe that the Father’s house may be found within myself? If I do, I can perhaps
open myself to an even greater wonder: ‘Those who love me will keep My word, and My Father will love them, and
We will come to them and make Our home with them.’ John 14:23
Let me take in this scene slowly. Jesus is coming of age, entering His teens, and is an eager student questioning
His teachers. To His mother’s query—‘your father and I’—He points gently to another paternity: ‘I must be in My
Father’s house.’ No Gospel scene shows more clearly the gradual process by which He grew into a sense of His
mission. Let me savor it.”