THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH
26 DECEMBER 2021
Saint Luke
gives us the only account in the Gospels of Jesus growing up as a child. At one level, all families today can identify
with the predicament of Mary and Joseph.
Even in a family where two of the members are without sin, there are
difficulties because of confusion and lack of communication. Most families can tell a story of a similar
in losing track of a child, even for a short time. All families with preteen boys can identify
with Mary’s question: “Son, why have you
done this to us?” Families today can
take consolation in this story.
Like your
family, the Holy Family has religious customs to help their child grow in an
understanding of the faith. Like your
family, the Holy Family has the support of their religious community. Joseph and Mary rely on their family and friends
to learn that their child must be back in Jerusalem and not in the caravan on
the way home to Nazareth. With the
support of their community, they have the courage to take the risk of returning
on a dangerous journey alone, making them vulnerable to thieves and villains.
However,
this story also gives us a preview of the Gospel of Luke which we will hear on
most Sundays of this new Liturgical Year.
Once in Jerusalem, Mary and Joseph spend three agonizing days searching
for their son. When they find him, they
are amazed at the response of the teachers.
These learned adults are impressed with his knowledge, much as the
crowds would be amazed at the depth of his teaching as an adult. When Jesus asks them why they were looking
for him, he tells them that he must be in his Father’s house, a response that
baffles them. Their lack of
understanding foreshadows the many ways in which his disciples could not
understand the mission given to him by his Father. However, he remains obedient to them as they
return to Nazareth. Mary keeps all these
things in her heart, indicating her complete openness to God’s plan for her and
for her son.
Years later, Mary would spend three
days grieving over her crucified son buried in a tomb. Just as finding her son alive and well
brought relief and joy, she would experience the incredible joy of his
resurrection on the third day. Mary
never doubts the goodness and love of the Father. That faith is rewarded with her own
assumption into heaven as the first person to share fully in the bodily
resurrection of her son.
The question which the adolescent
Jesus asks of Mary and Joseph is the same he asks of us: “Why were you looking for me?” On this day after Christmas, we can
understand better his response: “Did you
not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Just as he needs to be in his Father’s house, we need to be here in his
Father’s house with our families.
I’ve often told stories about my
human family gathered for Christmas on this Feast. It is important that you know that my human
family shares many of the same quirks as yours.
Today, I want to focus today on the family that is our parish gathered
in our Father’s house. I am truly
humbled that you come here to find a home.
I am a sinner, and we who form this parish family are also sinners. But this is your home. As Jesus advanced in wisdom and age, he did
what the religious authorities at the time considered unthinkable. He dined with sinners! That is what happens in this temple, in this
house. Pope Francis has shared that the
Eucharist “…is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and
nourishment for the weak.” As the parish
family of Saint Pius, we know that we will never meet the level of the holiness
of the Holy Family. Unworthy as we are,
we celebrate the Lord’s presence here in our midst. Saint Augustine reminds us that we become
what we receive: the Body of
Christ. We need each other, as the Holy
Family needed the support of their community to be the Body of Christ in our
world.
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