THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH
28 DECEMBER 2025
In
the first reading, Sirach says that a family is more than a social
reality. It is a fundamental theological
reality inviting its members to make the Law of Moses an integral part of their
daily lives. He describes four
theological concepts that are central to the Covenant mediated through Moses. When children honor their parents, they
exhibit the virtue of right living. They
also open themselves to God’s gift of children of their own. When conflicts arise in the family, members
need to give the gift that God had given to them – the gift of
forgiveness. In living these theological
realities, members understand the saving power of God.
In his letter
to the Colossians, Saint Paul reflects the wisdom of Sirach. But, he takes those theological realities and
applies them to the person of Jesus Christ.
Because the Colossians have been baptized into Jesus Christ, they have
been chosen to love one another as he has loved them. In living their baptismal promises as members
of a family, they are holy and beloved.
Just as they were clothed in a white garment when they emerged from the
waters of baptism, now they need to put on the virtues of Jesus Christ: heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience. They need to
bear with one another and forgive one another.
Over all these garments, they must put on love, which is the bond of
perfection. Wearing that love, the peace
of Christ can control their hearts as members of the Body of Christ.
Because
Christmas is such an incredible Mystery, we celebrate it as an Octave – eight
days that are the equivalent of Christmas Day.
As part of that Octave, we celebrate this Feast of the Holy Family today. We continue to focus on the Mystery of the
Incarnation, of God taking on human flesh in Jesus Christ and continuing to
dwell in our midst. Saint Paul reminds
us that the best way of embodying Emmanuel, God with us, is to live the virtues
that he describes to the Colossians. The
Christmas stories tell us how Joseph and Mary embody those virtues in their
marriage. Their heartfelt compassion and
kindness are obvious. They are humble
enough to recognize what they cannot control.
They must become refugees and immigrants in a strange land to avoid the
murderous threats of Herod. With
gentleness and patience, they care for their child in Egypt and continue that
care when it is safe to return to Nazareth.
We admire
those virtues in the Holy Family. But we
might also ask ourselves: How can we
possibly compete with a family where God speaks to the father in dreams, where
the mother has never sinned, and where the Son is divine himself? We do not need to compete. Those virtues are needed in any family
structure in which we find ourselves.
Our family structures are different from the family structures at the
time of Saint Paul. In that day, the
father is clearly the absolute head of the family. That pattern continued well into the
sixteenth century. In any of William
Shakespeare’s plays, the wife always refers to her husband as “my lord”. That may not be the structure of marriages
today. But even in that structure, Paul
insists that Christ’s love can be embodied in a way that makes a difference in
the social setting of the day. He tells
husbands to love their wives, knowing that the love of Jesus himself is best
seen in his total gift on the cross. Husbands
must be subordinate to Christ. That love
is transformative.
No matter
how our family may be structured, all families are imperfect. I remember dreading this Feast as a kid. The priest would always paint a picture of
the perfect holy family. I was convinced
that our family could never be a holy family, as our Dad would threaten to stop
the car unless we behaved us on the way home from Mass. So, no matter what your family may look like,
no matter how dysfunctional is may be, the Lord dwells in your midst. The Lord graces you with the courage to live
that list of virtues to make a difference in our society today.
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