Homily for Holy Family Sunday

On the Third Week of Advent, Father Curtis called Jack and Jill. He asked them if they would be willing to talk with the high school students preparing for Confirmation. Father Curtis hoped that they would hold a discussion on family on the Wednesday after Christmas. Jack and Jill agreed to do this since the Sunday after Christmas was Holy Family Sunday. When the time came, there was a big turnout. The kids thought Jack and Jill to be cool since they had worked with them on many other parish projects in the past. So, the kids looked forward to a good time figuring they would not be disappointed. It would not be a waste of their time during the holidays from school.

Teens, always hungry, entered the church hall and were greeted with hot chocolate and cookies. Jill knew that the best way to get kids’ attention is through their stomach! At the appointed hour, Jack asked them to quiet down, and he led them in a short prayer. Then Jill took over and told the kids that their discussion for the night was on family since the next Sunday was Holy Family Sunday.

She told them that society was changing rapidly. Modern culture has been re-imagining not only the institution of family but also the very need for family. All the major world religions for thousands of years considered family to be the bedrock of society. Modern education, supported by social media, sees very little need for family. New theories, based on socialism, teach that wants and needs be fulfilled by government thus replacing the need for family as the basis for successful culture. Jack then asked the kids what was influencing the breakdown of the family. Here are some of the ideas that the kids thought might indicate this big change in society.

Feminism: women’s liberation by which women want and demand equal rights to men. This movement advanced the idea that women do not need men to be successful and happy. Through higher education, women can break the “glass ceiling” leading to power and control. Being a wife and mother is too restrictive.

Marriage and family are seen as restrictions on true freedom. Contraception and abortion enable recreational sex which guarantees pleasure without responsibility. Misuse of alcohol and drugs is seen as destructive of family. Some of the kids offered that divorce and even death of a spouse hinders family.

Having thanked the kids for their comments on what was harming family in modern living, Jill then asked them why family ought to be considered as important for modern culture and what would the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph offer to us today. Of course, the kids found it hard to relate to the Holy Family. “Why so?” asked Jack. Some of their answers were: They lived thousands of years ago and didn’t have to deal with the issues of living that we have today. We have broken families today due to fathers being absent, or one of the spouses has gone away due to divorce or death. They were so holy, and we are not because we fight with each other all the time. Modern families deal with issues such as financial insecurity due to inflation, oppression and repression because of wartime hostilities, and other challenges that hold us back. Jill then said “What can we attribute to the holy family of Nazareth that might be of value to us today? Let’s take a break for ten or fifteen minutes, get some refreshments, talk among yourselves, when we regather, we can have some good insights.” What about you? What do you think?

Little do we know about the daily life of this Holy Family of Nazareth. Perhaps we might suggest that silence is most profound and noticeable. In life, noise is ever present and distracts from the reality of grace that is offered and gives respite. It has been suggested that silence is the first language of God. We learn to listen to God speaking deep within our spirit through silence. Is it not true that deep love between two persons is discerned in silence? There is little need for words; those who are in love are united in silence. It is silence that penetrates the mystery of the Holy Family. So, it is in silence that we hear God speaking to us. The challenge is to stop the noise that surrounds us in daily living. As we learn to listen to God speaking deep in our spirit, we experience divine love – another language of God.

The gospel lesson for Holy Family Sunday recounts the time that Mary and Joseph presented the infant Jesus to the Temple. Immediately, obedience comes to mind. Mary and Joseph knowing that Jesus is the Son of God did not excuse themselves from obedience to the Jewish Law – “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.” 

The Holy family was very poor. They knew that life would be hard as well as challenging. When they arrived in the Temple, a holy man, Simeon, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, warned them of future troubles. He said to Mary, “This child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted – and you yourself a sword will pierce – so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” Impending doom! Something that all young parents want to hear about their life with the anointed One. They trusted that God would somehow show them the way and provide for them.

However, the real glue that would hold this family together was love. Life for this family in the holy land would be hard and demanding as it is today. They cared for and learned from each other. Luke the gospel writer said, “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” Mary and Joseph watched and saw that it was good. They trusted. They listened to the Will of God and obeyed. They believed that God would be faithful and fulfill his promise. They were prepared to do the demanding work of raising and parenting the child, Jesus.

Jack and Jill ended the session on a high note. The young people today who seek the Lord can expect the same divine assistance that Mary and Joseph enjoyed thousands of years ago. As the Psalm says: He, the Lord, is our God; throughout the earth his judgment prevails. He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a thousand generations which he entered into with Abraham and by his oath to Isaac.” Expect the same as you enter a new year of grace.

God be blessed! Now and forever. Amen.