Today is the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Today’s Gospel tells the story of the visit of the “outsiders,” the Magi, to the holy family. While the holy family was not your typical family, they were a real family that experienced all the joys and sorrows of family life. They experienced the joy of Jesus’ birth even though they could find no room in an inn, so Jesus was laid in a manger. At times Jesus and his parents didn’t see eye to eye about where he should be and what he should be doing. Listen to this “dialogue” between the teenager Jesus and his parents:
Mary: “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
Jesus: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
In spite of this confrontation, they remained together as a family: “Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.” (Luke 2:51). So, we see that in many ways the holy family is a lot like our families.
We can also call each of our families a holy family since God dwells in each of our houses. Parents are the first evangelizers of their children. They teach and show their children that God is a God of love, mercy, and compassion. Like Jesus, parents preach by their words but even more by their actions. Parents have a holy vocation from God and are called to be images of God to their children. The earliest Christian communities met in individual homes and were called house churches. Each of our families form a house church where the holy God is indeed present in their midst.
Today we give thanks to God for the gift of our holy family. We ask God to continue to fill parents with wisdom and love as they face the joys and challenges of raising children. We give thanks for the joy and laughter that children bring to us each day. May God continue to watch over and protect them. May we learn as a family and as a church that for God there are no “outsiders,” but all are welcomed by God since he created all of us in his image and likeness.
Image: “Sunset family” by Photosightfaces is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.