Homily
for the
Feast of the Holy Family
Dec.
31, 1978
Luke
2: 22-40
Our Lady
of Prompt Succor, Westwego, La.
“They returned into Galilee, to their own
city, Nazareth. And the child grew and
became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God upon him” (Luke 2: 39-40).
Today is the feast of the Holy Family, that poor, simple, love-filled group of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus dwelling in a dusty, poverty-ridden, out-of-the-way village called Nazareth.
These 3 would appear to be of no great
significance except that they are a family centered on the Word of God: the Word of God spoken in the Scriptures, for
it is this that brings them to the Temple in today’s gospel reading; the Word
of God revealed in their own lives, for it is this that makes Mary say “yes” to
God’s angel and makes Joseph take the pregnant virgin as his wife; and the Word
of God made flesh, for it is he who is Jesus, the Son of Mary. Mary and Joseph are blessed by Simeon today,
for they have heard God’s Word and received him into their lives (2:34)—as Jesus
will later called blessed all those who hear the Word of God and keep it
(8:21).
Those of you who are husbands, wives,
and parents, or who hope to be such someday, observe Mary and Joseph. Observe their attentiveness to God’s Word, and
attend to it yourselves in Scripture readings, personal prayer, and the
celebration of the sacraments. Observe
their faithfulness to each other in difficult times, and find your strength in
each other. Observe how they are blessed
in the child whom God gives to them, and see a blessing in the child whom God
has sent or may send to you. The Nobel
Prize-winning poet Rabindranath Tagore of India expressed this blessing
well: “Every child comes with the
message that God is not discouraged of man.”
Because the Son of God becomes a child
among us, we have the greatest reason for encouragement. This Son of God, Jesus the son of Mary, “grew
and became strong” in a human family, living, working, playing, and studying in
Nazareth. We know almost nothing
historically of Jesus’ childhood, and so we may certainly suppose it was an
ordinary child’s life. He helped his
mother with the chores in what was probably a small, one-room stone house,
accompanied her to the village well to draw water for the day’s needs, learned
carpentry from Joseph in a shop probably attached to the house, played with the
other village boys, studied the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the sacred
writings of his people, celebrated the Sabbath and other festivals at the
synagog, and took short walks into the neighboring fields, vineyards, and
orchards of Galilee, possibly even to the Sea of Galilee some 20 miles to the
east or to Mt. Carmel and the Mediterranean some 20 miles to the west.
It was in this simple, ordinary family
context that Jesus “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor
of God was upon him.” As a fully human
being, he had to develop his bodily, intellectual, and emotional resources just
as you and I do. He did it in a poor, lower-class,
working family, among friends and relatives, and with respect for the laws and
traditions of his people.
Those of you who are young people,
observe Jesus. As a boy and then a young man, he learns and grows and becomes
holy within a family. He is devoted to
his family, helps them, learns from them, studies his lessons, plays, worships
in the synagog, and takes on a trade.
Thus he prepares himself for the great work that lies ahead of him in
God’s plan. God has a plan for you, too,
and he wants you to prepare yourself for it now by loving your families,
studying your lessons, developing your skills, playing with your friends, and
practicing your Catholic faith. It is in
the ordinary lives of your families that you, too, will grow and become strong,
filled with wisdom; and have “the favor of God upon you.”
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