Homily - Holy Family, Year C

Fr. Timothy W. Castor

As we continue our celebration of Christmas, Holy Mother Church invites us today - the Sunday within the octave of Christmas - to contemplate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. In so doing, we consider, not just one family that lived in Palestine 2000 years ago; rather, we consider the very nature of family life as God intended it—in other words, what does it mean to be a holy Christian family. Some might say that the Holy Family is irrelevant today because, as the media continually reminds us, the traditional family structure of mother, father and their children living together in one home, is rapidly disappearing. It’s certainly true that the single-parent family is becoming more and more commonplace. These families usually do not occur by choice: when a mother finds herself raising her children alone, it is probably not because she planned it that way. But these families can be just as holy as the traditional "nuclear" family. Also, there are many families in which one or more of the children are not the natural offspring of the parents, instead they are adopted or are foster children. These families, too, can be holy. In fact, the Holy Family itself fits into this category: while Jesus was the child of Mary, he was not the child of Joseph. He was the Son of God, and Joseph was his foster father.

The point is, to be a holy family, it’s not the family structure that matters, it’s the principles and values by which the family lives. Our Scripture readings each year at this feast reflect these principles and values. The Gospels we read during the three year cycle narrate the only three events we know about from Jesus’ childhood: Year A tells us the story of the flight into Egypt, Year B describes the presentation of Jesus in the Temple as an infant, and Year C (this year) gives us the story of how he was lost and found in the Temple as a young boy.

These stories, few and brief as they are, are very instructive for us. Each one contains elements of joy and elements of sorrow—just like real families. Because, of course, the Holy Family was a real family. Yes, the mother was the immaculate Virgin Mary, the father was good Saint Joseph and the son was the sinless Son of God. But they were still human beings, living together in a human family, and they faced very real human problems: persecution and misunderstanding from others, poverty, exile, separation, death—and these are just the problems we know of! But by applying and living the law of God in their home, they overcame all of these obstacles, and knew real peace, joy and unity as a family. And we can know these things, too, in our families, if we would follow the guidance which God provides for us in his Holy Word and through his Holy Church.

The readings this year from First Samuel, First John and the Gospel of St. Luke emphasize two major themes. These themes are: loving obedience, and worshiping together as a family. Let’s consider obedience first. Obedience is what I like to call the forgotten virtue, because our modern society so strongly emphasizes independence and self-reliance. To place oneself under obedience to another is considered a sign of weakness. Obedience might be okay for ordained and consecrated persons—priests, deacons, monks, and nuns. While a person serves in the military, he or she will exercise obedience for the sake of good order. But in every other walk of life? It seems that obedience is to be avoided at all costs. And yet, this is what the Lord calls us to as his followers: obedience to God first and foremost, and obedience to one another in loving service.

St. John tells us in the second reading: "Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us." There it is: obedience to God, and love of one another. Today’s gospel goes even further.

The story of Jesus being lost and found in the Temple is full of mystery. How did he get separated from his parents? Why did Mary and Joseph not think to look for him in the one place he loved best? I think the answer to the first question can be found in this simple phrase, "he was twelve years old." At 12, a boy begins to feel those first stirrings of independence from his parents. It’s not that Jesus was being rebellious or disrespectful toward his parents, he was merely doing what a boy his age does. When I was that age, I wish I had a nickel for every time my mother said to me, "Now don’t wander off. Don’t get lost." And yet, that’s precisely what I did, time and time again. My name was a regular feature on department store PA systems. But regardless of the answers to these mysteries, the real significance of the story of Jesus being found in the Temple is the fact that, even at this tender age, the boy Jesus had some understanding and awareness of his divine mission and of his divine nature: "Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?"

But there’s another point in this gospel to which I’d liked to draw your attention. It is the verse which says, "he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them." What a remarkable thing! God the Son, through whom the universe was created, through whom his own parents were created, submitted himself in obedience to them. In doing this, he set an example for all of us—for children especially, that they obey their parents; but it’s an example even for grown-ups to follow. We show our love for one another by serving each other in obedience. This is the virtue of loving obedience—and if it’s something which our Lord Jesus Christ could practice, then it’s something we should cultivate as well.

The other theme which appears in these readings is the importance of worshiping together as a family in God’s Temple—in his Church. Often, when grown children drift away from the practice of their faith, there seems to be no logical reason. But in many other instances, the reason is all too evident. Without saying a word, the parents set an example to their children by finding excuses to miss Sunday Mass, by ignoring holy days of obligation and by rarely darkening the doors of the church on special occasions such as missions, public acts of devotion, or even an informal visit to the Blessed Sacrament. Why should the children consider Church to be important when it’s obvious that their parents do not consider it to be so? Those parents who drop their children off at CCD on a Sunday morning, and then go out to breakfast, might as well not bring their kids to Church at all, because, by their example, they have told them that Mass is optional—you can take it or leave it. And, more often than not, young people will leave it when they get old enough to do so.

What begins in the church should extend into the home. The old adage, "the family that prays together, stays together," is absolutely true. How often do parents pray together with their children? How often do children hear their parents speak the name of the Lord—and not as a curse or as an exclamation? Family prayer does not have to be complicated or elaborate. The rosary is an ideal form of prayer to use in the family; so is reading the Scriptures together or following a book of devotions. Parents have an awesome responsibility of passing on the faith to their children; and children learn through the example of their parents. Many factors contribute to the formation of young hearts and minds, but it only stands to reason that if parents give their children a good example of how much their faith means to them, it is much more likely that the children will follow that path than if they were given no example at all.

The holy family stands as a prime example to all of us. Pray to Jesus, Mary and Joseph each day, and ask them to help you make your home a holy place—a place where God is glorified and where each one lives for the others in loving obedience and service. May the holy family bless your families with God’s peace and love.

© 2003, The Rev. Timothy W. Castor