Praise be Jesus Christ forever and ever. Merry Christmas.
Today, we celebrate the feast of the
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. A family of willing participants in
God’s divine plan. The model of a Holy
Family all Christian families should strive to become.
In God’s divine plan for everything your
family, my family, and the salvation of the world by forgiveness of sins was
this Holy family. A family that loved and trusted one another. In their
love was a family that knew peace, harmony and comfort.
It was a family that said “yes” to all
that God asked of them. Mary said “yes.” Joseph said “yes.” Even Jesus said “yes,”
to Father’s divine plan. In their “yes,” the Holy Family lived God’s divine
plan.
The Holy Family, just like the rest of
us, experienced problems now and them. That happens in today’s gospel.
The demands of love sometimes put us
in a bind. Parents know this. As our children grow, we learn everyday how the
demands of love continually unfold.
The modern family may look different from
the Holy Family; but, by love all want the best for family. That is part of God’s
plan.
Sadly, human love and family love can be focused on wrong
things. Many thinks “best” are material things. Striving for material best, persons
can lose sight of love from trust, peace, and harmony. This can lead a family lost from itself and from God's divine plan.
The best we should want for family is
a loving relationship with God. The best is a relationship with God in Jesus
Christ. The best is when a family knows who Jesus is, why He is, and why He is God.
The best is for a family to know prayer, faith, and hope.
Wisdom of Sirach tells us with family “we
store up riches; are made glad; and know comfort.” Those are intrinsic best for
family.
As mentioned earlier, everyone
experiences problems now and them This Holy Family that was the yes in
God’s divine plan still faced troubles of this world.
The gospels of Matthew and Luke tell
us about the birth of Jesus; but in today’s gospel it seems Mary and Joseph
didn’t immediately see God in a missing little boy named Jesus.
They looked for him for three days. They
looked like any parent would look, thinking like a little child. Looking in all
the places a child would think wonderful in a place like Jerusalem.
They were worried parents. They
probably thought the worst. They probably imagined horrible things. In the back
of their mind, they knew God protected their little boy Jesus but he was still missing.
Many know this feeling. I know this
feeling as I thought one of my daughters was lost once. She was 17 and worked
at a coffee shop and often closed my herself.
When she wasn’t home at her regular
time, I gave her 30 minutes and went looking. At the coffee shop, my daughter’s
car was parked outside and inside was a man, with a gun, counting money.
I was a worried. I thought the worst,
I imagined horrible things. And I pounded on the door to rescue my daughter
from that man with a gun. By God’s grace, it was the owner, and he did not
shoot and ask questions later about this man trying to knock his door down. He
was as concerned as I was.
Her phone had no reception. Her best
friend did not know anything. I was filled with anxiety. She showed up a couple
of hours later and could not understand why I was worried.
When Mary and Joseph found Jesus, she
said to him, “Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety. And
he said to them, why were you looking for me? Did you not know I must be in my
Father’s house?”
Pretty much the same answer my
daughter gave me. She just wasn’t at church. She was riding 4 wheelers. She was
mad that I didn’t trust her. She was a teenager.
St. Paul gives us a guide to living as
a Holy Family in God’s divine plan “Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and
beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing
with one another and forgiving one another….”
Bring Jesus to the center of your
family. Want the best for them, a relationship with God. God’s divine plan for
us is to be a Holy Family. All of us being one. A family of willing participants
in God’s divine plan, a Holy Family that answers “yes” to God.
Friends may God’s love be evident in
the trust, peace, harmony, and comfort that reign in our home and in the faith
we profess.
Be Good, be holy, and preach the gospel
by the way you live your life and love one another. May Jesus Christ be praised forever and ever.
Amen.
