It
is in this cold, dark and sometimes snowy time of the year that the Church
encourages us to meditate on some of the most important parts of our faith. Less
than a week ago, we gathered to ponder the awesome mystery of Christ’s birth.
We rejoiced in the fact that God so loved the world that he sent his
only-begotten Son to become man and live with us. All creation was filled with
awe that almighty God would become a tiny, vulnerable baby and accept the many
limitations that come with being a human being. This humility of our God,
manifested at Christmas and celebrated each year by Christians goes even deeper
to the feast we celebrate today, the feast of the Holy Family. The weekend
following Christmas is always reserved for this celebration which helps us
to grow in appreciation of the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as
well as our own families who have raised and formed us.
There is not a great deal that we know about the Holy Family. This part of
Jesus’ life is called his hidden life. But we do know that this time was
crucial to his development as a human person, where he learned the many lessons
that form a person into a good and holy member of society. This hidden life was
the majority of Christ’s life; about thirty of his thirty-three years on this
earth. And so, in these days following the celebration of his glorious birth,
the Church invites us to meditate on the lessons and mysteries of his hidden
life in Nazareth.
During most of his life, Jesus shared the
condition of humanity: a daily life spent without obvious greatness, a life of
manual labor and daily instruction. His spiritual life would have been
that of an observant Jew, obedient to the law of God, while living out
an ordinary life in the community. We learn something about Jesus from
this period of time. We are told that Jesus was "obedient"
to his parents and that he "increased in wisdom, age, and favor with God
and man."
Jesus’
obedience to his mother Mary and foster-father Joseph, was the perfect example
of the fourth commandment. It was also the earthly sign of his obedience to his
Father in heaven. The everyday obedience of Jesus prepared the way for his
obedience on Holy Thursday when he began his suffering and death with the
desire: "Not my will but thy will be done." The obedience of Christ
in the daily routine of his hidden life was already beginning his work of
restoring what the disobedience of Adam had destroyed.
The
hidden life at Nazareth allows everyone to enter into fellowship with Jesus by
the most ordinary events of daily life. Pope Paul the VI gives a beautiful
meditation on the Holy Family. He says that:
“The
home of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand the life of
Jesus--the school of the Gospel. First, then, a lesson of silence. May
esteem for silence, that admirable and indispensable condition of mind, revive
in us a lesson on family life. Second,
we learn about family life. May Nazareth serve as a model of what family
life is, its communion of love, its austere and simple beauty, and its sacred
and inviolable character. [It is] beautiful for the problems it poses and the
rewards it brings.”
God could have chosen a different way
for his Son to be born and raised. There are countless other scenarios and
possibilities that could have played out. But God sent his Son, born as a
child, into a human family, with a mother and father, because it is the best way for a person to be loved,
nurtured, and formed. The family is the foundation of society and the basic
unit that provides structure to our society. This is why we celebrate the feast
of the Holy Family today, to pray
for our own families and to look to
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph for encouragement in forming good and loving
families.
As
we gather here today, in the joy and excitement of the Christmas season, let us
ask the Holy family to help us be better members of our human families. Children,
you are called to respect and obey your parents, in the same spirit of love and
humility that Jesus did for Mary and Joseph. Parents, you are called to deepen,
every day, the love and care you
have for your children. You are called to help them grow in wisdom and favor in
the sight of God. Husbands, you are called to imitate St. Joseph in
showing undying respect, unconditional love and humble service to your wives. Love
your wife in the same way that Christ loves the Church. You are called to
protect her integrity and be a source of kindness, strength, and holiness for
her. Wives, love your husbands in the same way that the Church loves
Christ. Support them in their work to provide for others, help them to spread
the gospel in the world and in your home. Let your love be defined by loyalty and gentleness; always
pondering in your heart, the will of God in your home. Outdo one another in
showing mutual love and self-sacrifice.
Let
us find inspiration in the hidden life of Christ to live a virtuous life,
developing our personal gifts, and contributing to society with our work. May
this feast of the Holy Family always remind us that we are not just members of
a human family but also members of God’s family. My prayer for each of
you in this Christmas season is that you experience the peace and joy of the
Holy Family in your own households by imitating their example. May your homes
be little Nazareths that make the world a better place and bring the light of
Christ to a world wading through sin and darkness.
