Homily Feast of the Holy Family - December 26, 2021

Today's readings can be found here.

            Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family.  I remember growing up my mother always said to me, "friends come and go, but you always have your family.”  Growing up in an Italian household, family was extremely important.  And nothing said family more than sharing a meal together, usually on Sundays but especially on holidays.  We’d have everyone together, our family, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  We’d even have friends of ours as well.  We always made sure there was enough food and room in case someone showed up.

            You see, our family was not just made up of the people directly related to us.  My brother had a large circle of friends and it was not unusual for them to stop by the house and hang out for a bit.  There came a point with some of them (as well as friends of the rest of us) that they became PART of the family.  The way you knew they were in was that they would be INVITED to come for dinner.  The distinction was subtle.  If one of us showed up with a friend at dinner time, my mother would feed them.  But for her to say “is Steve coming over on Christmas Eve?  Make sure you tell him!” meant you were now “in”.  And once you become part of an Italian familia, we look after you as if you were born into it.

            Which brings us to today’s Gospel.  Our first and second readings talk about what it means to be part of a family, both as a child of a person and a child of God.  However, our Gospel relates the story of Mary and Joseph “losing” Jesus.  They were travelling back home from Jerusalem and didn’t see Jesus right away.  They assumed he was somewhere with the rest of the family, but soon realized he was not.  They then spend three days looking for him to find Jesus in the temple.  They were seemingly upset with him, wondering why he stayed behind without telling them.  They also said they were filled with great anxiety.  Who wouldn’t be after searching for your child for four days!

            My wife and I can relate to Mary and Joseph.  When our oldest was a toddler, maybe two or three, we were out shopping.  We weren’t holding his hand or anything when we suddenly noticed he was gone.  Those that have raised children know that toddlers are fast and sneaky.  We didn’t search for three days but after a frantic few minutes, he jumped out from inside a clothing rack as if it was a game of hide and seek.  We were relieved but also a little upset with him.  He didn’t understand why we were upset since he thought he was playing a game.

            I wonder if the twelve year old mind of Jesus thought in a similar way.  On his own he decided to go to the temple to sit with the teachers.  In His mind, there was nothing wrong with that.  Didn’t he say “why were you looking for me?  Didn’t you know this is where I was supposed to be?”  In a way, he was oblivious to his parents concern just like our son didn’t understand that to us, not being able to find him was not a game, but a source of anxiety.

            I wonder if God has anxiety over us also.  After all, God constantly calls to us to change our hearts and follow the example of Jesus in loving God and our neighbor.  Like in my family, God has explicitly invited us to share a meal with Him at the table of the Eucharist.  We’ve been invited “in” and are now adopted children of God.  We’re now all “familia.”  God wants to bless us and guide us to eternal life with Jesus His Son.  He also asks us to look after the members of our extended Christian family as we would the members of the family we were born into.  However, are we sometimes so focused on the things going on in our lives that we don’t hear God calling us?  Do the pressures and demands of everyday life keep us from noticing our family members in need?  Are we looking for opportunities to invite others, through our words and our actions, to join us for a meal at the table of the Eucharist?  Are we anxious in our concern for others in the way that God is anxious in concern for us?