FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY B

[cappie]

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family. This celebration is assigned to the Sunday within the octave of Christmas. The Gospel for today is taken from the Gospel according to Luke and is part of Luke’s Infancy Narrative. The Gospel describes the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple.

John was born to barren Elizabeth and Zechariah, who were old enough to be his great grandparents. Jesus was born to virgin Mary, almost too young to be a mother, and her husband-to-be, Joseph. These are improbable parents, impossible births, and wondrous stories. 

These births are also scandalous and shameful, especially for the parents. Elizabeth “endured disgrace” as the subject of rumours and gossip about her barrenness (Luke 1:25). They both endured more in following God’s instructions to name their son John, a name not in their family, opposing tradition and neighbour’s expectations. Mary endured disgrace with an unwed pregnancy such that she and Joseph went to Bethlehem at a time no pregnant woman would be traveling. She gave birth among strangers in another town instead of family because of the cultural shame. Jesus and John were miraculously born into families who before and after endured much disgrace.

After Pentecost, we celebrate the birth of the Church, another wondrous conception. People of multiple cultures and languages started becoming Christ is one body for the world, sharing and living and serving together. This is our family. God’s power and presence in the Holy Spirit enables this wondrous birth of a new community. The Holy Spirit also came upon Elizabeth and Mary opening their wombs and empowered Jesus and John in their births and lives of witness. These human miracles are by God’s power and inspiration.

God has and keeps choosing to come and to work through people, vulnerable, weak, broken, limited, and incomplete, frail flesh and families.

What is your experience today of being human? You might be confident or consoled in your abilities, the gift of your life, the surprises, and delights of this day. You might be in touch with encouragement and love from family or neighbour. Or, you might be struggling with limitation or loss, the challenge of infancy and toddlerhood, of growing up, of aging and dying. You may be tired or stressed by all you must do or what you cannot do no matter how hard you wish or try. How are you today with human frailty?

What is your experience of family and community? Perhaps you are in touch with being comforted and encouraged, guided, and loved. Or perhaps you are in pain from hurt and sorrow, fight and conflict, pride, and dishonour. Perhaps that is from your biological family, your current community, a national or cultural community, your parish family, or the larger Church.

Jesus knows from experience what you feel today, what it is like to be frail and family.

The good news of the gospel as we see in Jesus and Mary and Joseph is God is with us, with you and me in our human frailty and families, especially the very human Church. From the start with Adam and Eve, with Abraham and Sarah, God chose to use human families to care for, bless and heal the world. God became human in Jesus, to live as one of us. “Pleased with us in flesh to dwell Jesus our Emmanuel.” God was pleased to fully immerse in our limited and loving, broken and beautiful, intricate, and interconnected human community.

Jesus is here with us and will feed us like a shepherd, gather us up in his arms, gently lead us. We will be fed, held, and led much by Jesus in our brothers and sisters, both those we like and those we cannot stand. As with John the Baptist, Jesus and their parents, God comes in familiar human form.

God is here with us now. Love and let yourself be loved. Forgive and let yourself be forgiven. Feed and be fed, hold, and be held, and gently lead and be led by your brothers and sisters. Give and receive abundant life here in frail flesh and family.