HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

The Feast of the Holy Family (Year C)

Dec 29, 2024

254

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First Reading

A reading from the first Book of Samuel (1:20-22, 24-28)

In those days Hannah conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son whom she called Samuel, since she had asked the Lord for him. The next time her husband Elkanah was going up with the rest of his household to offer the customary sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vows, Hannah did not go, explaining to her husband, "Once the child is weaned, I will take him to appear before the Lord and to remain there forever; I will offer him as a perpetual nazirite."

Once Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the temple of the Lord in Shiloh. After the boy's father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: "Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request. Now I in turn, give him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord." Hannah left Samuel there.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10)

(R) Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. (R)

Happy are they who dwell in your house! Continually they praise you. Happy the men whose strength you are! Their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage. (R)

O Lord of hosts, hear our prayer; hearken, O God of Jacob! O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of your anointed. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the first Letter of Saint John (3:1-2, 21-24)

Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. And so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be had not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because 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 he gave us.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (2:41-52)

Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astounded, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." And he said to them, "Why are you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Many cultures and communities around the world celebrate the coming of age or the transition from childhood to adulthood in diverse ways, often influenced by their traditions, and Judaism is no exception. According to Jewish tradition, when a boy turns 13 and a girl turns 12, they take part in an important and joyful religious ceremony called bat mitzwah. This means that the children are considered to have reached the "age of spiritual maturity", and are responsible for their own religious choices and behaviour. It is also customary to take the young boys to the Temple in Jerusalem so that they could be introduced to Jewish customs and practices. It appears that it is this visit that Luke recounts in his gospel today, (2:41-52).

Luke writes that every year Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. It's most likely that Jesus went with his parents on these visits. However, during this particular visit at the age of twelve, Jesus might have entered the temple area and perhaps saw the Passover events from a new perspective, (vv.41-42). Passover lasts for seven days so it appears that after the feast Mary and Joseph began their journey home which would have taken them about three days to walk through the mountainous terrain from Jerusalem to Nazareth which is about 60 miles/100km. In Jesus' time, this road was called "the Way of Blood", because of the danger from robbers and rough terrain. For instance, Luke in his gospel, narrates a story told by Jesus about a wounded Jewish man being rescued by a good Samaritan, (10:30-37). So, the pilgrims to Jerusalem for Passover might have travelled in large groups with relatives and acquaintances for safety reasons.

Mary and Joseph were returning home assuming that Jesus was among the other travellers. Only when they stopped for the night and families reunited did they realize that Jesus was missing. Most parents can understand the panic and anxiety when you can't find your child even for a few minutes, especially in public places. So, Mary and Joseph turned around and headed back to Jerusalem to look for him there, (vv.43-45). After three days of frantic search, they found him in the Temple among the teachers. It is more than probable that Jesus attended the synagogue school in Nazareth like everybody else. Whereas in Jerusalem he had the opportunity to have deep conversations with the learned Rabbis of the day. Moreover, during the Passover it was customary for the Jewish leaders to meet in the Temple courts to discuss religious and theological topics. So, Jesus found his way into this circle of scholars and he was listening to them and asking them questions, (v.46). We are told that "all who heard Jesus were astonished at his understanding and his answers", (v.47).

Seeing their son among the teachers, Mary and Joseph too were astonished. Mary then reprimanded Jesus for getting himself left behind and told him that his father and she had been looking for him anxiously, (v.48). But Jesus instead of responding to their concern, posed two questions: "Why are you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?", (vv.49-50).

Here, Jesus pointed out three things:

They looked for him in the wrong places. As for as he was concerned, the temple was the first place they should have expected him to be. They should not have gone anywhere else to search for him.
He revealed that the temple is the "house" of God.
He made a clear distinction between His divine purpose and his earthly responsibilities, his heavenly Father and his earthly Father. Thus, Jesus reminded his parents of who He was and what He came to do. However, Mary and Joseph did not fully understand what Jesus meant.

Luke then concludes the story with "Jesus returning to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and being obedient to them and at the same time advancing in wisdom and stature, and "in favor with God and men", (vv.51a, 52). Even though he was the eternal Son of God, even though he already had an extraordinary wisdom, Jesus was willing to be obedient to his parents. Because he saw submission to his parents as an act of obedience to His Father in Heaven. Although He was fully God, yet also being fully human He grew and developed as any other normal human being would, intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially, thus showing the importance of different areas of growth. But Mary "treasured all these things in her heart", (v.51b). It indicates that Mary did not fully understand everything that happened to her. Like everybody else she too had her moments of doubt, confusion, or misunderstanding. Yet, in spite of all this, she believed, trusted, and deliberately chose to remember them. This is the same way she reacted when the shepherds told them about the newborn Jesus during their visit, Luke (2:19).

What is the message for us?

This is a dramatic and moving account that gives us a glimpse of the boy Jesus who knew His identity and His mission, and of Mary and Joseph who lived in obedience to God's commands. It also teaches us many lessons for our own lives:

Just as Mary and Joseph actively involved in training their son Jesus on the things of God, we should do the same. By making the trip to Jerusalem every year, Mary and Joseph established a commitment to worship and honour God. In the Book of Proverbs, Solomon writes, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.", Proverbs (22:6). This statement implies that parents' intentional, moral and religious formation early on will have a permanent effect on their children for good. So, as Christian parents, let us teach our children to listen, read, study, interpret, contemplate, memorize, sing, pray, discuss, and apply God's Word. Let us introduce them to ceremonies, traditions, festivals, prayers, beliefs and activities of the Catholic Church, including weekly Sunday Mass, Sunday School, Bible study, liturgical ministries such as Altar servers, readers, choirs, ushers, musicians and so on. Let us develop habits like family prayer and attending church services together so as to draw closer to each other. Unfortunately, when it comes to faith and religion, many parents in the modern world let their children decide for themselves. Children can certainly choose their own thoughts, opinions and religion, but this should not stop the parents from exercising their duty to give their children any direction. But the problem is that today godlessness and hostility toward religion and religious values are being encouraged and promoted in music, on television, in the movies and on the social media and in the secular world. If we fail to guide our children in the pursuit of wisdom and godliness, we should not be surprised when our children end up choosing the only option they know.
Just as Jesus made God and the things of God as His priorities, we too are called to do the same thing. Our priorities must match the priorities of Jesus:

We need to give God the first place in our life by responding to His gift of salvation through His only Son Jesus Christ. Our faith in God has to be more than mere talk. We must exercise our faith by acknowledging our need for God's love and forgiveness, by recognizing the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice for our sin, and by surrendering our life to His guidance and leadership.
We need to make God our first priority by spending time daily in reading and reflecting upon God's Word and applying it to our lives. As we read, we can have a personal conversation with God. We can ask questions and thank Him for certain truths and promises that we may discover. In this way, we may find ourselves knowing more about relationship with God rather than just information. We can also share and discuss with others what we are reading, our own personal reflection, understanding, and experience of faith in Jesus.
We need to give God the first priority by setting aside time for personal prayer, family prayer, and community worship and celebration of Holy Eucharist on Sundays, which is first and foremost the Lord's Day.

Jesus is an example of obedience for us both toward our earthly parents and our Heavenly Father. Jesus trusted and obeyed His Father in everything He did. Nothing He did was outside of God's will. That's why His Father Himself acknowledged him as "His Beloved Son" at the time of His baptism and transfiguration. Jesus was the eternal Son of God. He already had an astonishing wisdom. And yet He was willing to be obedient to his parents. As people who follow Him, regardless of our knowledge, position, status and power, we too are called to be obedient, not just to our God and our parents, but also to those authority structures which we find ourselves under. St Paul says that it pleases God when we obey and honour our parents in everything, that is, everything that is not sin, Colossians (3:21-22).
We are reminded that full maturity involves growth in four basic dimensions of our life. Jesus advanced in wisdom (intellectually), stature (physically) and in favour with God (spiritually), and in favour with others (socially). It shows that because Jesus was fully human, He had to grow up just like us and learn and live in every way, just like us. If Jesus needed to grow into the person God wanted Him to be, we certainly need to grow in these four areas as well to become the people God wants us to be.

Let us, therefore, grow in our wisdom, physical being, relationship with God, and relationship with others, thus having a greater sense of balance in our lives.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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