HOMILY FOR FEAST OF HOLY FAMILY, YEAR B

HOMILY FOR FEAST OF HOLY FAMILY, YEAR B

THEME: DOMESTIC VIRTUES!

BY: Benedict Agbo (Rev Fr)

*Gen 15: 1-6, 21:1-3, Heb 11: 8-19, Lk 2: 22 – 40.

A. PREAMBLE
The family is the domestic Church. No other structure can replace the family. The devil knows this and that is why he has launched his greatest warfare against the family structure. The breakdown of the family structure is the greatest wind of secularism blowing today. We live in a commercialized, atheistic, competitive, heartless and brutal society today all because the peace and love designed by God to be imparted on the world through the family is fast disappearing. Take for instance, how much sense of love and peace would you expect from a young Fulani herdsman who grows up following cattles from bush to bush? It is in the family that the foundation of human relationship is laid; love, gentility, kindness, selfishness, etc. It is there that the structures of faith and morality are built. Psychologists remind us that many of the personality problems of grown ups have their roots in family deficiencies during childhood. Family plays a central role in human formation and growth; It provides a fecund ground for Christian virtues to flourish. Parents need to understand that every word and deed of a parent is a gospel read directly by the children and a fibre woven into the character fabric of the child.
*I had a funny experience in my last apostolic work as a seminarian where I was embarrassed by a little child that greeted me with: ‘ria shi’ (eat shit). I discovered that she learnt it from her mother who I caught using the same language 9 times within 24 hours I stayed in that compound.

B. THE LAW OF FAMILY PROSPERITY
As charity begins at home, so does prosperity begin at home. The Bible made 3 promises to them that fear God; Prosperity in business, Fruit of the womb and Peace among your children, Ps 127. But there is THE TRIPATITE LAW OF FAMILY PROSPERITY which every believer must know:
1. The law of respect; Respect is the highest dimension of love. Others are; Care / Concern (as found in parents’ love for their children), Attraction / Admiration which usually climaxes in eros, procreation and fidelity. Sirach 3: 2 – 14 says that whoever respects his father atones for his sins and he who honours his mother is like someone amassing a fortune (theory of spiritual immunity). The chief demand of the scripture on wives is to respect their husbands. Another translation used for this is ‘to defer to’ them especially in moments of family crises and disagreements.
2. The law of love; In the family dispensation, the only scriptural demand on the husband is to love their wives and treat them with gentleness, as Joseph the husband of Mary did, Col 3: 12 – 21. Read also Eph 5: 22f – the one flesh theory of St Paul. I personally think that the demand of love placed on husbands is even a higher demand than the demand of respect placed on the wives. What do you think?
3. The law of obedience; The Bible told children quite explicitly to obey their parents if they want to prosper. It did not tell wives to obey but to defer to their husbands. Forget all the modern – day – anti – family – feminist – arguments and learn the wisdom of the scriptures requiring the husband (all things being equal) to be the leader of the family. He may not be the wisest or the richest but must be accorded his due respect as the head of the family. Take note that God’s guidance of the holy family was done through the ministration of dreams shown three times only to Joseph as head of the family.

C. THE 7 ‘C’ S OF FAMILY HOLINESS
Today, as we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus, we must observe that what made them holy is their docility to the will of God, the special level of humility and meekness displayed by Joseph and Mary, and the obedience of Jesus to them as his parents.
Faith is the fundamental Christian virtue that must begin to grow from the family. Faith is the disposition to trust in God’s word. In today’s 1st reading, God told Abram in a vision, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be great…Your descendants shall be like the stars “. He trusted God although he was still childless till the next 25 years when the Lord fulfilled that promise and gave him Isaac. Today many families are losing their faith in God too early in the midst of temptations and go to terrible places and invite terrible people that good Christians should not invite to their homes doing terrible things in the name of prayer.

Let’s learm from the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. That family was not without their own troubles and hardships as follows;
(i) Unexpected pregnancy of Mary from a strange source, (ii) Financial difficulties of a poor carpenter’s wage, (iii) Mary’s problematic maternity labour and eventual delivery in a manger, (iv) Flight to Egypt in the night, (v) Prophesy of Simeon, (vi) 3 months absence of Mary on visitation to Elizabeth, (vii) 3 days search for Jesus, (viii) Oppositions and constant life threat from the Jews, (ix) Arrest, crucifixion and death of Christ. This family operated as a happy family inspite of these troubles and travails of life.
St Paul insists in his letter to the Colossians that the following virtues must never lack in any holy family;
(i) Kindness and compassion, (ii) Forgiveness for each other, (iii) Peace at all cost. It is only a devotion to the Word of God that ensures this. The following virtues are more specifically required from each stake holder in the family circle;
(i) Wives must be subject to their husbands. (ii) Husbands must love their wives and do not be harsh with them. (iii) Children must obey their parents in everything holy. (iv) Parents must never provoke their children. I pity the home where every one is the head. In every administrative organigram there must be a superordinate. In a Christian home, it must be the man (all things being equal). Feminists must take note of this! The fourth commandment is never discarded until both parents and spouses are dead.

D. CONCLUSION
Let me conclude with these 7 ‘C’ s of family holiness according to Dr Paul Kelly:
(i) Commitment (ii) Communication (iii) Compatibility (iv) Compassion (v) Confession (vi) Conviviality (vii) Children’s cooperation. Every Christian family is a communion of Saints – They are mystically connected to God and to one another. Many are having more high blood pressure , ulcers, cancers and a lot of mental problems today artificially induced or exercebated when this connection is disrupted by quarrels. Perfect family fellowship influences perfect Parish fellowship which in turn influences world fellowship. Our society is getting highly distracted by a number of wrong values (such as materialism, immorality, impatience, violence, etc) just because the family life is being neglected. There children are trained even before they are sent to schools. Nowadays it is becoming quite unfortunate that parents no longer have the time to teach their children any good values including their native language / mother tongue. Even children born in Nsukka here are no longer able to speak in their Igbo language talk more of dialect because parents don’t have time to stay at home with them anymore. A Christian family is a miniature Church. Let us ensure that there is peace in our families by planting the virtues of faith, peace and love. May God bless all families today!

FOR SIMILAR HOMILY, CLCIK HERE >>>