SUNDAY HOMILY FOR FEAST OF HOLY FAMILY – YEAR B  (Dec. 31 2023 )

SUNDAY HOMILY FOR FEAST OF HOLY FAMILY – YEAR B  (Dec. 31 2023 )

BY: Rev Fr Stephen ‘Dayo Osinkoya

Gen. 15:1-6; 21:1-3
Ps. 105
Heb. 11:8. 11-12. 17-19
Luke 2:22-40

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. On the last Sunday of the year, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family.  We are here to offer all the members of our own families on the altar for God’s blessing. This feast reminds us that we are part of a human family and at the same time we belong to God’s family, the Church. In both these families, we have privileges and responsibilities. In both, we work out our salvation together — as women, men, and children living and working in love and peace. Hence let us try our best to make life pleasant for other members in our family, and let us begin again today.

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On this day we are all called to take some time and reflect on the nature and drive of faith within our families. First and foremost, we must accept the truth that there is no perfect, made from heaven family on earth.  Every family has its own challenges. Abraham and Sarah had their own period of family trial and agony when no child was forthcoming despite God’s promise to Abraham. So also did Joseph and Mary had their own trial very early on in their family life.

The flame of faith therefore is what we all need to fan well in these moments of family trials and challenges, making Jesus the center of our home and then we would see Jesus come to sanctify our family. The first thing Jesus sanctified by his presence was a family home – the poor home Mary prepared for Joseph and their newborn Son.  And because the family is so important, the first instrument he uses to draw men to himself is the family. We could see how the Holy Family immediately attracted the wise men and the shepherds to come and adore the Infant Jesus, because Jesus was at the center of their life. In this way the Holy Family is the greatest example we have ever been given for how our own families should be formed: centered on Jesus. So on this day, we should ask ourselves “is there anything beautiful and attractive about our family that could draw people to us and therefore to Christ? Is Jesus the center of our family life?

There is this interesting story about porcupines. An extremely cold winter was coming and the porcupines had to find a way to survive. At first, they decided to group together to keep warm and protect one another. But unfortunately, their sharp spiky quills poked at each other as their huddled together, so they dispersed. Of course this left them exposed to the bitter cold and they started to freeze to the point of death. So they had to make a fundamental life or death choice – either they stay apart and die, or they tolerate and accept each other’s thorns and survive. And to think of it, we are a bit like porcupines. We have our own “spiky quills” and with that we hurt others and others hurt us too.

At times, living as members of the family can be so painful and hurtful, that we think it might be better off living alone. But if the porcupines know how to stay together in order to survive, then we must also learn to accept and live with the spiky quills and thorns of others. A senior Judge of the Supreme Court congratulated the bride and groom in a marriage with a pertinent piece of advice: “See that you never convert your family into a courtroom; instead let it be a confessional. If the husband and wife start arguing like attorneys in an attempt to justify their behavior, their family becomes a court of law and nobody wins.  On the other hand, if the husband and the wife — as in a confessional — are ready to admit their faults and try to correct them, the family becomes a heavenly one.”

The Feast of the Holy Family is not just about the Holy Family, but about our own families too. The main purpose of the Feast is to present the Holy Family as the model for all Christian families. The Holy Family showed us how to live together in love and to bear the pain together.

Let us on this feast of the Holy Family, pray to Mary, Joseph and Jesus to help us strengthen the family that God has given to us.
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