Gospel & Reflection for The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph 2025.
I called my son out of Egypt.
After Herod’s death, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you and go back to the land of Israel, for those who wanted to kill the child are dead.’ So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, went back to the land of Israel. But when he learnt that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judaea he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he left for the region of Galilee. There he settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled:
‘He will be called a Nazarene.’
Reflection
Friends, of our four Gospels, only two, Matthew and Luke, contain what we call the ‘Infancy Narratives’ of Christ – that is the accounts surrounding the conception, birth, and early life of Jesus. What is difficult for us to grasp now is just how explosive, subversive even, these infancy narratives were when they were first written.
The superpower of the world was the Roman Empire and were you to ask anyone, anywhere, within that empire just who it was that was divinely conceived, who was son of god, and the bringer of peace and good news – the answer automatically given by people would have been Caesar Augustus – the Roman Emperor. Roman mythology claimed, and Augustus encouraged these stories, that he had been conceived by the god Apollo with his mother Atia. His many titles then, some self-proclaimed included ‘son of god,’ ‘saviour,’ ‘lord,’ ‘bringer of peace/good news’ and these titles were found on coins and monuments, minted, and built in his honour.
So, the Gospels were subversive because they challenged this dominant political narrative; they directly challenged Caesar and his empire. They were saying that it was not Caesar but Jesus who was divinely conceived; Jesus who was Son of God, Saviour and Lord; and Jesus who was the bringer of true good news and peace. This was just one of reasons why the Romans persecuted Christians so cruelly.
Well, in celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family, which is part of the infancy narrative, we are celebrating a family that are as controversial now more than ever, within a world where the make-up and understanding of ‘family’ is changing daily. There was a time when we spoke of the ‘traditional family,’ and we understood what that meant. These days, our notion of family is vastly different. Society acknowledges and labels many different types of families. But just what modern society understands as ‘Family’ can be difficult to grasp.
One thing that we can say is despite the makeup of our own or any family, we all instinctively know where we belong. For most of us, we know the family that we hail from, and we are proud of them.
Even if people do not know, they can still acknowledge some family that they became part of.
But for many, the presentation of a ‘Holy Family’ is no longer relevant, insulting even. I strongly disagree though. I disagree, because the only insult to families nowadays are the labels and descriptions that many are happy to accept to describe their particular situation. Yet, in our families, regardless of the divisions that there sometimes are, the upsets, the problems, or issues which our families might have, we are still family, and as family, we are all called to love and be loyal. Most families do just that. We might fight, argue and fall-out, but mostly we circle the wagons should anything happen and back each other up as best as we can. That is family.
If there was ever a family that circled the wagons, that were there for each other through thick and thin, who kept the faith, it was the Holy Family. The Holy Family are relevant for every family because like all families they were real. They were not some exaggerated, milk of magnesia family. Their love, their problems, their struggles were real. They had much to contend with – an unexpected pregnancy; a marriage that was nearly ended as a result; homelessness, asylum in Egypt, and they remained refugees for many years before finally having some normality for a few years in Nazareth. Yet even tougher times lay ahead for them.
The Holy Family identifies and speaks with every family in some way. They went through it all but through everything, they loved each other, and they trusted that God was with them. They are relevant for us all.
My friends, for the coming year, may God bless all your families. May you enjoy peace and health, and for any difficulties which may come your way, may the intercession of the Holy Family give you the grace, strength, and the protective love, to cope.
Fr. Richard
