Homily for Sunday of the Holy Family (Year C) December 29, 2024 [With Video]

The following transcript of the homily is in the original formatting that was used for the sake of live delivery with all cues, emphasis, and notes included.

Video of the homily is also provided below.

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Transcript:

“And [they] 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. He went down with them and came to Nazareth.” Words from today’s gospel according to Luke.

In the Name of the Father + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Those of you who know a little bit of my story when it comes to the tail end of my time in seminary know how long I’ve waited to get to this point and preach to you here at this ambo.

For those who know, it came a little later than expected, but thank God that now I get to come back to a place I’ve called home since 2016,
– Home to St. Mary’s to preach the word.

But speaking of home and Mary and the word,
– Just days ago we celebrated Mary giving birth to the Word and making a home for Him.

And, oh the night when Christ was born.

What a divine night it was,
But also what a crazy night it was, too.

We can’t lie about that, y’all.

Mary and Joseph went from the hotel to the motel to even the Holiday Inn;
(say what), but they couldn’t make it in.

But Mary was in labor, and Jesus was coming,
So a shack in a cave with animals had to do.

And the arms of Mary became a dwelling place for the Word who “became flesh and dwelled among us.”

And, with Joseph standing guard, the shack in a cave with animals was made into a home with a Holy Family in it.

God, man, and even the beasts of the field were all dwelling together in peace,
– And WHAT AN IMAGE this is,
– Because this is WHAT IT WAS in the beginning before sin came into the world

And this is what the coming of Jesus was meant to ultimately restore,

Thus in this moment the Holy Family modeled creation’s restoration to be a holy family with the Father who created it.
But let us leave that meditation for another homily,

Because soon after,

the Magi will come and the Holy Family will be back on the move.

And eventually they will gather their things and take Jesus home.

Home to be a Holy Family in Nazareth.

And a Holy Family fulfills holy obligations,
– So we see this same Holy Family 12 years later going up to the Holy City Jerusalem for the feast of Passover in our gospel this Sunday.

As Christians we believe in the truth and power of the foreshadowing of Scripture by other Scripture,

And so have you ever noticed how the Christmas story foreshadows the finding of Jesus in the temple in the gospel reading today?

Mary received Jesus in her womb, and for 9 months (that’s 3 sets of 3 months) neither Mary nor Joseph saw Him.

But on a most joyful day after much waiting and dwelling in a place they did not live in they finally found Him,

And they found Him after He had been in a holy temple, a temple He had to be in for a time,
– the temple of Mary’s womb where the Holy Spirit conceived the Son of God.

And the world needing a savior asked Christ, “We saw the signs, and You had finally come, but where were You?”
And He answered,
“Did you not know I must be in my mother’s house?”

Then once Mary and Joseph found Him they took Jesus home to be a Holy Family.

And then in our gospel we have Mary and Joseph,

having already long received Jesus,

they lost Him and did not see Him for 3 days.

But on a most consoling day after much waiting and dwelling in a place they did not live in they finally found Him in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem,

And a mother who needed her baby Boy asked Him, “Son, why have you done this to us?”
And He answered,

“Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Then once Mary and Joseph found Him they took Jesus home to be a Holy Family.

There is a pattern here that captured US within its rhythm.

For sometimes, though we have received Jesus in our baptism and in the Eucharist we cannot see the Word made flesh living in us,

And we wait for Jesus to come to birth in our lives and show Himself so we can find Him.

Sometimes, it can seem in some way that we have lost Jesus back at the temple of the Church and don’t have Him out in the world or in our homes and have to go back to find Him again.

Either way, there comes a point where the one thing we want to do is find Jesus and take Him home in our lives and, with the Church, be a holy family with Him.

Because just as it is only with Jesus that Mary and Joseph became a Holy Family,
 – It is only with Jesus that the Church is a holy family.

And it is only with the Son of God that we can become children of God in the holy family of the Church.

Mary and Joseph found Jesus at the manger in Bethlehem and at the temple in Jerusalem, and each time they took Him home as a Holy Family to Nazareth.
– How could they do any different?

We find Jesus in the recounting of His birth in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist at the altar, and afterwards we must take Him home, too, as little holy families to Nashville and throughout the whole diocese wherever we live.
– How could WE do any different?

We do this by finding how Jesus the Word wants to not only speak to us but to live in the cave of our hearts and minds through the readings at Mass,

And then we need to respond by giving His message a well furnished room in our lives at home.

We do this by finding Jesus, the Word made flesh,

at the manger, the feeding trough that is the altar rail, in this “house of bread”, we call St. Mary’s,

And by bringing the meaning of His nativity to our city.

And the good news is that this is meant for everyone in every home,

From the married, to the single, to the childless, to the widow,
– Jesus will not spurn your opportunity to be a holy family for Him.

And the result of this will be the furthering of growth in our status as children of God because we have let the Son of the Father live among us in our homes as little holy families.

And like the Apostle John says in our second reading,
– we will be like God because for we shall see God the Son in our lives by believing in His name,
– we shall truly love one another by loving the Son,
– we shall follow God’s commandments and do what pleases Him,
– and we shall remain in God and He in us from the Spirit He gave us.

It is by being with His Child that we become His children in the holy family that is the Church.

And in a few moments we will take His Child to be within us.

And we will take Jesus home to be a Holy Family.

In the Name of the Father + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Video:

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Given at St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows Catholic Church in Nashville, TN.