Walking with Jesus on the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

For Sunday, December 28, 2025

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3:12-21; Matthew 3:13-15, 19-23


The days of Thanksgiving have been absorbed in our preparations for Christmas, and the festivities are now being committed to memory, under different headings: so much done in so little time … great fellowship … difficult times … hard times … frustrated times … loved ones getting older ... young ones older … teens getting as old as us. And so we arrive at a new year, 2026 — and the feast of the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We look at them and to them for help, guidance and love, and they too are looking at us because God loves each one, all the time, and is leading us to love as He is preparing His reception in heaven for us and the loved people who have touched us. We could say our loving has been great, poor, mediocre in these days, while God’s loving has been deep, penetrating, constant. We come today to match our responsibilities with His love; to match our love with God’s all-encompassing love.

We look to the readings, all of which highlight the relational character of family life. Sirach highlights some of the dynamics of family living and the responsibilities of living in the ancient world. In Psalm 128, David brings out the advantages of living out family codes. Paul teaches the Colossians that we as Christians are to treat our relations as members of God’s family. And Jesus paints the picture of a family that follows the directives of God.

So much has been written about family values — but what are they? We've all had rules — written maybe, spoken definitely, even merely assumed — that’s where the problems originated in our families. Sirach sketches a picture of ancient family customs. Looking at them we obviously observe the values of mutuality, respect and service between husband and wife, parents and children, young and old. Times may be different but some are spot-on: The son, once dependent on the father, now becomes his caretaker. Roles switch all over the place, but mutual respect for those in need remains a constant. Is this the same in our lives? Why not?

Due to our many varieties of cultural differences we live these values in many ways. But mutuality, sharing feelings, mutual respect, and care for those in need remain constant. When we see hurt, anger, misuse, physical or emotional abuse — do we continue these abuses? There are far too many corners of the world where abuse reigns, and no group or culture seems to be spared its horror. Sirach's message holds true today. And: Do we reflect on how Jesus was abused — by religious leaders, clergy, His own neighbors, friends, family, followers and all who screamed for His crucifixion? Would we have stood among His detractors?

How are we to understand the Church as the Family of God? Certainly the same values of mutuality, respect and service bind the family of God together. Paul says that the virtues, the characteristics, the models Jesus thoroughly embraced — compassion, patience, forgiving and loving — can be keystones of our daily living. But are they? Are we compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient with those who are strangers? Society tells us to be suspicious, cautious. In Paul’s reading today, isn't it amazing that we see most of all that we are to forgive? It’s amazing how many people, institutions, cultures, and countries we have problems with because of the leftover animosities we're holding onto. It is hard when we’re the hurt one. But Jesus forgave from the cross, and we can’t even forgive from our living room or favorite chair.

The Holy Family is the model for both our natural family and the family of God. Our lives have been marred with pain and misunderstandings ... love and borderline rejections … unexplained dislike ... all contributing to the breakdown of families. Ours is a dangerous world for children. Dianne Bergant, a professor of biblical studies at Catholic Theological Union, writes:

Joseph was open and obedient to the directives of God. For the sake of the safety of the child, he willingly leaves behind the familiar life he must have known and with Mary journeys to a foreign land. He is the model of a parent who puts the needs of the child before his own. Our children are not our possessions; they are our treasure and our legacy. They have been entrusted to us by God. In Joseph we see one who took this trust very seriously. This story is a marvelous example of family values in operation. [Preaching the New Lectionary, Year A; Dianne Bergant with Richard Fragomeni; p 59.]

How can I examine and use the gifts given me by the Spirit to live as a beloved child of God? That is what I am. Do I understand and believe this? Jesus told us this!

So I reflect on:

• I yearn for peace, but life can be messy. What is in Jesus’ eyes when He looks at me? How can I be enveloped by Christmas peace through that loving gaze? Much of togetherness is communicated with my eyes. Storytellers suggest looking at people with two seconds of loving eye contact. Try this and see who responds.

Sacred Space 2026 states:

“Almost nothing has gone as the Holy Family might have expected. First, having to uproot themselves from Bethlehem, they find themselves forced to travel to Egypt to escape the murderous tactics of King Herod, and even after his death it seems safest to travel northward to the little village of Nazareth. We can visualize their plight and are reminded of it by the many migrants who find themselves in equally hazardous conditions today, with nowhere safe to lay their heads, and in need of the support, care, and guidance of those around them to stay afloat.”