Readings: 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28; Psalm 84; Colossians 3:12-21; Luke 2:41-52
Grace and peace to you my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord. We thank God for the blessings of this season.
Today is the first Sunday after Christmas and on this day, the Church customarily celebrates the feast of the Holy Family.
The essence of today is to give thanks, to pray and to reflect.
A. Thanksgiving
Today we give thanks for the gift of our family. What we have may be imperfect, wounded, damaged or difficult but we are still grateful to God. We thank God not just for our biological family but also for our larger family – that is, those who through Baptism and faith in Jesus have become our brothers and sisters (family of faith), those whom God has brought into our lives to support us (family of providence), the angels and saints in heaven and of course our deceased relatives who are with God and are praying for us (Divine family). We give thanks for all these wonderful families that we have.
B. Prayer
Today is a day for prayers for our family. Today is a day to bring the tensions, challenges and struggles of our family to the Lord. We may look very beautiful and adorable but God knows our challenges. We pray that the Lord will help us in our struggles.
We pray today for those who are divorced or separated, those in abusive relationships, those whose spouses, parents or children have departed this world, those whose spouses or children are unwell, those who have children who are not giving them joy, those who have children who have not only abandoned the faith but are breaking their hearts as a result of who they have become, those who have suffered miscarriages, those without children, those whose children are missing, those with an unfaithful spouse, those with a spouse who cares nothing about God, faith or their eternity, those whose spouses have rejected them and followed another person. We pray for families in financial difficulties. We pray for those who are remarried but unhappy, those who have abusive, manipulative, unloving or uncaring parents, partners or even children, those traumatised by their past.
May they know the love of God and the healing power of the Holy Spirit. We also pray for members of our family in Purgatory, and ask that the Lord may relieve their pains and speed them to heaven.
C. Reflect
In case any of us here is in the category of those causing others pain, or someone is here and is abusing their spouse or children, or causing their parents pain and sadness, in case someone is here who has abandoned their spouse or no longer cares about their family, in case someone is here who is making their family miserable, the Lord invites us today to a change of heart. It is not too late to repent and be forgiven and turn over a new leaf. In case we do any of these things but are unaware, may the Lord open our eyes to see who we are and the effects of our actions on others.
To the husband and wife, the message of the Lord to us this year is very simple but profound. Ponder further on this when you leave this Church. Today, the Lord is asking us, how fair, kind and considerate we are to each other? How do you, as partners, treat one another? What are the things you say to one another? How do you see one another? What do you feel for one another?
I have journeyed with and I am journeying with many couples and so I can safely say that many couples are not fair, kind and considerate to each other.
The Second reading of today tells us the virtues that should characterise family life:
“Brothers and sisters (husbands and wives), put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful…”
One of the children preparing for First Holy Communion once asked me if God can do everything. I said “Yes”, and then she said with a soberness in her voice that suggested both innocence and deep sadness, “Can He make my parents be kind to one another and stop quarrelling all the time?” I could feel her brokenness; it was incarnate in her voice. I held back my tears and told her that Jesus would do so if she continued to pray for them.
The Lord is not asking much this year. If you choose to be kind, fair, and considerate, that may be enough for now.
One thing for the children to take note of – today we see Jesus hanging out in the temple with religious teachers. He was both learning and teaching them at the same time about the important things of God and life. Jesus was hanging out with the right people. It is important that we are careful of those we hang out with or should I also say what we hang out with. We either become wiser and better or foolish and endangered depending on the people whose company we love. Your parents didn’t pay me to say this, I promise.
Finally, Jesus went with His parents and lived under their authority. This means that He (though God) was obedient to them and grateful for what He had. Obedience and gratitude make a child a source of joy and attract favour from God and people.
May the Holy Spirit bless these words in our hearts and make them fruitful. May He help us to change for the better, and heal our family. Happy feast of the Holy Family to us.
Sermon preached by Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on December 29, 2024