Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Reflection: Family, promise and legacy
By SISTER CAROL DEMPSEY
The readings for the feast of the Holy Family are about family, promise, faith and legacy.
Abram, concerned about an heir, has a heart-to-heart talk with God about his and Sarah’s childlessness. God quells Abram’s anxiety. In addition to having promised Abram land, God now promises him an heir, one who will be his own offspring. Abram and Sarah will have a son. Furthermore, Abram’s descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky.
What marvelous promises!
Abram’s further response is to trust God who views Abram’s decision as an act of righteousness. God fulfills the divine promise; Sarah bears a son whom Abram calls Isaac. As the inheritor of the divine covenant and the promises God made with Abram, Isaac later becomes Israel’s second great patriarch. Abram now has an heir, and he and Sarah now have not only a family but also a future legacy.
In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul briefly recounts three Genesis stories about Abraham: his call narrative, God’s covenant promise with him and the eventual birth of Isaac and later descendants, and the binding and near sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. Paul uses Abraham as his primary example to showcase faith as well as the beneficence of God who is faithful to divine promises made. Paul echoes the theme of Abraham’s descendants being as numerous as the stars in the sky but he adds that they will also be as countless as the sands on the seashore. Embedded in Paul’s message is the recognition of Abraham’s descendants as his legacy.
Such is the legacy bequeathed to all of us who dare to embody the life of Christ through our lives, who are willing to live as part of his “family,” and who choose to love those who walk in Jesus’ footsteps.
The Gospel reading also focuses on family, faith, promises fulfilled and legacy. Joseph and Mary take their young child Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to God in the Temple as was the custom dictated by the law given to Moses. In the Temple, the family meets Simeon who was divinely promised that he would not die until he had seen the Christ of the Lord. With faith in God and God’s promise, Simeon waits.
To his delight, he not only meets Jesus but also embraces him; therein, God’s promise to Simeon is fulfilled. In the Temple, the family also encounters Anna, a devout prophetess. Both she and Simeon speak about the child and his future mission- though Anna’s words are not articulated by the Gospel writer. Joseph and Mary’s family legacy will involve having a son who will bring hope and contradiction to a world waiting for salvation and liberation.
In sum, all three readings center on family, faith and legacy. Abraham and Sarah, Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna were all righteous people of deep faith. All received divine promises that God fulfilled because they believed. These readings invite us to think about family, to re-evaluate our understanding of legacy, and to believe whole-heartedly in the One whose word and promises are true.
As 2023 draws to a close, we recall major events that have happened this year in our church and world. In Rome, Catholic clergy and laypeople gathered at the Vatican Oct. 4-29 for a synod to discuss synodality, with an emphasis on communion, participation and mission. As Carolyn Weir Herman wrote for America, the synod working document underscores the problem of sexism in the church and highlights the need for women to have meaningful roles in ecclesial life.
In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, heads of state, ministers and negotiators, along with climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives and CEOs met from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 for the United Nations climate change conference, known as COP28, the largest annual gathering on climate action. The summit began as new reports showed that the planet is set to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming sooner than expected. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Russia, Ukraine, Africa and many other parts of the world conflicts and wars rage on.
Against this backdrop, the post-Christmas liturgical season invites us to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The readings for this Sunday’s feast day are as varied as this year’s events, and yet, when read in the context of our present world, we see how they provide us with insight and challenges.
Two of the readings today are about family. The first reading from Genesis sets the stage for the flourishing of the Israelite community. The story’s main characters, Abraham and Sarah, are about to start a family, the fulfillment of a promise made to them by the Divine One.
Interestingly, the storyline features prominently the two male characters: the deity and Abraham. The male deity singles out another male out for a divine vision; he converses with him, makes him a promise, grants him a son whom the woman bears and whom Abraham names. Even though the woman, Sarah, has a major role in the development of the Israelite ancestral line, she remains in the shadows as the deity “takes note” of her and allows her to become pregnant so that the divine promise can be fulfilled. Never once do we hear the woman’s voice.
Embedded in many biblical stories is a culture that was patriarchal, patrilineal and male dominated. This culture embedded in most biblical texts continues to be reinscribed into today’s cultures, especially when a story like this one from Genesis is proclaimed during liturgical celebrations. Without a critical hearing of the text that beckons the preacher to preach on it in new ways that call out the story’s embedded cultural sexism, stories like this one will continue to shape our theological imagination and our experience of church.
Sarah, like many women today in our church and world, needs to be recognized and esteemed for the significant role she had — and the new roles today’s women need to assume. Unfortunately, Sarah’s role as a child bearer was a traditional role in biblical times, but this was millennia before synodality. The time has come for the church to move forward with its teachings about Scripture and its preaching on texts like this one.
The second story about family is heard in today’s Gospel reading from Luke. In this story, Mary and Joseph are careful to follow the law of Moses. They fulfill the demands of the ancient purity laws and then fulfill further prescriptions of the law that required them to present their new child to God. For this family, the Jewish laws were important and they kept them as was the custom of the day and not because of legalism. From a Christian perspective, as the Gospel stories develop, we see a shift from the Mosaic Law to the new covenant grounded in an emphasis on love and right relationship, which was also at the heart of the Law of Moses.
The theme of covenant is central to the responsorial psalm where the refrain reminds us again and again that the Divine One remembers forever the covenant made with the people. In biblical times, to be remembered by the Holy One was to be favored and blessed. All creation shares in the divine covenant and remains graced. The question is this: Have we who are believers forgotten the Holy One and in doing so, have we forgotten who we truly are? If we are remembering as we are remembered, then our engagement with the world takes on a very different tone than what is often experienced today.
Finally, the reading from Colossians beckons us, as holy and beloved people, to live differently in our world — to embrace compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and above all, love. Thus, the readings for the feast of the Holy Family invites the world’s people to turn the page of history, to embrace a new vision for 2024.
First Reading
(Sirach 3: 2-6, 12-14)
God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
When he prays, he is heard;
he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,
and, when he prays, is heard.
Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.
My son, take care of your father when he is old;
grieve him not as long as he lives.
Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him;
revile him not all the days of his life;
kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
firmly planted against the debt of your sins
—a house raised in justice to you.
OR
(Genesis 15: 1-6, 21: 1-3)
The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying:
“Fear not, Abram!
I am your shield;
I will make your reward very great.”
But Abram said,
“O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be,
if I keep on being childless
and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?”
Abram continued,
“See, you have given me no offspring,
and so one of my servants will be my heir.”
Then the word of the LORD came to him:
“No, that one shall not be your heir;
your own issue shall be your heir.”
The Lord took Abram outside and said,
“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
The LORD took note of Sarah as he had said he would;
he did for her as he had promised.
Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age,
at the set time that God had stated.
Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his
whom Sarah bore him.
Responsorial Psalm
(Psalm 128)
Second Reading
(Colossians 3: 12-21)
Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged.
OR
(Colossians 3: 12-17)
Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
OR
(Hebrews 11: 8, 11-12,17-19)
Brothers and sisters:
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance;
he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he received power to generate,
even though he was past the normal age
–and Sarah herself was sterile–
for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
himself as good as dead,
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sands on the seashore.
By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac,
and he who had received the promises was ready to offer
his only son,
of whom it was said,
“Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”
He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,
and he received Isaac back as a symbol.
Gospel
(Luke 2: 22-40)
When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
They took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
—and you yourself a sword will pierce—
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
There was also a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.
OR
(Luke 2: 22, 39-40)
When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
they took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.