{"id":1746,"date":"2015-12-27T13:05:33","date_gmt":"2015-12-27T18:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=1746"},"modified":"2015-12-27T13:05:33","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T18:05:33","slug":"holy-family-sunday-year-c-homily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/holy-family-sunday-year-c-homily\/","title":{"rendered":"Holy Family Sunday, Year C – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holy Family, Year C<\/a>
\n1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28
\n1 John 3:1-2, 21-24
\nLuke 2:41-52
\nDecember 27, 2015<\/p>\n

We just<\/em><\/strong> celebrated Christmas and now we hear Jesus is twelve years old.\u00a0 Boy, they do grow up fast!<\/p>\n

Well, actually that\u2019s not the point of today\u2019s gospel.\u00a0 I see two purposes behind this gospel.\u00a0 First, it shows us that Jesus was raised in a faithful family who followed the Jewish customs, including coming to Jerusalem for the Passover each <\/em>year.<\/p>\n

It also tells us that Jesus\u2019 wisdom, even at the age of twelve, surpassed the human knowledge of the scholars in the Temple.\u00a0 As an adult Jesus will offer us the Truth and explain what it really means for us.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s feast of the Holy Family is about the first, what it means to be faithful.<\/p>\n

For Jesus\u2019 family, it meant celebrated the Passover.\u00a0 Easter becomes the Passover for Christians but for us the Passover meal has become the Eucharist that we celebrate weekly and even daily.<\/p>\n

In Jesus\u2019 day being faithful meant being circumcised.\u00a0 This marked giving your life to the Lord.\u00a0 For us as Christians this happens in baptism where we are given new life and become children of God.<\/p>\n

Being a family today can be a challenge.\u00a0 Being a faithful <\/em>family is even harder.<\/p>\n

Life of 2,000 years ago seems simpler.\u00a0 When Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph and Mary lost Jesus.\u00a0 This is never a good thing but who could imagine these circumstances today.\u00a0 They had been to Jerusalem for the Passover and were returning home in the caravan.\u00a0 Mary and Joseph feel safe in assuming he is with them somewhere in the caravan.\u00a0 Would you do this today?\u00a0 Don\u2019t you make sure you have all your kids with you when you leave?<\/p>\n

We baptize our kids but how much do we make sure they practice their faith?\u00a0 I was baptized when I was ten months old but we didn\u2019t always go to church.\u00a0 When I turned twelve and was confirmed, we stopped going at all.\u00a0 NOT a good thing!\u00a0 I knew of the faith but I wasn\u2019t truly committed to the faith.<\/p>\n

We can mean the best but we live in a very busy world that pulls us in many different directions.\u00a0 Kids today are involved in many different activities.\u00a0 I might speculate that for some families, the only time they truly spend together<\/em> is when they are in the car driving someplace.\u00a0 Is this really \u201cfamily time\u201d?\u00a0 Mom might be driving Julie to one activity while Dad is driving Bobby to a different activity.<\/p>\n

How many of these activities occur on Sunday morning?\u00a0 How easy is it to say missing Mass one Sunday really isn\u2019t that important?\u00a0 One Sunday becomes two, two becomes three,\u2026<\/p>\n

For those who feel missing one Sunday at church doesn\u2019t matter, I invite you ponder missing one Sunday in relation to missing one sports\/play practice or game.\u00a0 Why is it OK to miss church but not a practice?<\/p>\n

Before I keep going down this path, let\u2019s get back to the topic of being a family.\u00a0 What does it mean to you to be a family?\u00a0 Do you spend any time together?\u00a0 Do you sit down together for dinner?\u00a0 Do you know what is going on in each other\u2019s lives? For adults, how much contact do you have with your siblings?\u00a0 Here, social media can give us a false impression.\u00a0 You can put a lot of words on social media but are you really \u201ccommunicating\u201d anything?\u00a0 Do you really know how the other person is feeling<\/em>?<\/p>\n

I mean none of this to be judgmental.\u00a0 We live in a challenging time.\u00a0 There is divorce.\u00a0 I know because my parents divorced when I was ten years old.\u00a0 This changed what it meant to be a family for me growing up.<\/p>\n

I spoke about communicating with family.\u00a0 I have to admit, except for my dad, I don\u2019t have a lot of communication with my family.<\/p>\n

Being a family takes work.\u00a0 Are we committed to the work?\u00a0 How about our role as children of God?\u00a0 Are we committed to our spiritual family where God is our Father?\u00a0 Might there be a New Year\u2019s Resolution here?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holy Family, Year C 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24 Luke 2:41-52 December 27, 2015 We just celebrated Christmas and now we hear Jesus is twelve years old.\u00a0 Boy, they do grow up fast! Well, actually that\u2019s not the point of today\u2019s gospel.\u00a0 I see two purposes behind this gospel.\u00a0 First, it shows …<\/p>\n

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