Merry Christmas to All!

Merry Christmas! But let me go farther. The word “merry” is indeed a great one. It means cheerful, lively, exciting, a time full of merriment. But while Christmas should indeed be merry, isn’t Christmas much, much, much more than that? Truly, “Merry” does not do justice to the mystery of faith we celebrate. And so, I wish you a Joyous Christmas – full of the deep powerful joy, fulfillment and peace that comes from God. I wish you a Wonderful Christmas – in which that child-like sense of wonder and awe is awakened within us and we stand astonished before the amazing love of God. I wish you a Blessed Christmas – for indeed the Birth of Jesus blesses us in ways we could never have imagined.   

The wonder of Christmas is of such beauty and importance that in the Church’s liturgy it unfolds over a period of twelve days. Today, the Fifth Day of Christmas, is also the Feast of the Holy Family. 

Think for the moment of Jesus growing up, first in exile as immigrants in the strange land of Egypt where his parents fled to save him from Herod, and later in the home at Nazareth. Mary and Joseph changed his diapers, taught him to walk and talk, taught him the prayers precious to them as good Jews. As he grew, Jesus had chores to do. He played with the neighboring children and certainly must have fallen and skinned his knees and elbows like any precocious little boy. I can picture him coming home in tears with a scrape, and Mary cleansing the wound and kissing him to “make it better.” He was given enough education to be able to read the Scriptures in the synagogue. As he grew, he learned Joseph’s trade. As we see in the incident when he was lost in the Temple at age 12, his parents did not always understand him (as parents and children do not always understand each other today). His family was like our families! 

The family of Jesus had its stresses and strains, its economic challenges (which must have been particularly difficult dur ing their exile). It can be easy for us to romanticize the Holy Family, but that would miss the mark. As St. Paul reminds us, Jesus emptied himself and became like us in all things but sin (Philippians 2:7). He was not pretending. He chose to share our life to the full, not to put on an act or go through the motions. Family life is a great challenge in our age, but it has been so in every age. So, we look to Mary, Joseph and Jesus not to escape the challenges of family life, but to learn how to face those challenges with courage and wisdom and grace. We call them the “Holy” Family not because life was smooth, not because they had everything under control, not because they had all the answers, but because they faced all those challenges with trust in God. Joseph and Mary and Jesus knew that God loved them and walked with them. That is what lifted them up. That is what gave them hope. And that is what gives us hope! Just as surely, God loves each and every one of us! Just as surely, God walks with is!

Our families have various shapes and sizes. Our families need to cope with their misunderstandings and struggles. Cer tainly, our families have their imperfections. And this is also true of our parish family! But God walks with us even in the mess, even in the valleys of darkness.

Whether we are currently alone or living with family members, whether we have close ties or are alienated from family members, let us all pray we take to heart the wisdom of the Holy Family – the awareness that God’s love abides with us.

 Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us!