The Holy Family (December 29)
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The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, & Joseph
December 29, 2024
Gospel: Luke 2: 41-52
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
Source: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122924.cfm
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Visual Arts
Holy Family
Vernon Nyagweta (Zimbabwe)
In the heart of Zimbabwe, local artists of the Shona Tribe sculpted images of the Holy Family carved into stone. Holy Family, was sculpted from springstone, a type of serpentine stone often found in Zimbabwe. This work embodies Nyagwetas understanding of the Holy Family - Joseph's care of Jesus and Mary, and Mary's love for her child. He combined different textures of rock, carving, and polish to illustrate the emotion between the Holy Family.
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Music
Joseph, Dearest Joseph Mine Blue Water Highway
(original: “Josef lieber, Josef mein”) Traditional German carol, 14th century)
Lyrics
Joseph dearest, Joseph mine,
Help me cradle the Child divine.
God reward thee and all that’s thine,
In paradise,” so prays the mother Mary.
“Gladly, dear one, Lady mine,
Help I cradle this Child of thine.”
“God’s own light on us both shall shine,
In paradise,” as prays the mother Mary.
All shall come and bow the knee;
Wise and happy their souls shall be,
Loving such a divinity as all may see
In Jesus, son of Mary.
He came among us at Christmastide,
At Christmastide, in Bethlehem;
Men shall bring him from far and wide
Love’s diadem: Jesus, Jesus,
Lo, he comes, and loves, and saves, and frees us!
Sweet and lovely, little one,
Princely, beautiful, God’s own Son,
Without thee all of us were undone;
Our love is won by thine, O son of Mary.
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Poetry
Every Family Is a Holy Family
Cameron Bellm
Every family is a holy family, if you look closely enough,
Because every person bears the breath of God.
Isn’t that the wonder of the incarnation?
It’s Joseph who waits in a cold parking lot,
Hoping for a day’s work to feed his family.
It’s Mary who cradles a crying Jesus
Under the blue tarp of a refugee camp.
It’s Joseph, too, who changes your oil,
Mary who scrubs your toilet,
Jesus who plays hide and seek
In the crowded aisles of your laundromat.
Just as the holy family sought admittance to an inn,
So these holy families seek admittance to our hearts.
May we not only gather them in,
But may we accept their welcome, too.
And as we dine together, at their table, at ours,
May we know that the bread we break is sacrament,
The communion between us—something sacred.
Amen.
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Reflection
In this week's readings, Jesus and Samuel both show us the importance of sacred space. What places have been meaningful in your walk with God? Where do you find God most clearly present?
On this feast of the Holy Family, we also recognize that our very homes can be sacred spaces. How do you express your faith at home? How might you carve out a little more intentionally sacred space there?
- How does your family life reveal God to you? How do you struggle to find God present in your family members?
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O God, grant that we may desire you, and desiring you, seek you, and seeking you, find you, and finding you, be satisfied forever.
Francis Xavier, 1506-1552
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