HOMILY YEAR A 2025
FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY AND ALSO CELEBRATION OF FAMILY LIFE
Mt 2.13-15,19-23 Ecc 3.2-6,12-14 Col 3.12-21
Today we turn to Matthew’s Gospel for an account of the Flight into Egypt, where Jesus personifies the second Moses, who led God’s People to freedom from slavery in Egypt somewhere around 1300BC. Jesus is protected in Egypt, but returns to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph as the anointed one, consecrated by God to lead the new Exodus into the freedom of the Kingdom of God he ultimately proclaims.
So, we have gathered as people of Christian faith, to celebrate the birth of Jesus among us, revealing in his presence and person a God of life and love, and we wonder at the mystery of it all. It’s a simple story of ordinary people of their time, young Mary and Joseph, accepting in faith their role in raising Jesus, as loving parents, and taking responsibility for his care and growth into adulthood.
I always say the Holy Family, whose feast we celebrate this weekend, is hardly a realistic role model for family life, given the unusual relationship between Mary and Joseph, and Jesus, the perfect child growing up, even though he did stay behind in the Temple, when he was about 12, seemingly without telling his parents. At the same time, as the story goes, once they found him, he complied with their wishes and continued to be subject to their authority!
We can idealize family as nuclear, with father and mother and children, but in reality, there are many variations, in how children are raised in human societies, and where family relationships can break down, given the our psychological and emotional complexity, imperfections in human nature and behaviour, and the unpredictable circumstances of life, as I can reflect on, after nearly 40 years as a Judge in the Marriage Tribunal. There is nothing sacred in an abusive or dysfunctional relationship, from which one has a basic right to be free.
Christmas can be a complicated and difficult time for some, where there have been conflicts and differences in family life. Once partners and in-laws come into the picture, there can be added tensions in relationships, and there is a real need for compromise, co-operation, understanding and acceptance. Different personalities and outlooks can complicate things too. We need to be resilient and open, rather than just expecting others to fit in with our expectations. Then there is the need for forgiveness, and letting go of past hurts, without necessarily forgetting, but learning from our mistakes and resolving to do better.
Once more, Gospel values come into it, from the faith perspective, where Jesus reminds us that family is more than just nuclear, with parents and siblings, and then grandchildren, although we know, from our own experience, that these relationships are fundamentally important. He speaks of his family as “whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Mt 12.50).
In recent times, also, there have been references to “ordo amoris, a medieval concept of the order of charity, a hierarchy of importance of family, friends and others who were different. It was Pope Leo, as Bishop Robert Prevost, who publicly corrected this distortion of the Christian perspective, simply pointing out that “Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others”.
And, while I generally use today’s second reading at Baptisms, from Paul to the Colossians, wherein he gives some good advice, it needs qualifying, as it’s not a matter of husbands calling the shots, but more about equal partnership of life and love, and it’s good for children to listen to their parents and vice versa, but they have a right to ask questions too!
I also like to think of some unusual families as reflecting positive family values, with ‘The Addams Family’ as one, and ‘The Munsters’, as another. In each of these slightly dark, but insightful comedies, there are things to be learned, such as respect for the elderly, acceptance and appreciation of differences, encouragement of and interest in children, and genuine loving relationships, within unusual circumstances, as with Morticia and Gomez, and Hermann and Lily, then Grandmama, Uncle Fester and Grandpa, children Pugsley and Wednesday, and young Eddie! They all seem to get on happily enough together, accepting each other for who they are.
2025 has, in many ways, been a terrible year, particularly with the recent tragic event in our own backyard at Bondi, but in terms of ongoing conflicts, abuse of human rights, increasing division and a tendency for dictatorships rather than open and free democracies. At the same time, we Christians are called to be people of hope, despite the things that go wrong.
And as we have celebrated the birth of Jesus among us, we also celebrate and give thanks for family life, as faithful people of peace, good will, hope, joy, generosity, love and forgiveness, in the spirit of the season. Let’s hope, pray and work for a better 2026.
So now it’s wishing all a happy, healthy and safe New Year to all.
john hannon 28th December 2025