This Sunday we commemorate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. But there is another holy family which is celebrated today. It is the family of Abraham, first chosen by God to bring salvation to the broken world of Adam and Eve, the salvation which is completed by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The plan of salvation first begins when God calls Abraham, originally known as Abram, from his clan and country, Haran, and instructs him to migrate to the land of Canaan, eventually known as the Promised Land. God makes a covenant with Abram and offers a three-fold promise of land, nation, and blessing (Gen. 12:1-9). God also reveals to Abram that in God’s special promise to him lies the solution to the entire human predicament: “All of the families of the earth will find blessings in you.” (Gen. 12:3).
In the First Reading from Genesis (Gen. 15:1-6; 21:1-3) we hear a renewal of this covenant promise to Abram when, in a vision, the LORD reminds him he will be greatly rewarded. But Abram has already encountered some difficulties in his service to God, having had to migrate to Egypt to avoid the adversity of famine in Canaan, and his faith has begun to waiver.
Abram wonders how he can possibly achieve the end which God has promised as his wife, Sarah, has remained barren. He complains to God, “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? See, you have given me no offspring, and so, one of my servants will be my heir.” (Gen. 15:2-3).
But God tells Abram that he will, indeed, have his own heir and that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abram believes that God will do this for him, and so, “Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.” (Gen. 15:6).
This “act of righteousness” of Abram signifies his close relationship with God, one of loyalty, trust, and confidence. Later in the story God will once again renew the covenant with Abram, at that time exalting his name to Abraham (Gen. 17:5). And eventually, God will fulfill the promise to Abraham by enabling Sarah to conceive and bare his son, who is named Isaac.
St. Paul speaks of the righteousness of Abraham saying, “Those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith.” (Gal. 3:9). This, of course, would include the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph who, as Jews, were direct descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Isaac’s son, Jacob, the father of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
When we get to the Gospel from Luke (Lk. 2:22-40) we know that the members of the Holy Family have already had their faith tested and also endured a number of difficult ordeals. But, like Abraham, they have remained righteous, placing their hope and trust in God’s providence.
When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would conceive and bare a son by the power of the Holy Spirit, she trusted God. She accepted, allowing it to be done to her according to God’s word. Mary believed this miracle could happen, like Abraham, who “by faith received the power to generate … for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.” (Heb. 11:11).
When Joseph was required to take his wife in the advanced stage of pregnancy to Bethlehem to enroll in the census, and when he was forced to flee with his young family to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod, he, too, displayed his faith and trust in God. Like Abraham, “he obeyed by faith when he was called to go out to a place, not knowing where he was to go.” (Heb. 11:8).
In today’s passage Joseph and Mary again show their dedication to faith by dutifully completing the law of Moses which requires purification following childbirth. They bundle up the baby Jesus and take him to Jerusalem in order to consecrate him to the Lord, along with their offering of two turtledoves. In the Temple they meet a devout man, Simeon, and a prophetess, Anna, both of whom immediately recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Simeon describes the salvation that Jesus brings as, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” (Lk. 2:32).
Simeon then blesses the Holy Family, but he also gives Mary a warning, “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…” (Lk.2:34-35a).
After this incident, the Holy Family return to their hometown of Nazareth where Jesus is raised in the faith of his parents becoming filled with wisdom. Some thirty years later, the time will come for Jesus to demonstrate the righteousness of Abraham, by offering himself on the cross for the redemption of our sins. Jesus with faith and trust in the Father willingly obliges, going freely to his passion and death. For like Abraham, Jesus “reasoned that God was able to even raise from the dead.” (Heb. 11:19).
St. Paul tells us, “We are all children of God in Christ Jesus. And if we belong to Christ, then we are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise.” (Gal. 3:26,29).
What Paul is saying is that, even as Gentiles (non-Jews), all members of the Christian community are called to the same righteousness as Abraham and enjoy the blessing of salvation promised to him and perfected through Jesus. This is why we anxiously await the arrival of our Savior this Advent Season, as the Church, the holy family of God.
