Sirach 3: 2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3: 12-21; Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23 (Sunday, December 30, 2007 - Feast of the Holy Family)

Throughout the period of advent, we hoped for the coming of the savior. As the people of Judah, they hoped that soon, their savior would come, the Immanuel who would be the king of Zion. All people shall rejoice because he would rule with justice and people would reign upon the world. Mary and Joseph also relied on the message of the angel, that they shall have a son, and his name would be Immanuel. That night when Jesus was born, most have been a night of great excitement for Mary and Joseph, finally, they have received this child of promise, the expected Messiah. As with most great gifts, they come with a lot of challenges. The first challenge for the parents of Jesus is to take this infant child and leave for Egypt because Herod wants to destroy the child. They have to protect Jesus from the evil of Herod. Immediately Joseph receives this vision, he fled to Egypt. This intended destruction of Jesus was not going to affect only Jesus, neither was it going to affect “The Holy Family” alone, but it was going to affect the whole world.
Today, family life is facing destruction. The destruction comes from different kinds of Herod’s: Television, violent video games, Internet, sexual predators, etc. Family life is under attack by secularists who promote homosexual marriages, abortion as a right, contraception as natural, global warming as a myth. When parents look back how things have changed since the last fifty years and the pace in which things are changing, there are so much concerned about the future of their children. They ask legitimate questions such as: Would the environment be conducive for our children to live? Would homosexual marriages and abortion become the norm and heterosexual marriages an exception? They cannot reconcile what the future looks like the promises and hopes that the birth of Christ offers. As a result, many Christians have given up hope in the proper raising of their children, and they have transferred the responsibility to the government.
Christians today look to the government to make laws banning abortion. They expect the government to restrict or condemn the use of contraception. They want the government to make laws that cap emmissions or force companies and citizens to be green. It is wrong for Christians to sit and expect the government to make laws that would tell them how to live out their Christian values. Christians know that abortion is wrong, so they should not patronize abortion clinics. If all the Christians in this country will stop visiting abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood, they would go out of business. Their influence would be enormous in changing the society. In the ancient Roman empire, abortion, infanticide, and sexual promiscuity were a culture. The Christians did not wait for Constantine to become Christian in order to change that culture. They did not even wait for their local representatives to make laws that would outlaw abortion, infanticide and sexual promiscuity. They lived radically their Christian lives, stayed away from immoral behaviors and lived truly the Christian difference. It was this way of living in the light of Christ that gradually began to transform the society. Constantine had no option than to become Christian because despite the many years of suppression of Christianity, his empire was more and more becoming Christian. The light of Christ was shinning everywhere in the empire and people were converting in large numbers. Don’t wait to elect a Republican or a Democrat to go change the laws, they would not. It is all politics. Rather, be the light of Christ that would first transform your family and then your community, the nation and the whole world. Christians must begin to truly live out what they profess. If you care about the future of your children, cut energy consumption, don’t use contraception, don’t visit abortion clinics, don’t support gay marriages, not even when it is a family member.
Today, the family of Jesus and Mary teaches us that we can overcome challenges and I want to declare 2008 as our year of victory - a year of victory for family life. If you want this victory, you have to be ready to do a few things.

Ø Make Jesus a center of your family. For many people, Jesus is that guy we come to Church every Sunday to worship. The answer is wrong. Jesus is the Immanuel - God always with us. You have to make him an active member of your family. For some of you, you have very big homes, but there is not even a corner for Jesus in our homes. While we have rooms that no one has slept in for more than six months, we do not even have a corner for Jesus to stay. I want to challenge you to bring Jesus to your home. Create a sacred space or corner in your home for Jesus and Mary. Place the images of Jesus and Mary there. Place a candle or a light there to signify his presence. Invite a priest to come bless this altar or space for you. Make it truly a holy space. From there, graces would be poured upon your home. The peace, love and joy of Jesus would radiate your home.

Ø Make your family truly a Church. Pope John Paul II tells us that the family is the domestic church. This is the first church. It is here that your children would first learn about their faith. It is in your family that they will learn devotions. The parish school of religion is to assist you in your work. It is more of a review process of what your children have already learnt at home. You the parents, are the primary catechists of your children. A church is a body of believers in Christ who are of one mind and spirit. This must be the attitude in your home. Every moment must be a sacramental moment – God bringing you together to share that moment.
Ø Like the Holy Family, your family must be united in love and respect. This is the love and respect that St. Paul invites us to in the second reading of today. Husbands must have sacrificial love for their wives, and wives must respect husbands and love them likewise. They must be ready to die for each other. The major cause of the breakdown of family life is lack of love and respect. Everything is looked at from the economic lenses. Family life is treated as a corporation. Remember, it is a domestic church.

Ø Parents must be parents, and children must be children. In some families, authority has changed hands. The parents have handed over the authority to the children and the children are happy with the situation. It was not meant to be that way. The first reading of today tells us that children must honor their parents. The second reading says the same thing. St. Paul tells us that the first commandment that has a promise attach to it is the honor of parents. If you honor your parents, you will live long and it will go well with you. Authority at home must return to parents.

Ø Parents live by example. Your children watch whatever you say or do and most times they will follow in your footsteps. If you don’t come to church on Sunday, no matter the amount of yelling, one of these days your child is going to stop going to church. You will not be able to stop your child from using curse words, if he always hears you use curse words. In the new year, make a resolution to live an exemplary life because the future of your children rests on what you say or do today.

If you are able to live out radically your Christian vocation in your family, you can look into the future with much hope, knowing that your children’s future is as secure as your today.