The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
My family is a complete and total disaster. But, we are a holy family. We are holy not because we are perfect and we get along and all agree on things. We are holy because we love each other. And the proof of that love is that how imperfect we are; how we don’t always get along; how often we disagree about things and yet we choose to love each other. Perfection is not what make us holy. Love is what makes us holy. And love is not a feeling, it is a choice. Therefore, holiness is not a feeling or appearance, holiness is a choice.
Today we celebrate the holy family. And when we look at Jesus, Mary and Joseph I think it is easy to forget that they were not a holy family because they were perfect; they were a holy family because of their love. We look at pristine images of a nativity scene (like the quilt in the sanctuary) and think “well, my family is not like that, so my family is not holy.” Sometimes I even get mad at the Holy Family thinking, “it was easy for you guys. Jesus was God so he was always perfect. Mary was conceived without original sin so she never messed up. And then there was Joseph.” By the way, I think it is interesting to think about when the Holy Family was having a problem, they would have known it was Joseph’s fault. I imagine those family meetings just being Joseph saying, “sorry, it’s my fault again.” But what made the Holy Family holy was not their perfection; it was their love.
And what makes our family holy is not perfection. It is our choice to love. In fact, I am willing to say that if your family is a bit of a disaster like mine, then this is even a greater sign of the holiness of your family. We are not holy because we are perfect or get along or agree on things. We are a holy family because we choose to love each other no matter what disaster our family might be. The beauty of family is that it shows this unconditional love. That there is no condition or our families and relationships that can get in the way of our love. No matter how much of a disaster it might be, we still choose to love. This is a holy family. Give me that family over the pristine looking family any day. What makes our families holy is not perfection. It is our choice to love each other even in imperfections.