As you may recall, I was the chancellor of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem before I was assigned here in 2011.  In that previous position, I had the privilege of working with this international Catholic organization that supports the Christians living in the Holy Land, most particularly in the West Bank and Gaza.  We would raise approximately $10 million annually to support parishes, schools, orphanages and hospitals operating in the West Bank and Gaza.  This support was essential for the Christians who are trapped there due to the oppressive measures that the Israeli government imposes on them.  It was a daunting task back then and, as you can well imagine, it is even more daunting – and more critical – today since the Christians are among the Palestinians being targeted by Israel during this ongoing, tragic war.  I had the opportunity on several occasions to meet the then Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, a Franciscan friar who was living and serving at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.  He is now Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Patriarch of Jerusalem.  He recently sent out this message:

Around noon on December 16, 2023, a sniper of the IDF murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families has taken refuge since the start of the war.  Nahida and her daughter, Samar, were shot and killed as they walked to the Sister’s Convent.  One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety.  Seven more people were shot and wounded as they tried to protect others inside the church compound.  No warning was given, no notification was provided.  They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents.

 Earlier in the morning, a rocket fired from an IDF tank targeted the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Theresa (Missionaries of Charity).  The Convent is home to over 54 disabled persons and is part of the church compound, which was signaled as a place of worship since the beginning of the war.  The building’s generator (the only source of electricity) and the fuel resources were destroyed.  The house was damaged by the resulting explosion and massive fire.  Two more rockets, fired by an IDF tank, targeted the same Convent and rendered the home uninhabitable.  The 54 disabled persons are currently displaced and without access to the respirators that some of them need to survive.

 In addition, as a result of the heavy bombing in the area, three people have been wounded inside the church compound.  Furthermore, solar panels and water tanks, which are indispensable for the survival of the community, were destroyed. 

 We are all familiar with the spark that ignited this war when, on 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an attack against Israel and took over 240 hostages.  And, we’ve certainly heard of or read about the atrocities that both the Hamas and the Israelis have committed against innocent people throughout this war.  Unfortunately, this is just one of the most recent examples of the cruelty we humans are capable of inflicting on each other.  It all began when Cain slew Abel and it tears families apart and threatens entire nations.

In the midst of this tragic human story, God reveals his love and mercy.  And, he often does so in the context of the family.  We can easily understand why God acts within families since they are the foundation of every nation.  And so today, just a week after celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we celebrate the Holy Family into which he was born, the family of Joseph and Mary.  They were living under conditions similar to those of the Christians now living in Palestine since they were under the cruel and oppressive rule of the Roman Empire.  And yet, they put their faith in God and accepted his call to be instruments of our salvation through Mary’s son who Joseph adopted as his own, naming him Jesus as directed by an angel.

This was the fullness of God’s intervention that began when he appeared to Abraham, as we hear in this Sunday’s first reading:

The Lord took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.  Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”  Abram put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness. (Genesis 15:5 – 6).

As we continue our celebration of the Christmas Octave on this feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, this Sunday we hear readings at Mass that are about just that: family – accented by promise, faith and legacy.  They give us hope as we struggle with the wars in Israel, Palestine, Ukraine and so many other regions around the world.  In our first reading from the Book of Genesis, we hear that Abram (who would later be called Abraham), concerned about an heir, has a heart-to-heart talk with God about Sarah’s childlessness.  God quells Abram’s anxiety by promising him that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky – what a marvelous promise!  Abram’s response is to trust God and we hear that God views Abram’s decision as an act of righteousness, which means that Abram is in a right relationship with God.  We know that God fulfills his promise; Sarah bears a son whom Abraham calls Isaac.  Isaac becomes the father of Jacob, who then has twelve sons – the foundation of the twelve nations – that is, extended families – of Israel!  Abraham has not only a family but also a very impressive future legacy.  He is the father of Judaism, Christianity and, in fact, Islam.

In the Letter to the Hebrews, we hear the author briefly recount three Genesis stories about Abraham: Abraham’s call narrative (Gn. 12:1-9); God’s covenant with Abraham and eventual birth of Isaac and later descendants (15:1-6; 16:1-16; 21:1-7); and the near sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham (22:1-19).  The author of the Letter to the Hebrews instructs his audience about the great theological virtue of faith.  He uses Abraham as his primary example to showcase this virtue.  At the same time, he demonstrates that God is faithful to his promises: Abraham has “descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore” (Hb 11:12).  Once again, we hear the message of Abraham’s descendants as his legacy.

The Gospel reading from Luke 2:22-40 also focuses on family, faith, promises fulfilled and legacy.  Joseph and Mary take their young child Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to God in the Temple as was dictated by the law God gave to Moses.  In the Temple, the family meets Simeon who was divinely promised that he would not die until he had seen the Christ of the Lord.  With faith in God and God’s promise, Simeon waits.  To his delight, he not only meets Jesus – he is able to embrace him!  God’s promise to Simeon is fulfilled.  In the Temple, the family also encounters Anna, a devout prophetess.  Both she and Simeon speak about the child and his future mission.  Joseph and Mary’s family legacy will involve having a son who will bring hope and contradiction to an oppressed world awaiting liberation and salvation.

As you see, all three readings center on family, faith and legacy.  Abraham and Sarah, Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna were all righteous people of deep faith.  All received divine promises that God fulfilled because they believed.  Furthermore, Jesus, who is a descendant of David, Jacob, Isaac and Abraham, will be a blessing for all the families of the earth, thus bringing God’s promise to Abraham to deeper fulfillment (Gn. 12:3; 15:4 and Mt. 1:1).  As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, these readings invite us to think about our family, to evaluate our legacy, and to believe wholeheartedly in the One whose word and promises are true.  As we pray for all of those families so tragically affected by the wars around the world, let us honor the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph because they, too, were righteous people, attentive and faithful to God’s promises to them, we acknowledge that we are called to live in faithful obedience to God’s plan for us in our families and in the larger family of families – our parish and the universal Church.

As we prepare to begin a New Year still filled with conflict but also with God’s grace, let us re-dedicate ourselves to following the example that Abraham and Sarah, Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna give us so that God’s promises may be fulfilled in us.  Then we, too, may be faith-filled followers of Christ and holy families, strong in our faith in God and eager to leave a legacy of righteousness to our descendants in the midst of a world that so often turns away from God and seems bent on erasing their enemies and their descendants.  In our faithfulness, we will continue the legacy that God’s faithful families have established.  This is God’s eternal plan for all who put their trust in him.