THE HOLY FAMILY: FAITH, OBEDIENCE, AND LOVE IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY

Homily for the Feast of Holy Family, Year A

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3:12-21; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

A young couple once said to me, half-jokingly and half-seriously, “Father, if only family life were as peaceful as that of the Holy Family.” They had just come through a sleepless night with a sick child, rising bills, and lingering tensions. Their remark, however, reveals a common misunderstanding: the belief that the Holy Family was holy because their life was easy. The Feast we celebrate today gently corrects that illusion. Holiness in Nazareth did not come from the absence of struggle, but from faithfulness to God in the midst of uncertainty, danger, and displacement.

The Gospel (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23) presents us with a family on the move - forced migration, fear of violence, and an insecure future (just like many families in Nigeria). Joseph is warned in a dream; the child’s life is threatened; Mary must flee with her infant son. This is not a romantic Christmas scene. It is a refugee story. Yet, what stands out is Joseph’s obedience and prompt action. He does not argue, delay, or negotiate with God. He “rose, took the child and his mother, and departed by night.” Holiness here is not in extraordinary words but in faithful responsibility. Joseph teaches us that fatherhood and leadership in the family are exercised not by control and domination but by listening to God and protecting life.

The Holy Family shows us that God’s saving plan unfolds within fragile human realities. Jesus does not grow up in a palace but in exile as an internally displaced person and later in obscurity in Nazareth. This already points us to a profound theological truth: God sanctifies ordinary family life from within. The home becomes a place of revelation, obedience, sacrifice, and trust.

The first reading from Sirach (3:2-6, 12-14) brings this holiness down to very practical terms: honoring parents, caring for them in old age, patience in weakness, and gratitude for the gift of family. In a world that often celebrates independence and youth while sidelining the elderly, Scripture insists that reverence within the family is an act of worship. Care for parents is not merely cultural duty; it is a spiritual act that “atones for sins.” Family life, therefore, becomes a school of virtue and a path to holiness.

St Paul, in the second reading (Colossians 3:12-21), offers what may be called a spirituality for the household. Compassion, humility, patience, forgiveness, and love are not abstract virtues; they are daily necessities in family life. No family survives without forgiveness. No home grows without patience. And no relationship flourishes without love that bears and heals wounds. When Paul says, “Let the peace of Christ control your hearts,” he reminds us that Christ must reign not only in our churches but also in our living rooms, conversations, and conflicts.

The Holy Family, then, is not an unreachable ideal but a realistic model. They teach us that holiness is not the absence of problems but the presence of God in the midst of them. A family becomes holy not because it is perfect, but because it chooses faithfulness - again and again - in ordinary and sometimes painful circumstances.

As we celebrate this feast, we pray for our families: wounded families, struggling families, displaced families, and even broken families. May the Holy Family remind us that when God is welcomed into the home, even uncertainty becomes a place of grace, and even the fragile can become holy.