Reflection on the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family who fled for their lives into a foreign land, much like the journey of so many others who are displaced in our current world. 

We know the story in Matthew’s Gospel all too well. Once again, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to take his new little family, Mary and the baby Jesus, to Egypt to keep them safe from Herod, who was searching for the infant in order to kill him. Joseph and his family then fled by night and stayed in Egypt until the death of the terrible ruler, Herod.

In this day and age, usually a couple anticipating the birth of their first child comes with support from family and friends sharing in the joy of their good news, but not Mary and Joseph. Nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that Mary had the support of women around her to give her guidance during her pregnancy or information on what to expect during the birth, nor how to care for the baby once it was born. Neither Mary or Joseph had the opportunity for parenting classes. Forget the baby showers with gifts of knitted booties, onesies or packages of diapers. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like for Mary to know that she gave birth to an innocent baby who was love personified and yet was already hated so much that they had to flee for their lives. What were the fears and challenges they experienced on the way?  Did they have welcoming strangers to lighten their journey?

Now, in your imagination fast forward more than 2000 years: Jose, Maria and baby Jesus are fast asleep in their simple dwelling when at three in the morning, Jose receives a message that someone is looking for them. Immigration agents, better known as ICE, had been spotted in the area. They quickly pack some food and their meager belongings and creep out of the house. As they quietly go down darkened alleys Maria prays that the baby won’t wake up and start to cry. They make their way several hundred miles, mostly on foot or helped by strangers who provide them a ride and safe passage. Finally, they cross the state line into a territory new to them where they hope their family will be safe.  They have taken risks before and have trusted strangers.  

Comparing the Holy Family to today’s immigrant families highlights shared experiences of displacement, vulnerability and seeking refuge, emphasizing themes of rejection, finding shelter, fleeing persecution and being strangers in a foreign land, prompting calls for compassion and welcoming migrants as embodying Christ’s own journey.

All the while they — Joseph or Jose — have been concerned. How will they be received? Will they be welcomed and given the help they need to adjust to a new reality? Will they ever be allowed to return safely to their home of origin?

Mary and Joseph were turned away from lodging in Bethlehem, finding shelter in a stable. Immigrants frequently experience societal rejection, prejudice and difficulty finding safe shelter. The sign at the bottom of our hill — “I was an immigrant and you gave me shelter” — is there to remind all who see it that as members of the human family we are called to practice radical hospitality; demanding justice, compassion and action to welcome the stranger while challenging the systems that create such suffering.

There are many definitions for family, but all are called to the same challenge — to see one another with God’s eyes and above all, put on Love.