Our Cover Is Blown By The Holy Family
Matt1:18-25
I strolled down the road from the church to our first ever Vicarage in Haywards Heath.
It was a hot summer’s evening and all the windows of the houses were wide open. Somewhere I could hear a Mother who was having a right go at her children
“Will you come and have your baths this minute” she rapped sharply
The children were sobbing and wailing in a most distressed fashion
“I will tell your father about this when he comes in” she continued.
The threat made no difference. The sounds of discontent grew louder.
“Hm!, Some people!” I thought to myself.
As I got nearer home I realised where all these sounds of domestic discontent were coming from.
The wide open bathroom windows of the Vicarage.
Our cover was blown, now everyone was going to know what we were really like, how would I ever be able to hold my head up in the parish again.
So this morning as we fall off the edge of Advent into the waiting arms of Christmas, let’s do one more bit of self examination.
Let’s blow the cover on our homes before it’s too late.
Because I have some vital news for you.
He’s not going to be born in Bethlehem this year – but rather back at your place.
He’s going to come to the heart of your Christmas pandemonium.
For he promised God with us and he means what he says.
Our Gospel reading gives us some insights into the Holy Family and how they prepared to receive Jesus – so what if we put together what we know about their domestic life and use as an inspiration for our own.
The Holy Family was not typical of course.
They were thrust into a way of life which turned their expectations upside down.
There were interventions by angels, strange dreams and extraordinary promises.
There were unexpected visitors to receive and hazardous journeys to embark upon.
The household of Mary and Joseph strikes me as being an open one.
They learnt of God’s plans through the direct contact of holy messengers.
God did not have any problems communicating with them.
He touched them as individuals – Joseph one moment, Mary the next and in our reading today we see Joseph as one not concerned with his own reputation and standing – but rather how it would all affect Mary.
Openness to God and openness to the needs of each other and God’s grace flowing between.
The reality for that holy household and a challenge for our own.
Their household was also obedient.
“I am the handmaid of the Lord – be it unto me according to your word” that lovely echo of Mary.
And Joseph no less today, “When he woke up Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had directed him”
Think of the whole of heaven holding its breath in these moments – would they do it or wouldn’t they?
The coming of salvation for the world hinged upon this one family’s decision.
Heaven holds its breath again today – in anticipation of what the likes of you and I will do.
Their household was one that had to be prepared to uproot.
The notion of living out of suitcases really does begin here.
Theirs was at times a gypsy-like existence
Nazareth to Bethlehem. Bethlehem to Egypt. Egypt to Jerusalem. Jerusalem to Nazareth and return.
These were not romantic little episodes. They were perilous.
The comfort and security of home is something we closely guard. Upheaval does not come easy or without protest.
A place of retreat we would have hoped , rather than somewhere from which we are constantly sent out.
The holy family came to see it rather differently and so might we.
Their household was however a place of nurture.
Of physically nurturing the Son of God in their midst.
Jesus growing up with them.
I think we must nurture his presence in our homes too. .
He wants to grow up in our households, touched by our love for him as he was touched by the love of Mary and Joseph?
What might such a challenge mean for the way we do things?
And finally their household was a place of heartbreak.
When he was grown we can say that members of Jesus’ family seemed to travel round with him but for some reason they were kept at a distance.
“Your Mother and your brothers are outside” they say to him
“Who are my Mother and my brothers” he is said to have replied.
Another time, bystanders gather round the family “He is out of his mind” they hiss.
Our households are painful places of letting go – of powerlessness.
Of being hurt because our love runs so deep.
And the ultimate heartbreak – the Mother at the foot of the Son’s cross.
These fine principles are all very well, I hear you say, but how do we achieve anything like that amidst twenty first century complexity.
Scripture doesn’t really help us much – but there are three things which could help.
Mary and Joseph were people of space. They seemed to make time for themselves. Joseph seemed a reflective sort of person and Mary, at the end of the Christmas events – “kept these things and pondered them in her heart”
Space to dream. Space to ponder, Space for God.
Mary and Joseph were travelling companions. On the road together. Following where God led. Together they seemed to cope with sudden turns of events however dangerous. We do not read of differences of opinion – only unity.
Let us not lose these jewels, the privilege of journey sharing, the joy of accompanying each other through life.
I also see Mary and Joseph as accepting people. Accepting the extraordinariness of what was happening to them. Accepting God’s instructions. Accepting Jesus. Pausing in the present moment and finding the grace of God.
Whilst we have learnt to be suspicious of that which claims to be different and see change as a threat.
Christmas time is an occasion to give thanks for the family life we share – it is also the time when we might open our doors that little bit wider to be invaded by the these unexpected holy visitors.
RH 23.12.07