FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY A

[cappie]

The Feast of the Holy Family, celebrated today,  focuses our Christmas celebrations around three people. United under unorthodox conditions, Mary, Joseph, and their child, Jesus, became a family, and one venerated for centuries now. It’s the  after now, and all of us—Mary, Joseph, the shepherds move on with this Feast of this Holy Family.

What happens afterward is an endlessly fascinating mystery. 

Mary and Joseph had to contend with the knowledge that, despite the wonder of God breaking into their lives, in some sense the ways of the world carried on. They had to pick up the pieces of their lives and keep going, even in this case to Egypt though maybe no one else understood that everything was different, and nothing could ever be the same.

So, let’s ask ourselves the same question. What happens on the day after, the week after, the month after? One thing about people in the Bible is that they always knew that their previous realities had been shattered. 

The answer may lie in one short verse about Mary soon after Jesus’ birth. Luke 2:19 reads, “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” There’s something every person  has in common with Mary: We are seekers. Something inside each of us dives us this morning, and it is the same something that allowed Mary to welcome the words of the angel with curiosity and awe.

The hunger to know what happens next in this journey with God can take different forms for each of us. Some of us came here overflowing with thanksgiving for a beautiful Christmas and a year of blessings. Others of us came because it feels like there’s something missing in our hearts. Maybe our souls are heavy with loss or fear, and we’re asking God, what happens next? The shepherds and the angels have left the stable—is there room there for us?

And the answer is “Yes.” The greatest thing about the days after is that they are unwritten. They are a blank page waiting for our choices and actions to write the story. Take a moment and ponder the unwritten story of your days after. There are many possible many plotlines, many questions unanswered in your heart that are part of what drew you to seek the presence of God in church here today. It’s such a vital question in this unsettled time. We’re all asking in so many ways: what happens next?

The question can seem vast and frightening, as indeed it must have that first week after for Mary and Joseph as they fled into Egypt . But for Mary and Joseph—and for us—the answer is right in front of us: in this small child whose presence, even as a baby, brings us to our knees in the beauty of his holiness. 

We have known something that Abraham and Noah and David only had glimpses of from a far distance. Each time we ask what happens  we know that, whatever happens, nothing can take us outside the love of Jesus Christ. Whether the next moment brings unimaginable joy, heartbreaking tragedy—or what is more likely, a long string of ordinary struggles and humdrum events—there is something new and different from now on. On these days after, the world has changed, because God has come to dwell with us as a person, as our own Jesus Christ, who loved us through death and beyond.

So, praise God for getting us to church on this morning! Our curiosity about what happens next is one of the most vital forces keeping our spirits alive and kicking no matter what life throws at us. There will always be someone to tell the story of the big events, the days full of fireworks and bells and cheers. Who will tell the story of what happens after? 

We will. We as a community will keep asking the question, because we know that the best part of the story is already written but always waiting to be discovered: that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

 

 

[senatorarmstrong]

On 12/26/2025 at 11:03 PM, cappie said:

The Feast of the Holy Family, celebrated today,  focuses our Christmas celebrations around three people. United under unorthodox conditions, Mary, Joseph, and their child, Jesus, became a family, and one venerated for centuries now. It’s the  after now, and all of us—Mary, Joseph, the shepherds move on with this Feast of this Holy Family.

What happens afterward is an endlessly fascinating mystery. 

Mary and Joseph had to contend with the knowledge that, despite the wonder of God breaking into their lives, in some sense the ways of the world carried on. They had to pick up the pieces of their lives and keep going, even in this case to Egypt though maybe no one else understood that everything was different, and nothing could ever be the same.

So, let’s ask ourselves the same question. What happens on the day after, the week after, the month after? One thing about people in the Bible is that they always knew that their previous realities had been shattered. 

The answer may lie in one short verse about Mary soon after Jesus’ birth. Luke 2:19 reads, “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” There’s something every person  has in common with Mary: We are seekers. Something inside each of us dives us this morning, and it is the same something that allowed Mary to welcome the words of the angel with curiosity and awe.

The hunger to know what happens next in this journey with God can take different forms for each of us. Some of us came here overflowing with thanksgiving for a beautiful Christmas and a year of blessings. Others of us came because it feels like there’s something missing in our hearts. Maybe our souls are heavy with loss or fear, and we’re asking God, what happens next? The shepherds and the angels have left the stable—is there room there for us?

And the answer is “Yes.” The greatest thing about the days after is that they are unwritten. They are a blank page waiting for our choices and actions to write the story. Take a moment and ponder the unwritten story of your days after. There are many possible many plotlines, many questions unanswered in your heart that are part of what drew you to seek the presence of God in church here today. It’s such a vital question in this unsettled time. We’re all asking in so many ways: what happens next?

The question can seem vast and frightening, as indeed it must have that first week after for Mary and Joseph as they fled into Egypt . But for Mary and Joseph—and for us—the answer is right in front of us: in this small child whose presence, even as a baby, brings us to our knees in the beauty of his holiness. 

We have known something that Abraham and Noah and David only had glimpses of from a far distance. Each time we ask what happens  we know that, whatever happens, nothing can take us outside the love of Jesus Christ. Whether the next moment brings unimaginable joy, heartbreaking tragedy—or what is more likely, a long string of ordinary struggles and humdrum events—there is something new and different from now on. On these days after, the world has changed, because God has come to dwell with us as a person, as our own Jesus Christ, who loved us through death and beyond.

So, praise God for getting us to church on this morning! Our curiosity about what happens next is one of the most vital forces keeping our spirits alive and kicking no matter what life throws at us. There will always be someone to tell the story of the big events, the days full of fireworks and bells and cheers. Who will tell the story of what happens after? 

Čau, es vadīju nelielu interneta veikalu un pavadīju vairākas stundas dienā, atbildot uz vieniem un tiem pašiem jautājumiem. Draugs ieteica izpētīt WhatsApp Bots Latvija https://whatsappbot.store un es biju pārsteigts, cik ātri var iestatīt automātiskus sveicienus un pasūtījumu apstiprinājumus. Latvija tirgū, kur katra minūte ir nauda, šāds rīks ir zelta vērts. Tagad es guļu mierīgāk, zinot, ka neviens klients netiek ignorēts.

We will. We as a community will keep asking the question, because we know that the best part of the story is already written but always waiting to be discovered: that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

 

 

We often focus so much on the miracle of the Nativity that we overlook the grueling, quiet journey to Egypt that followed. It’s a great perspective on the 'hidden life' of the Holy Family. The hunger to know 'what happens next' is essentially the core of the human condition. Even now, months away from the feast itself, the call to ponder these mysteries in our hearts remains just as vital. Thanks for sharing this.