Sunday Sermon - 1.7.24

LATIN MASS: FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY

EPISTLE: Colossians 3:12 Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience: 13 Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another: even as the Lord hath forgiven you, so do you also. 14 But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection: 15 And let the peace of Christ rejoice in your hearts, wherein also you are called in one Body: and be ye thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom: teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing in grace in your hearts to God. 17 All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.

---

We are one Body in Christ and we have to learn how to love one another and treat other with charity, humility and patience. As with any family, there will be family members that you may not like, but you still have to love them. Love in the Christian sense is not the emotion of warm feelings towards another, but instead the holy act of charity towards another. Love for a Christian is an act of the will, something you do rather than something you feel. Love is a verb, not an emotion. We must emulate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph. We must show charity towards everyone in the Body of Christ.

---

GOSPEL: Luke 2:42 And when He was twelve years old, they going up into Jerusalem, according to the custom of the feast, 43 And having fulfilled the days, when they returned, the Child Jesus remained in Jerusalem; and His parents knew it not. 44 And thinking that He was in the company, they came a day's journey, and sought Him among their kinsfolks and acquaintance. 45 And not finding Him, they returned into Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 And it came to pass, that, after three days, they found Him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard Him were astonished at His wisdom and His answers. 48 And seeing Him, they wondered. And His mother said to Him: Son, why hast Thou done so to us? Behold Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing. 49 And He said to them: How is it that you sought Me? Did you not know, that I must be about My Father's business? 50 And they understood not the word that He spoke unto them. 51 And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. And His mother kept all these words in her heart. 52 And Jesus advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men.

---

Many can misunderstand this passage of Scripture about the finding of Jesus in the Temple. Some Protestants try to say that Jesus is chastising His mother in their attempt to claim that she was a sinner. That’s not what actually is going on. This entire episode was an act of mercy towards His mother and a preparation for her so she would be ready for the Passion.

Notice that Jesus is lost for three days, the same time that He was in the tomb. Our Lord is preparing His mother for when she will be without Him after His crucifixion. Remember the prophecy about Our Lady at the Presentation from Simeon. He said that a sword would pierce Our Lady’s heart. She would suffer horrifically during the Passion and Our Lord wanted to mercifully prepare His mother for their future suffering.

When Our Lady asks Jesus why He has done this to them, He points out and reminds them that He has a higher purpose that He came down to earth for. Both Our Lady and St Joseph don’t understand at first what He means by this but she ponders over this episode for years to come. It shows how Our Lord gave her this smaller pain so that she would be ready for His Passion.

---

NOVUS ORDO: THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will appear over you. 3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4 Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

---

Centuries before the Nativity of Our Lord, the prophet Isaiah told about how foreigners from far away would come to bring gifts to God to worship Him. Even though Our Lord chose to be born in the lowliest and most humble manner, He still laid out very clear signs to anyone who would pay attention about who He really was. Somehow kings from far away nations would arrive to worship Him, yet He would stay hidden from those who did not want to worship Him. Kings would visit with large caravans and many gifts, yet Our Lord remains hidden from those who are not men of good will.

---

NEW TESTAMENT: Ephesians 3:2 for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, 3 and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, 4 a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. 5 In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same Body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

---

God had a very long plan of salvation that He kept hidden until the proper time when He revealed the New Covenant to mankind and gave us the sacraments, especially the Mass & the Eucharist. Allusions to the New Covenant and typology of the New Covenant are everywhere throughout the Old Testament books. Yet it remained hidden until God was ready to reveal it to mankind.

Note the mention St. Paul makes about the “mystery of Christ” that was given to him by special revelation and also given to the Apostles. The word mystery (mystḗrion) is the Greek word where we get the Latin word “sacrament” from. Paul is talking about the sacraments he received from Christ in the New Covenant, specifically the Mass and the Eucharist.

---

GOSPEL: Matthew 2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the Child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed His star at its rising, and have come to pay Him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd My people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the Child; and when you have found Him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay Him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they knelt down and paid Him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

---

The Epiphany of the Lord and the visit from the Magi are included in the manger scenes we have in our homes and parishes. Yet that’s slightly off. Notice that Herod asks the Magi about when the star had appeared, so it was not still showing in the sky. We also see the Our Lord is referred to as a “Child” here in Matthew, but is referred to as a “Baby” in Luke. The passage also says that Our Lady and Our Lord are living in a “house” at this time and are no longer sleeping in the cave with the animals. The final clue on the timeframe for this is during the slaughter of Holy Innocents, when Herod kills all the boys in Bethlehem who are two years old and younger. The Magi visited Our Lord sometime between the Presentation in the Temple (40 days after His Nativity) and the time when Our Lord was two years old.

Two final thoughts on this passage are about the gifts given to Our Lord and how Herod plotted his evil. The gifts from the Three Kings signify the different aspects of Our Lord. The gold was a gift for a king and showed that He was royalty. The frankincense was used in the liturgy of the Old Covenant and showed that He was the High Priest. The myrrh was ointment used for preparing bodies for burial. It pointed to Our Lord as the Passover Lamb of God who would become the eternal and infinite sacrifice of the New Covenant.

The final point is about Herod. He called for the Magi secretly. He was planning with murderous intent to kill off any rivals that might arise to challenge his rule. He didn’t want any of the other royal family or other rulers in the area to find the Messiah before he did. He didn’t want any of them to use the Messiah to usurp his kingship and oust him from power. Herod is already planning his evil deeds to murder the Messiah. Bethlehem is within comfortable walking distance from Jerusalem. The King of Kings is such a short distance from Herod, yet his insatiable love of power keeps him blinded to this fact. Heaven is literally a short walk away but Herod instead chooses hell.