Homily, December 28, 2025
From The Pastor
More than any other time of the year, Christmas is a season of love. It is grounded in, but more than the mystery of the birth of our Savior. Jesus is and will always be the star of the show. Jesus is love Incarnate, God revealed, seen, and experienced in the flesh of a human person. God, in the person of Jesus, reveals the nature of Divine love in every expression of human love. Jesus is the image of what it means to be fully human. There are no walls, boundaries, limitations, or defenses in Jesus that hinder his freedom to love fully. The human love of Jesus is an image of the Divine love of the Father.
I believe Jesus loved his life. I believe he embraced his life and lived it with joy, hope, and happiness with a clarity of purpose. Even though Jesus experienced great suffering, rejection, and death on a Cross, I believe he loved his life to the end because it was his nature to do so. Unusual as it sounds, Jesus did not resist the hard realities that come to a person who seeks to live a life fully committed to love.
It is not unusual to think, ‘he was God; it was easier for him to live and love the way he did.’ Jesus felt the pain, loss, rejection, and trauma of his life the same way any of us do. Yes, Jesus knew the fullness of grace and matured into a fully committed relationship with his Father in the realization of pure love. Like the rest of us, he grew into this awareness. How did that happen?
Jesus grew up in a family, the Holy Family. They were holy because each of them surrendered in faith to the call they received from God. Each was secure in the bonds of love they all shared. The power and effect of this love formed Jesus not only in his love for God, but also in his love, care, and justice for others. This does not mean his life was a bed of roses. Yes, Mary was free from the burden of original sin and its consequences, but that does not mean she was free of human emotion including impatience, frustration, and the challenges known to any young wife and mother. What made this family holy is the commitment of love they received, experienced, and wanted for each other. Their lives were full of grace.
Your family is also full of grace. However messy or ill-directed at times, every family grounded in love is a holy family that bonds each member to the others for the sake of all. These bonds of love allow and inspire us to direct our lives in love, care, and compassion for others. Love frees us to live beyond ourselves for the good of others in mutual relationships of respect. Imperfect as they may be, it is the bonds of love we hold that carry us through the hurts and losses of life.
The theme of the Holy Family carries us into the New Year on Thursday as we celebrate January 1st, and the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The threads of love knit together these themes. Do you believe Mary loved her life? I do. Mary is a woman secure in faith with confident trust in God, a loving husband, and a new baby. I can only imagine the joy Mary must have felt in the birth of Jesus, despite and because of all she has been told of him. It is easy to believe Mary ‘kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.’ Like Jesus, Mary endured great suffering as she watched her Son grow into the mission and identity of his life. God is ever-present in times of love as well as in times of suffering and loss. Mary and Jesus both endured the Cross. Love carried them through. This is a fitting image of Mary as the Mother of God. Love stands with love through the darkest hours.
You do not often hear a person say, “I love my life.” What a bold and deeply hopeful statement. Several years ago, I was out walking with my niece. During our conversation she said, “I love my life.” I asked her to say more, and she expressed her happiness and commitment to the rhythms of her life. I was moved and have always remembered that day.
Do you love your life? What makes a person love the life they are living? God is the source and origin of love. Life is a gift given by God who is love. Loving your life is to love God. Love is an act of faith. Gratitude is a core virtue that inspires love for life. Relationships, connectedness, a desire to belong to someone or something larger than yourself all build a foundation of self-love that leads to creativity and generous living.
As we begin a New Year, thank God for the year past. Tell God and others how grateful you are to have them in your life. Think about your life in God and God’s life in you. You are redeemed in Christ. You belong to God and God belongs to you. Frame your life in the image of who you are in God rather than the losses, complaints, and difficulties. In Christ, you are blessed. Seek to be a blessing for others. May the bonds of love secure your house and home. Happy New Year.
Father John Esper
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