(Please read the above Scriptural passage before the homily.)
Today we celebrate the Holy Family. Joseph, Mary, Jesus, and likewise we, make up this family, as St John said in the passage above, “Not only are we called children of God, but we are children of God.” Already now we are children of God and co-heirs with Christ. Our inheritance is in Christ with the Father.
The people of Great Britain have their Prince of Wales. He is only one person, but we, all of us, are princes with Christ. The Prince of Wales will someday be King of England, and his brother will be a nobody. We, all of us, on the other hand, are coheirs with Christ and will reign with him.
God gave us our families so that we could learn how to conduct ourselves as members of God’s family. Jesus has given us the rules of this family: we have to love one another. Our parents gave us the same rule for our human family.
In our family we learn how to love our relatives, our neighbors, the families of the world, including those from other nations: all the Lord’s people.