I’m so happy to be able to preside at this home, at Mercy Home. Again, it’s felt like a long time since I’ve been here presiding. I’ve got the great joy of being here today to celebrate the Holy Family, next week to celebrate Epiphany, and the following week to celebrate Jesus’ baptism. I’d like to use these three weeks to not only reflect on scripture, but also talk about Cardinal Cupich’s three imperatives, the three ways he’s hoping for the Archdiocese of Chicago to renew itself. And he’ll talk about very specifically how we’re called to make disciples, build community, and inspire witness.

So, today on this Feast Day of the Holy Family, I’d like to connect the beauty of the Holy Family with what it means to build community. I think they are linked, right? What is a Holy Family except a domestic church, a unit of people who come together first as a family, and then bring their Holy Family to the family of the church, building a community of believers? But I think that the second reading today invites us to go even a step further. The second reading asks us to remember that not only are we Disciples of Jesus, but we’re also Children of God. Did you hear it in the letter of Saint John? We’re called Children of God. David read it for us today.

As then, Children of God, Disciples of Jesus, members of a Holy Family, I think there’s three invitations for us today to keep in mind as we grow as Children of God, Disciples of Jesus. I think the first one we’re called to really recommit ourselves to is remembering to have courage as we belong to our family, to our faith community, to those we love. You know, belonging is important today, and many people struggle for a sense of connection, a sense of belonging. Hannah knew exactly where her son belonged. Did you hear it in the first reading? Hannah brought her son Samuel to the temple, and she was not confused about that.

Similarly, Jesus knew where belonged. He, too, belonged in the temple. Where do we belong? Secondly, how do we have the fidelity to believe? Also in the second reading, Saint John reminded us that we’re called to believe in Jesus as our savior. Can we recommit ourselves to the faithfulness of our belief in Jesus, who’s our savior, part of the Holy Family? And then finally, the third way we’re called to come together and to grow as Jesus’ disciples is really through the discipline of love. We also heard that in the second reading. We saw it in Jesus with his family. Can we recommit ourselves to the discipline to love one another?

Building community means that we have to be recommitted to not only the courage to belong, the faithfulness to believe, but also the discipline of love. Let’s recommit ourselves and so build up the community of God.