Held in the Middle: The Holy Family and the World We Know
It’s easy to picture the Holy Family behind stained glass—quiet, perfect, safe. Mary never worries. Joseph never feels afraid. The baby Jesus seems untouchable. But the truth is far closer—and far more real. Jesus was born into a world that looks surprisingly like our own. An empire makes decisions far away, while ordinary families bear the consequences. Travel is difficult and risky. Stability is fragile. Power protects itself first. That isn’t ancient history. That is the daily news. The Holy Family lives under decree and surveillance, counted but not cared for. Today, too many families live under systems that track, tax, displace, and exhaust them, offering little protection in return. They arrive in Bethlehem because they must. They give birth where they can. The first bed is a feeding trough. The first night is cold. And this is where God chooses to arrive. Not above vulnerability. But inside it. Isaiah says: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”...