When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazorean.”
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 (NABRE)
Things were quite unstable in the early days of Jesus’ lifetime.
It seems quite baffling that the living God would take on flesh and be subject to persecution and even become a refugee at one point in His life. Yet, this was all for our sake. Jesus lived a hard life. Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus being the target of scorn or misunderstanding. Ultimately, this culminated in a bloody Crucifixion. And to think this was almighty God to whom all this was done is a topic that makes us stop and ponder why He made Himself so lowly and vulnerable for us. Add to this contemplation the fact that He did not have to suffer as He did and we are met with an astonishment that moves us to deep gratitude for what our God did for us.
The Christmas season reminds us of the extremeness of God’s love for us. Through the sacrifice of His very Self He bought for us, including those who mistreated Him, redemption. This is how God thinks, as opposed to how us human beings do (Matthew 16:23). He was willing to be small and vulnerable, and then grown and abused for our sake.
Thank you for reading. Peace.
Eat the Scroll 