The Story of
Jesus can show us that what may seem chaotic, dangerous and scary to us can
actually be a part God’s plan to bring about hope for the world. This theme is evident in Matthew’s accounts
of Jesus’ early years. We learn that the
Magi (or wise men) who scan the stars for signs of divine activity on earth, are
in search of a newborn King and are on their way to Bethlehem where Jesus is. Tragically their journey alerts the paranoid
old king Herod, who as he approaches death, sees plots and conspiracies to
overthrow him behind every random occurrence.
He used what he gleaned from the
wise men to find a focus for his delusional rage. He orders the death of all
young boys under two in Bethlehem. The
forces of darkness and sin are trying to derail God’s plan at every
opportunity. Almost completely incomprehensible,
is the fact that the collateral damage will be vulnerable and defenseless
children. Mothers and Fathers will
suffer the most feared occurrence of parenting, the loss of a child. The text is clear; this could have been Mary
and Joseph. They and their child Jesus
were at risk.
Yet Matthew’s
message is ultimately one of hope. God
is working in the midst of the chaos to bring completion to the story of
salvation. We learn that the Magi when visiting Jesus
come with gifts. Not just any gifts,
gifts fit for a king. Yet these gifts
are also portable, and can be taken with them on a journey. God knows that Jesus may need to be on the
move and that the resources will come in handy to provide for his and his
family’s survival. Joseph is warned in
a dream to get up and take his family to Egypt and flee Herod. Egypt would be a relatively safe place as it
was outside of Herod’s territory, controlled directly by a Roman governor, had
a thriving economy, and there were large communities of Jews already living
there for many years. God’s hand of
guidance can be clearly seen protecting and directing the young Jesus. The gifts from the Magi that fund the trip,
the dream to get Joseph moving, a country of sanctuary a reasonable journey
away, and a community of fellow countrymen when they arrived, are all just too
convenient not to be planned out by God.
We see the hope
in the story working on a number of levels.
One is that God is clearly more powerful than all the forces of this
world. God is able to overcome any
chaos that world throws at Him. More
importantly for the Christian witness, is that God goes through the chaos of
life with us. The story of the flight
to Egypt is sadly not an uncommon one.
People must flee adversity or leave home for opportunity all the
time. There are dangers and tragedies
on the way for many migrants and refugees whose stories each and every day are
similar to that of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
What does it mean that we have a Savior who spent time as refugee from
violence? The writer of the book of
Hebrews gives us a clue when we read: “Because he
himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being
tested. (Hebrews 2:18 NRSV)”
Jesus would
experience the full range of human experience both good and bad. We do not have an indifferent Savior, but
one who literally and actually knows our pain.
This is what the miracle of the incarnation is all about, that God
becomes one of us and accompanies us through the chaos of this world. This
is proven most powerfully at the cross where Jesus suffers the abandonment of
all and the painful death on the cross.
Jesus is brought through this death into the resurrection showing us
exactly what God will do for those who trust in him, give eternal life.
So the story of
Jesus’ escape to Egypt is designed to do two things for us. The first is to strengthen our faith and
build us up so that we can be confident in the loving care of a great and
amazing God who is more powerful than anything in all the universe. The second is to have compassion for our brothers
and sisters in the world who suffer today. Matthew will report towards the end of his
Gospel (chapter 25) the teaching of Jesus that says when we serve those in
adversity we are helping Jesus himself. This will be the sole criteria of what a
living, active and fruitful faith looks like, or as the apostle John will write
in his letter “for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have
seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” (1 John 4:20 NRSV)
