Matthew
2:1-23
Flight to Egypt
In
the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men
from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born
king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay
him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem
with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people,
he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In
Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you,
Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of
Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact
time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go
and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word
so that I may also go and pay him homage.”
When
they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star
that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the
child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with
joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they
knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they
offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a
dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Now
after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and
said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain
there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy
him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to
Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what
had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my
son.”
When
Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he
sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old
or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was
fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard
in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she
refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”
When
Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in
Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of
Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got
up, 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 there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the
district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that
what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be
called a Nazorean.”
****
Guatemala is a country of breathtaking
beauty: towering ancient pyramids, white sand beaches of the Caribbean, black sand
beaches of the Pacific Ocean, verdant jungle inhabited by howler monkeys and
rainbow-colored birds. Coffee grows in misty rainforests and chocolate is
harvested from the sides of active volcanoes. Mayan indigenous villages dot the
cloud-covered highlands, and fields of sugarcane sway on the sunbaked southern
coast.
Yet it is estimated that nearly 10% of
Guatemala’s population currently lives in the United States.
What would cause so many men, woman
and children to uproot their existence, to leave behind their country, culture,
language, and family? Why the flight from home to the unknown?
Reading today’s text, it’s easy to
imagine the scene in Bethlehem: Mary and Joseph are in utter joy at the birth
of their baby boy. The Savior, whose birth was announced by the angels
themselves. A stream of visitors, from humble shepherds to the mighty magi, all
there to worship the infant Jesus. Gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh!
But then, suddenly: A dream. An angel.
A warning. “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay
there until I tell you, for Herod is going to look for the child to kill
him.” A shocking shift from joy to fear…
forcing a flight in the night to a foreign land.
What motivated Joseph to flee with
Mary and the baby Jesus into Egypt? Was it the command of the angel? Or was it
the love for his wife and newborn child and his concern for their well -being?
Like Joseph, parents throughout
history have done everything possible to protect their families from violence,
hunger, disease, and poverty. For Guatemalans and others, this often means
seeking refuge in a foreign country. And it doesn’t always require an angel’s
warning to know when it’s time to leave home.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to remember that
every day families around the world are forced to flee from conditions that we
can’t even imagine. Help us to recognize our common humanity, welcome the
displaced, and remember that Jesus was once an immigrant too. Amen.
Rob Mercatante has been working as a
volunteer in Guatemala for almost 30 years. He is currently co-director of The
Human Rights Defenders Project, based in Guatemala City. He is also a member of
Grace Lutheran Church, in Yorktown Heights, NY.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were not refugees. They were hardly migrants.
ReplyDeleteMatthew: 2:12-14 tells us the story in question. An angel of the Lord came to Joseph and told him to take Mary and dear eight-pound-six-ounce newborn infant Jesus out of Judea and into Egypt in order to escape the murderous clutches of Herod. Joseph obeyed, and rode out into the night with his divinely given charges. It was there they stayed until Herod died.
On the surface, this seems pretty refugee/immigrant like.
However, one thing that goes completely overlooked or ignored is that, at that time, Judea and Egypt (then known as Aegyptus) were all within the borders of the Roman empire. Both countries were occupied land under Ceaser, and even though Herod was King of Judea, he ruled on behalf of Ceasar. Jesus and His family, while provincial citizens, were what we would consider Roman nationals who paid taxes to Rome though they weren’t necessarily citizens of the Roman state. Fleeing to Egypt, then under the personal control of Augustus himself, was on par to moving from New York and into Texas.
While it could be considered migration to move from one state to another, it’s hardly the international journey leftists would like it to be. Jesus and his family were Roman nationals moving from one Roman country to another. They were not aliens in the legal sense, and it was perfectly legal to travel from one Roman province to another. In fact, Egypt had a vibrant Jewish community at the time.
An “immigrant” Jesus was not, at least not in the way the left would have you picture it, with Joseph and Mary banging down the doors of some unjustly constructed wall, pleading for the mercy of a foreign state to allow them into their lands.
The writer of this day's devotion did not specifically call the holy family either refugees or migrants and in some ways, the difference is a bit more than semantics. And while we could talk about if they were really refugees or not, depending on the actual country they were living in, it doesn't address the real issue at stake.
ReplyDeleteThe point of both their flight as well as many of those who are seeking refuge in our countries (and others around the world) is that they are looking out for the welfare of their loved ones and will do what it takes to keep them safe.
It is not about partisan politics, but about having the fullness of life that God has offered to all of us. Sometimes that means that one needs to move elsewhere for that to happen, even if for a short period of time. Most would do no less for those that they love.
I thank you for your thoughts. I would ask that you would consider signing your name to your response and/or if you would like to contact me directly to discuss this further.
From the prayer above "and remember that Jesus was once an immigrant too. Amen."
ReplyDeleteAnd as you are well aware, nothing in the Devotion or my comments had anything to do with "partisan politics" ! This was just your interjection to make it look political.
ReplyDelete