Matthew 2:13-23
This ceramic figurine was painted and cured in 1969. I
know that because that is the date that is etched in the bottom.
How does a ceramic figurine survive for over 40
years? It survives because it is cared
for and protected. It is cared for and protected because there is some value or
some meaning seen in this lump of formed silt that was painted and
hardened. This little figurine has been
a part of my Christmas all the years of my life. It wasn’t until adult hood that I realized
that it wasn’t a part of the Christmas story.
This is what happens next. It’s Mary
on a donkey with her baby. They are
going somewhere. Where were they going? It was home from the hospital after his
delivery. They were headed to Egypt. We
think about images of a serene Bethlehem has we sing our Christmas hymns. I thought of the song Silent Night as I looked
at this object. But whatever serenity
there might have been whatever peace Mary and Joseph had in their hearts, they
needed it for what was coming. The king wanted their special little baby to be
killed.
“There are
approximately 2.3 million refugees who fled the war in Syria to neighboring
countries over the past 1,000 days.” He added that UNHCR expects this figure to
“jump to 4.1 million in 2014.” “Children
are suffering from the psychological impact of the conflict in Syria and have
lost their sense of wellbeing and psychological and social stability, not to
mention social skills.”
“Fifty two percent of the Syrian
refugees are children, with 290,000 in Jordan and 385,000 in Lebanon,”
Whatever we
may think about the situation in Syria, the fact remains that there are mothers
and fathers who love their children trying to make them safe in a very
dangerous situation right now.
The scripture
we read today from the Gospel according to Matthew has at its center, the Holy
Family becoming refugees in a foreign country. His parents fleeing to save his
life. It was not yet Jesus time to offer his life for the sins of the world. He
needed to grow up and accomplish other things first.
Jesus
suffered in his earthly life as he faced his own temptations. He became like
us. God became human, born in a barn,
placed in a manger and lived a human life. Almost immediately was forced to
live a life as a refugee in Egypt. He knows what it’s like. When he commands us to care for the least of
these, he means it.
Jesus
defeated the devil. Jesus destroyed the devil’s power by dying on the cross and
pulling himself up out of death to live for ever and ever. Yet the evil in
humanity persists. All around the world
there is suffering because of the evil deeds and intentions of humanity. Jesus
came as the light in this dark world.
Jesus freed
us from the fear of death because he offers us eternal life. Even though we die, we will live eternally in
him. So we have nothing to fear in this
life when we trust in him. When we go as bearers of Jesus Light into the world
of darkness we go knowing that no matter what happens we live eternally. That gives us the freedom to serve Him
without abandon
Becoming like
us, defeating evil and offering us eternal life: Three wonderful things that
Jesus did for us.
How did the
infant Jesus survive to be able to accomplish all this? Because Joseph, the man God chose to be Jesus
father, listened to God.
Joseph had
three dreams.
The first one
Joseph had in this portion of scripture was the one that warned Joseph to
flee. It warned Joseph of the danger
that his family was in. It is time to withdraw, to retreat.
The second
dream was a message to come home, come back, and re-engage.
The third
dream was another warning about danger so Joseph altered his original plans and
made their home in Galilee.
Those months
and years, that Joseph, Mary and Jesus lived as refugees, were necessary. Sometimes life throws us a curve ball. Sometimes life throws a pitch strait at our
head. It is in those times that we need to take a step back. Sometimes we need
to withdraw, take refuge until the danger passes. But God doesn’t call us into withdrawal
or retreat or isolation to stay there. God may set us aside for a time but
there will be a time when he expects to reenter the arena, to re-engage in the
battle, to begin to fight the good fight and to live the good life for Him.
Joseph
brought his family back. There was an estimated 1 million Jews living in Egypt
at that time. It is likely they made a
life for themselves there living in that community. They could have stayed. It wasn’t home it
wasn’t what they were used to but it could have been good enough. But Joseph
brought his family BACK.
When we come
back, when we reengage, life is invariably different. God is doing a new thing constantly. Just because
all things are being made new does not mean that we are not without
comfort. We may not be refugees any more
but we are not without refuge. In fact whether we are retreating or advancing
we always have a refuge, not only that we have a triple refuge. First:
Jesus
We seek refuge
in Jesus Christ, The Person himself, the one who is seated at the right hand of
God the father and reigns forever and ever. We go to him, we speak with
him. Jesus promises his presence. We are taught from the time that we can
listen that God loves us and that love looks like Jesus Christ. No matter what
circumstance, no matter what danger we face Jesus is our Lord and nothing can
snatch us from his hand. We receive his council. Those that where his disciples
wrote down what he taught.
Scripture
That is the
second refuge of the triple refuge. We
seek refuge in the Holy Scriptures. We search the scripture to know the mind of
God. We read about how God has interacted
with humanity over time. In scripture we
see the story of God with humanity growing, building and finally where it is
all headed. When Scripture is a part of our life it transforms us. Whether we have a Bible with us or not the
scripture that we carry with us cannot be taken away.
The
Church
The third
refuge is the church, the gathered community of believers who have been called
out and who have responded to God and said yes. The church is those who have
said “I will let you live in me. I will
be made into something new. I will be
the bearer of God’s light.” The Church
is a gathering of those who know what it is to take refuge in Jesus and his
teaching.
Joseph
brought his family to Galilee. There they
lived. It is suspected that Joseph died sometime
during Jesus childhood, because we have no mention of him after the trip to the
temple when Jesus was 12. Jesus likely took over the role of being the village
craftsman. Jesus probably took care of Mary and his younger siblings until he
was about 30. Jesus was born to be the savior of the world but he took care of
his family responsibilities first. He was set aside for a time, then his time
to act came.
Paul was
called by Jesus to follow him. Paul withdrew
to Arabia for 3 years before he reengaged in the mission of Jesus Christ.
So, how is it
with you today? You may be withdrawing,
or advancing or in the process of moving from on to the other. Where ever you are on your spiritual journey,
may you always know that you can find refuge here. Would you pray with me?
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