Though the Holy Family must flee into Egypt to escape the wrath of the m murderous Herod, God does not desert them. The goodness of God still protects them from danger.
George Whitefield tells in his Journal of his ocean experience on his journey from England to America in 1738. In those days ocean travel was precarious and difficult and took months, of course He writes: Our allowance of water is just one pint a day. many have died and others are sick, our sails are thin and split, we have lost our way and no one knows for sure where we are Rut God knows and we have God&emdash;and that is sufficient!"
That's what we say this Sunday after Christmas. God will not forsake you. He will protect you from danger and harm.
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A poem says it well:
"I once was an outcast, stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, and an alien by birth,
But I've been adopted; my name's written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe, and a crown.
I'm a child of the King, a child of the King,
With Jesus my Saviour, I'm a child of the King'!!"
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This account of the flight into Egypt l by the Holy Family is a severe blow to those who like to romanticize the birth of Jesus into a lovely, sentimental event. Our Christmas cards show us how unrealistic we prefer our Lord.
We like to imagine a warm, clean stable with Madonna and child, not a hurried, frenzied flight out of town. We like to pretend that the wise men were treated like royal ambassadors, but we see them sneaking out of the country another way. We like to show a peaceful, snow covered, pure white Rethlehem, not the fresh blood of slaughtered innocent children upon that snow.
Jesus is not a tranquilizer for life. If we understand him at all, we must reject the message of all who would weaken his presence, sissify his followers or pretend allegiance without costly courage. Christ, as the author of life, comes and does what Walker Percy claims is the duty of every author he gives joy and he draws blood. Both the joy and the blood are from his followers, and we cannot have one without the other.
A missionary in India had sent his 12 year old son to the U.S. to
attend school. When Christmas came, the boy was invited to spent the
time with family friends. As the boy was unpacking , the lady of the
house came into the room. She noticed on the the dresser a framed
picture of the boy's father and mother. The lady trying to get
acquainted with the boy asked" What would you like for Christmas?'
The boy thought while, then walked over to the dresser and picked up
the picture of his father and mother and said,"I'd like my father and
mother to step out of this frame."
At Christmas, God stepped out of the frame of time through his son and put his arm around you and said, "You are now my child, I am now you father, "At Christmas God stepped into our live! and through his son adopted you as his very own child.
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It can be difficult, looking at
undifferentiated material - like a genealogical list, seeing
God's hand in any of it. But a piece of the divine plan was embedded
in the line of descent from Abraham to David to Jesus.
The artist, who executes his or her craft with skill and care, sees purpose and potential in undifferentiated material as well. Sir Jacob Epstein, a British sculptor, was such an artist. The famous British writer, George Bernard Shaw once visited Epstein's studio. He spotted a large block of stone sitting in one corner.
"What's the stone block for?" he asked. Said Epstein, "I don't know. I haven't made plans for it yet." Shaw seemed dumfounded. He said, "You plan your work? As a writer, I change my mind several times a day." Epstein said, "That's all very well with a four-ounce manuscript, but not with a four-ton block."
When the salvation of the world is in the planning, the Creator does not whimsically change his mind at will.
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A Sunday School teacher asked her class to draw
a picture of the Bible story they had just heard. However, one little
boy drew the picture of a light aircraft with three passengers on
board - a man, a woman, and a baby.
When the teacher asked him to explain the picture, the little boy said, "Can't you see? It's Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus on the flight into Egypt!"
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The Cross in the Manger,
Ann Weems,
"Kneeling in Bethlehem.
If there is no cross in the manger,
There is no Christmas.
If the Babe doesn't become the adult,
There is no Bethlehem star.
If there is no commitment in us,
There are no Wise Men searching.
If we offer no cup of cold water,
There is no gold, no frankincense, no myrrh.
If there is no praising God's name,
There are no angels singing.
If there is no spirit of alleluia,
There are no shepherds watching.
If there is no standing up, no speaking out, no risk,
There is no Herod, no flight into Egypt.
If there is no room in our inn,
Then "Merry Christmas" mocks the Christ Child,
And the Holy Family is just a holiday card,
And God will loathe our feast and festivals.
For if there is no reconciliation,
We cannot call Christ "The Prince of Peace."
If there is no goodwill toward others,
It can all be packed away in boxes for another year.
If there is no forgiveness in us,
There is no cause for celebration.
If we cannot go now even unto Golgotha,
There is no Christmas in us.
If Christmas is not now,
If Christ is not born into the everyday present,
Then what is all the noise about?
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The suggestion, perhaps unintended by the editors but nevertheless apparent, was that these two types of events had nothing to do with each other. The beauty and the loveliness of Christmas must not be touched by the sordid realities of our world. And it was implied that there was nothing in the Christmas story that could have any bearing on the ugly events of everyday life.
Matthew did not publish two front pages: one announcing the holy birth and the other dealing with the historical events of the day. The accounts are kept side by side. This implies that our only hope is to keep the two worlds together.