Reflections on Matthew’s Gospel

There were three choices of Gospels for this Sunday. Both Matthew Gospels are very relevant for the world today, so I combined them together as we needed the whole story.  Our world today is faced with refugees fleeing danger. Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus were refugees as they fled the danger of Herod. The holy family encountered what our current homeless, hungry, restless and refugees experience today. For the Holy Family the flight to Egypt was unexpected in so many ways. This picture is a beautiful illustration of Joseph watching over Mary and Jesus in the wilderness as they travel to Egypt. What a change in circumstances in such a short period of time they had to experience.    Today in Ukraine, Gaza, and many other countries torn by conflict people are fleeing for their very lives. They leave their own homeland to find a safe haven. What a change in circumstances in such a short period of time they had to experience. In today’s worldunfortunately our country has become not a refuge, but just the opposite deporting people just because they look like they don’t belong. It appears Herod has been reincarnated and exist in our government, Sending people back to countries where they face extreme dangers and even death, like Herod did in the killing of the innocents, When a person becomes paranoid and power hungry, they seem to go to extremes to protect their wealth and their supposed influence. It has become evident in many situations over the years from Hitler to other dictators and to politicians in our country.

We must sympathize with Mary, having just given birth to travel to Egypt to protect her newborn son. It would be interesting to have the story retold from her perspective. Through the lens of her fears and hopes or through the lens of the fears and hopes of the millions of refugees and asylum seekers of our time. God is just as much at work in the lives of those who are threatened now as was the case in the life of the Holy family. God worked through Mary and Joseph and other wisdom figures to protect the child. It should be our job as Christians to help protect and provide some safety for todays refuges from the Herod types. We must first remember and acknowledge the darkness of our world.  We are fortunate the Wise Men paid attention to their dreams and returned a different way avoiding Herod. Don’t be too anxious or distracted by Herod. Remember, neither God nor Joseph dealt directly with Herod. They didn’t give Herod time, attention, or effort. Maybe we shouldn’t either. That doesn’t mean we deny or ignore the Herods of our lives. It means, rather, that we gain more by nurturing, feeding, and growing the divine life. It means that our work is to cultivate deep relationships, a life of prayer, and love for all people. . God continues to work in our times through those who imagine or dream of a different future for the homeless and broken and act to achieve those dreams. As we move into a new year, we need to ensure we are among them. And let’s not forget the other than human families at risk on our planet. As this Christmas season comes to an end and decorations are packed away, the lights taken down and life returns to “normal” I wonder, how will we care for the gift of holiness, God’s presence in the world, in each other, in ourselves. Will we make the trip to Egypt? Will we be there to help those who are making that trip?