“Walk in the Light”
Piety
God is light, and in him, there is no darkness at all. If
we say, "We have fellowship with him," while we continue to walk in
darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in the light as he is
in the light, then we have fellowship with one another and the Blood of his
Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)
… the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and
said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there
until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."
… He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two
years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: ‘A voice
was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her
children, and she would not be consoled since they were no more. (Matthew 2:13, 16-18)
Study
Within hours of celebrating Christmas, we have two holy days,
which mark how violent society was when faced with the Christian threat.
First was the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr. Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents
whose blood (although not technically Christian) poured out while Herod sought
to eliminate Jesus as a threat to his rule.
Protection. Watching has
been a constant theme of our liturgy and study since Advent began. We waited over the dark days and long nights
and weeks with candles burning until the Savior emerged to walk with us. Now the
Lord is entrusting his care to others -- principally to Mary and Joseph. They get great assistance at the holy daycare
center from angels who announced the pending news. Even after birth, the angels assisted in the
protection of Jesus with today’s warning.
In spite of his initial doubts about the first message of
the angel, Joseph is now walking in the light of truth. A change has come over Joseph, not just
fatherhood, but faith. This time, after the message from the angel, comes to
Joseph in a dream, he wakes up the very next day and prepares for the journey
to Egypt – leaving, we assume, the next night. Even though they were traveling
under cover of literal darkness, the Holy Family was walking in the light. The angel will appear to Joseph one more time
to notify him that the coast is clear and they can return to Israel fulfilling
the prophecy of the new Exodus.
Action
Jesus does not sit in one place while people come to him. He
goes out to where the people are. Like the Magi and the shepherds, we have to
seek him. We must look for him in the
stadium crowds. We must look for him in the Beltway traffic jams. We must look
for him in the faces of people on the sidewalks, in the cafés and the malls. We
have to look for him in the people who clean our offices, care for our yards,
and check out our groceries.
The Gospel and our Catholic faith call us to search for the Prince
of Peace. One thing makes such a search
easier. While we are looking for the Lord, he is looking for us, waiting for us
to come back to him just like the waiting father in the story of the Prodigal
Son.
Beyond our search, when we find the Lord, our faith is not
one in which we can keep it to ourselves. Jesus needs our help if he is going
to stay one step ahead of evil. Just like Joseph led his family to Egypt, we
have to be present and carry Jesus with us wherever we go.
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