Out of Egypt

Out of Egypt 

Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

Now, this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him, there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 

Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Matthew 2:14-15

Piety

Jesus, where are we going? Where will you take us? No matter the destination, protect all your Holy Innocents and us today and always from walking in darkness. As you fulfilled yesterday’s prophecies, teach us how to fulfill your Word in our modern lives. Open our ears so we may learn how to be the protector of your spirit in the world as you protect us from temptation, deliver us from evil, and grant us peace. Amen. 

Study

History pivots on the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The Before. The Now. The Future. In our first two days after Christmas, the Church gave us readings that looked forward. These reminded us of where the salvation story leads.  St. Stephen was a martyr for his evangelization.  The Prophetess Anna preached to all who would listen. 

Today, through the Feast of the Holy Innocents and the flight to Egypt, Matthew looks back to see what the prophets said as fulfilled in this Birth. He connects the Jesus Story to what has come before and weaves Herod’s present reign (and his heirs) with that of Jesus. 

In 2010, on a trip to Cairo, we visited a church on the site where Mary and Joseph fled.   Today on December 28, I think back to our trip to St. Sergius Coptic Church, where I once stood quietly one sunny December 28 with Beth and Sarah in central Cairo.  Was this indeed a place that might have been where the holy family once lived for a short time?

That afternoon found us on the so-called “streets” of Imbaba, visiting children served by the Coptic Orphans program.  Imbaba is called a working-class neighborhood in northern Giza, Egypt – just west of the Nile and northwest of and near Gezira Island where Sarah had her apartment. 

The streets were little more than dirt paths.  The homes were (politely) sparsely furnished walk-ups where the climbing of three flights of dark stairs required flashlights to avoid falling. In these corridors, cooking dinner meant a shared grill on the apartment landing.  Even a high school diploma was not a guarantee of any job outside the military—no wonder the “Arab Spring” erupted just weeks later. Westerners like us had a hard time getting a taxi out of Imbaba, but even that journey was much easier than the residents had to get out of poverty. 

The story of the Birth of Jesus as we celebrate it is full of beauty.  Lighted trees.  Fancy cookies.  Wrapped presents.  However, the story also is filled with intrigue, confusion, uncertainty, evil, grief, and enormous mystery. Today — “Holy Innocents Day” — think about God loving the world so much that no one or no thing could stop his plan. Not the armies of Herod or the poverty of Imbaba. 

Like Ahikam protected Jeremiah, Joseph watched Jesus and Mary, so the baby was not handed over to death. On a literal level, the flight to Egypt is another example of Joseph’s humble, unfailing protection of the Holy Family and obedience to God, which serves as an example for us. 

In a historical context, the story fulfills the prophecies of the Tanakh. Perhaps the main reason why an angel calls the Holy family to Egypt is to relive the Exodus experience. Moses obtained the release of Israel from imprisonment in Egypt. Jesus goes beyond Mosaic Law. Jesus will release us from further captivity – the prison of sin. On this more profound level, this development allows Jesus to share a common heritage with the people when He emerges out of Egypt as the “New Moses,” taking his people in a whole new direction.

Action

Where do you dwell? In the virgin womb. In a manger. In Egypt. In the village of Nazareth.  In the dirty streets of Imbaba. 

Coptic Orphans is an award-winning international Christian development organization that has transformed the lives of over 55,000 children in Egypt since 1988. The charity’s leadership believes that through long-term programs that focus on education, they can break the vicious cycle of poverty these children face. View its Guidestar profile here: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/54-1637257

Just as Joseph is lead from Bethlehem to Egypt and then back home to Nazareth, can our Piety, Study and Action lead us to places where we let the Christmas light and spirit of Jesus shine?  What doors can you open to letting Jesus in to help the holy innocents here and abroad?