First Sunday After Christmas (CL)

Matthew 2:13-18
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Mt 2:13-18). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Jesus is the only Son of the Father and the true King of Israel. Jesus Christ even while only a young child is taken down to the land of Egypt. Herod is threatening the life of the Child and his only Salvation can be found in the Land of Egypt. Matthew does not tell us how long our Savior was in the Land of Egypt. But eventually the Angel will appear to Joseph again and call the Son of the Most High from the Land of Egypt.

Jesus will eventually have his own little Exodus. Just like when the People of Israel left Egypt after the 10 plagues. When Jesus leaves Bethlehem he also leaves death behind. These children of two years old or younger are killed on account of Christ. They are very similarly thought by the Church as some of the First Martyrs because they give up their life for Christ Jesus.

So we as Christians are to act like these children willing to give up our lives for the Christ Child. We are also supposed to listen to the message of God as Joseph did to protect the Holy Child. Similarly, we should avoid being tricked by the world around us and allowing the Gospel to be destroyed as the Wise Men do not return to Herod. But the good news is that Jesus Christ is the one who has been protected through the generations. He is the plan for your Salvation.