12/30/2022 (Friday) Today’s gospel reading: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
13 When the magi had departed, behold, 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.”
14 Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.
15 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.
19 When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20 and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel,
for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”
21 He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee.
23 He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazorean.
12/30/2022 (Friday) Today’s gospel reflection: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
The gospel reading above gives us an account of how God intervened in the life of the Holy Family. When the boy Jesus was in danger, God instructed Joseph to bring the whole family to Egypt. Later, He again gave the instruction to return to Israel, not to Judea but to another region, that is to Galilee.
The sequence of events in the gospel reading is also what happens to our life. Just as God intervened in the life of the Holy Family, He also intervenes in our own life. Many times when our life is in great danger or when we are in trials, God makes a way for our own good and safety. He is always in control and His will prevails. No earthly power can overcome what God has planned.
Then there is the call for change. The gospel is telling us not to return to “Judea” but to change course. When we receive new life, God is telling us to abandon the past and to take the new path to His Kingdom.
Many problems in our life recur and recur because of our hard-headedness. We keep on repeating our previous mistakes. May we be like Joseph who is obedient to the commands of God.