Feast of the Holy Family (Ages 9-12): Out of Egypt I Have Called My Child

Matthew 2.13-15, 19-23

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Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection

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Last week, we thought about Joseph who never speaks in the Gospels, but whose actions speak louder than words. God speaks, and Joseph acts. He listens to God who speaks to him in his dreams.

In the Gospel reading this Sunday, we hear about three more of those dreams.

In the first dream, God speaks and Joseph takes his family away to Egypt when it is no longer safe for them to stay in their home country of Israel.

In the second dream, God speaks and the little family returns to Israel after Herod dies.

In the third dream, God speaks and the family settles in Nazareth, away from danger, where Jesus can grow up in safety.

As Joseph listens to God's will and participates in the Plan of God, he also fulfils the scriptures. We know that for hundreds of years before Jesus was born, God revealed parts of the Plan to the prophets. God showed the prophets what God was doing at that moment in time, and what God would do in the fullness of time.

St. Matthew takes care to tell us how the scriptures are being fulfilled. For example, he tells us that in the scriptures God says,

“Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

In days past,

when the Jewish people were slaves in Egypt, God calls Moses to lead the people out of slavery into freedom. God gives them the Torah, the Law, as a light to guide their path. The Torah forms them into the chosen people called "Israel." God says,

“Thus says the Lord: Israel is my firstborn son."

In response to God's call, Israel shares the scriptures, this great gift, with the world.

Out of Egypt, God has called God's son.

In today's Gospel, in the fullness of time,

we see Joseph, in response to God's call, bringing Jesus out of Egypt—a refuge, a place of safety—back to Israel, where he grows up. When Jesus is grown, he begins to preach about the Kingdom of God, and fulfill his role in the Plan of God.

 Out of Egypt, God has called God's son.

If God does this in days past, and God does this in the fullness of time,

does God continue to do this today? Does God change?

We know that in Baptism, we become children of God. So...Out of Egypt, does God call us???

Like Israel, does God call us out of slavery into freedom? Does God give us the Word as Light to guide our path, to form us into the chosen ones? Does God call us, too, to share our faith, this great gift, with others?

Like Jesus, does God call us out of a place of safety so we can grow to preach about the Kingdom of God? Does God call us, too, to participate in the plan of God?

And...when we listen to God like Joseph does, do we also fulfil the scriptures?