LISTEN AND HEED

The Second Sunday after CHRISTMAS

4 January, AD 2009

TEXT:  St. Matthew 2:19-23

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.

“ . . . behold, an angel of the LORD appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel:  for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.’ . . . But when Joseph heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither:  notiwthstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:  and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth. . .”  (St. Matthew 2:19-22).

Today’s Gospel continues on the heels of last week’s Gospel concerning the slaughter of the Holy Innocents by Herod the Great.  Because Joseph listened to God through his dreams, he took the child, Jesus and Mary, His mother, into the land of Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod.  Twice now, in their history, the Hebrews have made Egypt their home.  

But now we find that Herod the Great has died and, again, God communicates to Joseph in a dream and calls the Holy Family out of Egypt back into Israel, among their own people, so Jesus can be reared among his own.  But instead of going back into Judaea, where they would have normally gone, once again, like clockwork, Joseph is, this time, warned, in a dream, not to settle there in Judaea because Archelaus, one of Herod’s sons, is in charge.  It would seem although as ruthless and cunning as Herod the Great was, he was still a very able ruler in the eyes of the Romans.  Archelaus, on the other hand was just plain mean and had not his father’s political suaveness about him.  For when he first took over his father’s throne, he tried to out-Herod Herod.  Archelaus had three thousand of the most influential people of the country slaughtered.  Even now, though Herod was, in fact, dead, it was not safe to go back into Judaea with such a reckless and savage ruler on the throne and the Holy Family was led into Galilee and settled in a town called Nazareth.  As a footnote to Archelaus before we leave him, he was deposed by the Romans in AD 6, just two years after taking the throne of his father, Herod the Great.  

With the exception of one incident when Mary and Joseph “lost” the young Jesus, but found Him again in the Temple at Jerusalem, these are going to be called the “silent years”.  We have no canonical sources that describe the childhood or youth of Jesus.  Nevertheless, Nazareth, in which Our Lord grew up, was no little back-water, either.  It lay on the major trade route.  To the North lay the road to Damascus.  To the South, the road to Egypt – the great land-bridge to Africa.  It was the road by which, centuries before, Joseph had been sold into Egypt as a slave.  It was the road just three hundred years before, Alexander the Great and his armies had used.  And it would be the road, centuries later, that Napoleon would march.  So it seemed that the world beat a path to Nazareth’s door.  All the while, Jesus was growing, hearing the news from far off places and learning carpentry from His foster-father, Joseph.  But what’s most important about today’s Gospel is how Jesus got to Nazareth.

Last week, Deacon Ben preached about listening to God.  Truly, if we endeavour, at all, to be what we say we are – Christians – we have to listen for and to God.  But just hearing Him is not enough.  It’s the first part to be sure, but it’s not all.  Joseph could have had too many dreams to count and could have listened to them all, but if he didn’t act upon them or heed them or let himself be influenced by them, they would have meant nothing.  So last week, we observed that Joseph listened, heard, and heeded God’s word and so led his family to safety.  Again, today, he listened, heard, and heeded not only once but twice more, and brought the Holy Family to a place where the child Jesus could be nurtured, raised, and taught in safety.  In short, Joseph sought God’s guidance and received it.  Like Abram was led by God from Ur and believed that what God told him was true and it was counted unto Abram as righteousness, God led Joseph.  Like Moses was called by God to lead the Hebrew people out of bondage in Egypt to the promised land, God led Joseph.  As we will see next week, like the Magi were led by the Star to Bethlehem, God led Joseph.  And like God led Joseph, He will most certainly lead us to Jesus if we will listen and then heed His Word to us.  All of those people we just mentioned had to listen to God, had to believe in God’s word to them, and then had to step out in faith and let God take the lead.  They had to put their powerful human emotions, fears, anxieties, and egos aside and follow God.  If any of them had not, we might not be here today.  But as it is, as we enter the season of the Epiphany where God’s glory is shed abroad on all of us, we can and will be led to Jesus if we do the same.  If you truly and sincerely put your faith, hope, love, and trust in Jesus Christ, you will be led to the way of salvation that leads to everlasting life.  Advent told us that the King was coming.  Christmas bore witness to His birth.  Now we are called, as Christmas moves into Epiphany, to let the light of Jesus Christ shine on and in our heart so that we will be led more and more into God’s nearer presence.  Listen and let yourselves be led by God.

And now, unto God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost be ascribed all might, majesty, power, and dominion as is most justly due this day both now and forever; world without end.  Amen.

SOLI DEO GLORIA – JEU+