This Christmas we are focusing on how Jesus is the light who shines in the darkness.
He is for us
He is with us
He is amongst us
He is for us
He is with us
He is amongst us
- Pause – As you begin, pause, open your hands and be aware that God is present with you.
- Read – Read the Bible passage slowly.
Matt 2:13-18
The Escape to Egypt
After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”
Herod was furious when he realised that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
“A cry was heard in Ramah—
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.”
The Escape to Egypt
After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”
Herod was furious when he realised that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
“A cry was heard in Ramah—
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.”
- Reflect – Notice what stands out. Why does it stand out? Read the reflection:
God is with us…
I’ve often wondered why God warned Mary and Joseph in a dream but failed to warn all those other parents living in and around Bethlehem. Of course, we can all too quickly reply that it was because Jesus was God’s son that he gave them special treatment. After all, he will become the Saviour of the world. I agree but to gloss over the grief of loss would be to miss something deeply complex about our lives and our wrestle with all those unanswered questions. That is why I prefer to acknowledge these seemingly contradictory aspects; the rescue of one child and the loss of others, behind both is an evil ruler who will stop at nothing to secure his future. I don’t know why God didn’t warn those other families. Perhaps he did? But I do know why Jesus came … to challenge and defeat those very powers. Baby Jesus’ rescue lays bare the rescue our world so desperately needs from the enslaving evil power at work in the likes of king Herod. This is no ‘nice’ nativity. There is a task for Jesus that needs to be achieved, and it reveals itself at the very beginning of his life with us.
I’ve often wondered why God warned Mary and Joseph in a dream but failed to warn all those other parents living in and around Bethlehem. Of course, we can all too quickly reply that it was because Jesus was God’s son that he gave them special treatment. After all, he will become the Saviour of the world. I agree but to gloss over the grief of loss would be to miss something deeply complex about our lives and our wrestle with all those unanswered questions. That is why I prefer to acknowledge these seemingly contradictory aspects; the rescue of one child and the loss of others, behind both is an evil ruler who will stop at nothing to secure his future. I don’t know why God didn’t warn those other families. Perhaps he did? But I do know why Jesus came … to challenge and defeat those very powers. Baby Jesus’ rescue lays bare the rescue our world so desperately needs from the enslaving evil power at work in the likes of king Herod. This is no ‘nice’ nativity. There is a task for Jesus that needs to be achieved, and it reveals itself at the very beginning of his life with us.
- Respond – Respond to God in prayer