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.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
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.

When Herod had died, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt 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.”
He rose, took the child and his mother,
and went to the land of Israel.
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.
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.

And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. 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.

After being deceived by the Magi, and in a futile and capricious attempt to destroy Jesus, Herod commanded that all boys in Egypt under the age of 2 years old, be murdered. Why was Herod afraid of the child Jesus? Because the Herods were all usurpers. The Herods had no legitimate claim to the throne of David, They were not of the tribe of Levi, and they were not even of jewish decent. They only controlled the throne because it was given to them from the Romans, and the Romans only gave it to them, because their lust and greed for power, made them controllable.

The true sons of david were in hiding because they could not be controlled by the Romans, because the true sons of David were only loyal God in Heaven. As a result the Heir of David was a threat to both the Herod’s and the Romans, and as such, they were hunted by the Romans. Despite the fact that the Herod’s were installed as stooges of Rome, the Herod’s grasp on the seat of power was very weak and fragile. Thus the Baby Jesus stood as a direct threat not only to the Romans, but also as an irrefutable challenge to the kingship of Herod. If Herod did not destroy this challenge, Herod would either be unseated by Jesus, and ultimately stoned by the jews for his crimes, or unseated by the Romans, and ultimately killed for allowing the Davidic Heir to rise. Herod’s response then, while savage and egregious, was actually the only thing he could do to save his own skin.

And so why was the holy family fleeing for their safety? Jesus is a son of David in two ways. From his mother, Mary who is a daughter in the line of David, and from his adopted father Joseph, who many scholars (and even the gospel writers) believe was a direct blood line descendant of David, and likely the only rightful heir to the throne of David. We also note that in that time, that in adoption the child was given all of the rights of any son of their father, and in some ways even more. So wether it was through blood by Mary or through adoption by Joseph, Jesus was a true heir to the throne of David, and thus the most dangerous person in the world when it came to the tenuous hold on power that the Herod’s claimed, or the tyrannical defense of the power that the Caesars invoked on the people that they ruled.

In any case this holy family had to avoid going back to Jerusalem. And so they went to a tiny little backwater town of Nazareth in the region of Galilee. This not only fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, but it was also because Galilee was an area that many of the descendants of David had fled to, to avoid the persecution of the Romans and the Herods . They would be safe among their own people. And that is what they did, and that is how prophecy is fulfilled, by practical need and divine providence.

But there is a message in this gospel for us as well. Herod was obsessed with the trappings of power and wealth, and as such he was a slave to them.  He was forced to do the worst things possible in order to maintain his status quo.  We must strive in our lives to avoid this kind of slavery.  Herod used people and loved things, we must strive to love people and use things. And only use those things to the extent that they further glorify God. And then allow the voice of the divine providence of God to lead us to safety and salvation. Amen.

Oh lord, help me to follow Josephs example and to put you first in all things, so that I can be a good leader protector and provider for my family too. Amen.