Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - Survival

“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” (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23).
 
It takes many things to hold a family together: hard work, commitment, love, and trust—to name a few. Many threats present themselves over the course of a lifetime, from health and financial problems to strains in the very relationships that ought to bind the family together. Sometimes the family is overwhelmed as catastrophe circles round.
 
Joseph and Mary and Jesus faced such a dilemma. Like countless families down through the centuries, they were uprooted from their home and driven into a foreign land because “death squads” were after them and others. Long before Jesus faced the cross, Mary and Joseph faced it for him. The danger Jesus faced as a young child, they faced too. They knew the horror of being helpless in the face of violent power bent on destroying innocent life. Perhaps they taught their son the lessons they had learned. Alerted by the angel’s message, they fled to restart their lives first in Egypt and finally in Nazareth. How hard it is to start over again and again and to wonder if this is the final move. How scary to worry if the threat is really past—or only delayed.
 
The Holy Family faced such concerns as families have done throughout human history. Life is fragile and vulnerable at every turn, and it must be guarded, nurtured, and strengthened. And yet, the only life worth living is a life placed at risk for another, a life that is given away, a life that is never fully one’s own. Jesus learned from the self-risking lives of his parents that the road to Nazareth was the same road that led to Calvary.
 
- How have you—and your family—called upon God in times of adversity?
 
Adapted from PrayerTime: Faith-Sharing Reflections on the Sunday Gospels, available at the RENEW International store