The Other Side of Joy to The World

The Other Side of Joy To The World

13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’

All of the sudden the world is not so joyful, nor peace-filled.

Anne Weems describes the scene this way:  

“Into the wild and painful cold of the starless night came the refugees, slowly making their way to the border.  The man, stooped from age, or anxiety, hurried his small family through the wind.  Bearded and dark, his skin rough and cracked from the cold, his frame looming large in spite of the slumped shoulders:  He looked like a man who could take care of whatever came at them from the dark.  Unless, of course, there were too many of them…..

His eyes, black darted from side to side, then over his shoulder, then back again forward.  Had they been seen?  Had they been heard?  Every rustle of wind, every sigh from the child, sent terror through his chest…....He glanced at the young woman, his bride.  No more than a child herself, she nuzzled their newborn, kissing his neck…. Her eyes are red, her young face lined, her lovely hair matted from inattention, her clothes stained from milk and baby, her hands chapped from the raw wind of winter.  She’d hardly had time to recover from childbirth when word had come that they were hunted, and they fled with only a little bread, and remaining wine and a very small portion cheese. ……  (Anne Week: Kneeling in Bethlehem p. 59-60)

What ever happened to the manger scene where angles sang their alleluias, the star lighted up the sky and shepherds visited?

What happened, was that the world became real.  Very, very real.

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent his men to kill all the children, in and around Bethlehem, who were two years old or under,..

And, in one moment of time, Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus had to flea; because a tyrant feared the potential challenge of his power and authority.

Now we have the whole story of Christmas. 

The joy, and the horror, coming together in the full reality of life.

However, before we get down hearted and frustrated, we need to remember one single amazing truth that travels with Jesus throughout his life. 

    

God always just seems to move him past death.

Even from the shameless death on the cross.

To be continued