Matthew 2:13-23
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.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’
When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Then Joseph got up, 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 there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’
Reflection - God Leads and Guides
I'm convinced that God leads us and guides us on our way through life. I'm not saying that life will always be sweet and wonderful and the sun will always shine. In fact, in some cases it may seem to be just the opposite. Especially when you consider my sins, my illness, my selfishness, my temper, my mouth, my, my, my... All these things about myself get in the way. But God can work through the my of my life. God can lead me and guide me away from the my... my... my... towards those in need and towards following his Light of Jesus and his will in the Holy Spirit. God uses the flawed people like me and like you. Remember, I'm not alone in this my stuff... you are right there with me... in fact we both are guilty. Guilty enough to need a Savior.
So, I'm convinced that God leads us and guides us on our way through life. God has a way of protecting us and preserving us for his purpose for our lives. But, oh the journey! The journey may lead right through illness, death, running away, sinful actions, hiding and poverty. The journey may lead through such great richness and success that we have such bounty that all we have gets in the way and we ourselves become the problem. Good or bad, blessings or struggles; God leads us and guides us on our way through life.
And on top of it all... God sends angels to help out! Now how cool is that!? Angels that give us subtle messages and angels that make God's wishes for us crystal clear. God sends angels to lead us and guide us in where to go and what to do and how to act. And these angels may not be the white flapping type that flutter through the air as they play their harps. These angels may be a man that comes to church and can't find someone to sit with that I let slip away this past summer in our outdoor service at church. I'm sure there was a message intended for me and for my wife. That man was an angel. Just recently, I was begged by the nurse at the assisted living center while returning my mother-in-law to take a dog that was sleeping in the cold on the chairs outside. A loving, caring dog that obviously someone had to be looking for. And we took this angel and hunted for the owner and finally got the tip and returned this angel of a dog that we nick named Angel to her owner. What a reunion that was! What a joy both in the return and a joy in the few days we were visited by this angel. Or how about the angel I saw in prison a few weeks ago? A father reading a book to his child with joy and love and wishing his child a Merry Christmas. This was an angel of God speaking not to the recorder but to me about the love of a Savior held prisoner and killed for me. Or the angel I visited in the hospital earlier this year. I went to visit to cheer her up and she showed to me a message of God's love and a message of strength in God even in the midst of healing. There she was... an angel of God sending a message. I saw so many angels in the homeless working towards getting a home. Working through all of the issues of life like divorce, drugs, poverty, but working their way out of a bind with a will and dedication that surely must have come from God. Yep! Angels that God sends to us to give us messages of love are all around us... just think about it and you will see.
Matthew 25.31-40
‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,* you did it to me.”
As I mentioned before, this world is filled with enough sinful people like myself and you that we need a God that leads and guides us. We need God! That's all there is to it! And it's through the Savior that we will be lead away from our sinfulness towards the Light of love and grace and action in God's Kingdom rather that our own errant action in our own false kingdom that we try to create. So, God leads us and preserves us and saves us for his plan of action. God comes to us and saves us, from the evils of this world and sin and death. God has come to save!
In this passage of Scripture, God leads Mary and Joseph away to save them from the evils of men who believe they have all of the power. God directs the footsteps of Mary and Joseph in the timing of the return and the young life of our Savior in Jesus. God leads and guides us all along the way, even in the midst of a sinful world. God leads and guides.
Yes, as we follow God, we are lead through the waters and the desert of life. We are guided and nurtured and taught of Jesus saving love for all the world. We are taken in our own unique state of being and formed and molded into what God would have us be. I'm convinced that God leads us and guides us on our way through life. So, let's gather together in Christ and fellowship one with another in all of our various states of blessing, struggle, death, crying, illness, prosperity, richness and fullness of life and follow the message of the angel. Let's follow Jesus as one people rich in diversity and rich in the creative powers of the Creator.
I'm convinced that God leads us and guides us on our way through life.
Thanks be to God!
Prayer
Lord, as we mourn for the ills of the world, for the death of babies, for the cruelty of earthly rulers; unite us in your rich blessing of eternal life that we can catch a glimpse of the way in which you would have us go and the decisions which you would have us make. May we always follow your lead as we come and go and move about. May we always seek to love you and one another in this walk through the waters and deserts of this life. Lead us to your eternal home that we may always dwell with you... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
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