First Sunday of Christmas Year A 1st January 2023
Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 63 v7-9; Psalm 148; Hebrews 2 v10-18; Matthew 2 v13-23.
Joseph’s obedience.
Matthew’s gospel records the escape to and return from Egypt of Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus.
After the wise men had gone, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him.” (Matthew 2 v13).
The family fled from Bethlehem, in fear of King Herod’s wrath, (which led to the slaughter of many new born children). Joseph was obedient to God’s messenger who appeared to Joseph ‘in a dream’, a phrase which is repeated three times in today’s reading.
After King Herod died, an angel from the Lord appeared in a dream to to Joseph while he was still in Egypt. The angel said, “Get up and take the child and his mother back to Israel. The people who wanted to kill him are now dead.” Joseph got up and left with them for Israel. But when he heard that Herod’s son Archelaus was now ruler of Judea, he was afraid to go there. Then in a dream he was told to go to Galilee, and they went to live in the town of Nazareth. (Matthew 2 v 19-23a.)
Note that unlike Luke, Matthew implies that Joseph and Mary were originally residents of Bethlehem in Judea, and only ended up living in the town of Nazareth in Galilee because Joseph considered it to be unsafe to return to Bethlehem.
Matthew’s gospel is written in such a way as to suggest to the reader that Jesus is a new ‘Moses’.
The threat to new born children, the return from Egypt under the guidance of God, mirror the story of Moses. Matthew will go on to explain that Jesus is greater than Moses, that faithful Jews should acknowledge that Jesus is God’s promised Messiah, the one sent to rescue us from all evil and restore us to the family of God.
The writer of the book of Hebrews explains, Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. That is why he isn’t ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. (Hebrews 2 v11).
Jesus said, “Anyone who obeys my Father in heaven is my brother or sister or mother.”
(Matthew 12 v50).
Marjorie Dobson reflects on the birth of Jesus, and the challenge of parenthood. (Singing the Faith 226)
Birth brings a promise of new life awaking, dawning of hope through a child’s open eyes.
Uncharted future is there for the making, challenge and change in a baby’s first cries.
Every new life changes those who are round it, making demands of commitment and care,
calling for love to enfold and surround it, reshaping patterns by claiming a share.
Jesus the newborn crossed time’s moving stages changing their course by the act of his birth,
translating God from the mystery of ages, rooting our faith by his presence on earth.
Wonder and worship were waiting to greet him, love and devotion were his to command, life
was transformed for the ones sent to meet him, touching their God in a child’s outstretched hand.
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English version.