Scripture: St. Matthew 2:13-15 (NKJV)
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph
in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to
destroy Him.” 14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night
and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
“Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
Devotion
As the holiday season comes to a close, there is understandable sadness. What
we’ve spent months getting ready for is passed. The preparation and fulfillment
have been replaced with the mundane sameness of everyday life. The glory seems
to be gone.
One might wonder if Joseph and Mary felt some of those same things. After all,
look at what they’d just gone through: the excitement of the Son of God being
born-to them! There was the unexpected visit of the shepherds and the “glory of
God” being revealed. And then came later the visit of the Magi, bearing gifts
for the newborn King. But now what? Those things are done; they’re in the past,
just distant memories for Joseph and Mary. Now they must set about the task of
raising a family, with the challenge of raising the Son of God.
But there was no time to rest. For you’ll recall, when King Herod found out
from the Wise Men that another King had been born, he was fearful for his
throne. So he tried to use the Wise Men to find Jesus and have the infant King
murdered. But Joseph was warned by an angel to flee that night and escape
quickly to Egypt.
God called His Son out of Egypt to lead the whole world out of the greater
Egypt that held the world in the slavery of sin. God has called you out of
Egypt, too. By virtue of your Baptism, He’s called you out of the midst of
Egypt’s bondage. And by virtue of His Word and Sacrament, He continues to lead
you so you may enter the Promised Land of eternal life.
The Lutheran Herald is a publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of
North America. These daily devotions are authored by the bishop, pastors, and
deacons of the diocese. Daily posts are provided by The Reverend Jeffrey A.
Ahonen.
_______________________________________________
Sermons mailing list
[email protected]
http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
