Continued 👇🏾
The Exile of the Lord: The Blessed Flight to Egypt
Even our Lord Himself entered into exile, sanctifying the path of all who suffer displacement. When Herod sought to destroy the Christ Child, an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream: “Arise, take the young child and His mother, and flee into Egypt.” Thus the Holy Family became strangers in a foreign land.
Abba Tsige Dengel, in the Lamentations of the Virgin, spoke of this mystery in reverent words:
“Jesus, the Hope of the Exiled, the Comfort of the Wandering.”
Christ’s journey from Bethlehem to Egypt was not a sign of weakness, but of divine mercy. By His exile, He blessed ours transforming the pain of displacement into a path of salvation. For as He entered Egypt, He entered the heart of every exile, making our wanderings holy and our suffering redemptive.
Saint Matthew writes of the persecution of our Lord Jesus Christ while He was yet in His mother’s arms:
“And when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the Child and His Mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod seeks the Child to destroy Him. Then Joseph arose, took the Child and His Mother by night, and departed into Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, Out of Egypt have I called My Son.”
When Herod saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, he became enraged and ordered the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem two years old and under.
Then was fulfilled the word of Jeremiah the prophet:
“A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
(Matthew 2:13–18)
The Church carries the cross of suffering
for suffering and the Church are inseparable. From her very foundation she has been persecuted, and even now she walks the same path. The road to righteousness, both now and in the age to come, must pass through tribulation.
The early Christians and apostles were persecuted by kings and rulers. Saint Luke records:
“On that day a great persecution arose against the Church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul began to destroy the Church, entering house after house; he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. Those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”
(Acts 8:1–4)
Continues 👇🏾