He shall be called a Nazarene

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead."

Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

- Matthew 2:23

Yesterday's passage detailed the slaughter of the Holy Innocents by Herod, in his search to defeat the newborn King the wise men had told him about. In Jesus' short life at this point, he has already been hunted by the authorities for threatening their power, and according to the ancient tradition of the Church, the first Christian martyrs, called the Holy Innocents, have died by swords of Herod's men who were following his orders to kill all children under the age of two in Bethlehem. History has recorded Herod as a ruler known for his cruelty, although there is no absolute proof of this particular event. One fact we do know for certain is that Herod died in 4 BC; therefore we can conclude that the A.D. (Anno Domini - "year of the Lord" in Latin) calendar is based on a date that is off by several years.

Archelaus, the son of Herod, was banished by Augustus Caesar to Gaul in A.D. 6. Apparently, he was a ruler as known for cruelty as was his father, as the Jews protested to Rome for this reason against Archelaus and successfully petitioned for his removal. In today's reading, Joseph has been warned in a dream yet again, as he has several times throughout the readings concerning Jesus' early life. This time, the warning is against the cruelty of Archelaus. So, Joseph takes his family to Galilee. Nazareth was governed by another son of Herod. This was Herod Antipas, who is to figure in the gospels after Jesus' youth and in the life of John the Baptist.

My study bible notes that the source of the quotation for this prophecy, "He shall be called a Nazarene," cannot be specifically identified. It has been taken possibly as a reference to the Branch ("neser" in Hebrew) of Isaiah 11:1: "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." Possibly it refers to the Nazirite (Hebrew "nazir") of Judges 13:7 or Numbers 6:1-21. There is also a possibility, my study bible notes, that Matthew may be alluding to passages which speak of the Messiah as despised. Nazareth did not have a good reputation among the Jews, as has been recorded in the gospels in a statement by the apostle Nathaniel, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46) - after which Jesus praises Nathaniel for his honesty! My study bible notes that "Nazarene" later became a designation for followers of Jesus, especially in the Semitic world, although "Christian" was the more common name. We once again recall that Matthew's gospel is written primarily for Jews who have become Christians, so his audience would be familiar with all of these subjects.

This is the last of our readings of Jesus' early life from the gospel of Matthew. Tomorrow there will be one more reading from Luke's gospel regarding Jesus' youth. Clearly we can see the themes that have repeated themselves, especially in the action of the Divine at work in these stories: repeatedly Joseph is advised and warned in dreams by an angel, Mary's annunciation via angel, and that of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The Holy Spirit acts to inspire the prophecies of Anna and of Simeon, and also the inspired prayer of Elizabeth as she greets Mary. The shepherds living out in the fields of Bethlehem are called to the Good News via a whole host of angels. A heavenly star guides the wise men from the East and they, too, are given warnings in dreams about Herod and his violence. And then, too, is the spirit of prophecy at work throughout these stories about Jesus, as his birth and his life were seen as reflections of Jewish prophecy treasured for centuries, especially in Matthew's gospel whose theme is "Emmanuel" or "God with us," and is written primarily for a Jewish audience. Contrasted with the works of God are desperation, deceit, servility to power and the terrible acts of violence on the part of the "worldly" powerful who people this book, especially the massacre of the Holy Innocents by Herod. What is remarkable to me is that despite the prophecy and the hand of God, we observe that all depends on the actions of people who act through faith. Without the "yes" of Mary, of Elizabeth, of Joseph, of the Magi, we clearly don't know what the fate of this child could have been in a violent and threatening world. The shepherds spread the good news, Anna and Simeon do likewise to the community in Jerusalem that awaits the Consolation of Israel. All of these people said "yes" in faith to the actions of Spirit, of the messengers of the Divine. The one example we have of someone who reacted in fear is Zechariah, who loses his voice as he fails at first to accept the prophecy given to him. So what we have, then, is a remarkable record of faith at work in a world that is not perfect, but rather filled with danger. It is threatening and violent, and especially so to the holy, to the Child that will be born and live as fulfillment of prophecy and under the shadow of the Almighty, and who is the Anointed One. I think it's highly important to consider, then, what our own "yes" might mean. These are not stories of magic and of charm, but of faith, in a world filled with difficulty and action that will act against that faith and against the things the Divine leads us toward. What will your act of faith, your "yes" bring? If you face difficulty, if you need courage, consider these stories, and the lives of these people in the stories of the birth of Christ. Their lives are not easy. The child has a manger for a crib, the holy family must repeatedly take flight and find refuge. The Magi must flee Herod to return to their country. Those who accept the good news are the marginalized, the outsiders (and Church tradition also tells of their later persecution and martyrdom). The earliest martyrs to worldly violence are innocent babes. And the Nazarene will be despised. But the faithful say "yes."