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 2:19-23

I have chosen a short reading for today, as we go through Christmastide. We begin with the Holy Family in Egypt, where they have fled because of Herod's murder of the children of Bethlehem, in order to destroy the Child King whom he fears threatens his reign (see The Holy Innocents).

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, . . . A note in my study bible says here that "Herod the Great died in 4 B.C. The dating of Christ's birth on which the A.D. (Anno Domini, Latin for 'in the year of the Lord') calendar was based was off by several years." I think it's important that we understand the Bible, or any form of Holy Scripture, to be something much more than a history textbook. It's important to know the reality of Our Lord's life, the circumstances into which He was born. But if we base our understanding of life merely on a historical approach, we miss the entirety of spiritual and religious reality that permeates our worldly lives on so many levels of understanding. I once read a text that speculated on the origins of the Star followed by the wise men (see yesterday's reading, Wise men from the East). It focused on a particular day several years earlier than the traditional estimate on which there would have been a alignment of many planets in our solar system -- viewed together from earth's vantage point in that particular orbital cycle to form what would appear to be a blazing star. An interesting speculation, but the basis for our faith encompasses so much more, and impacts us at levels within ourselves that give meaning and power to our choices for faith.

. . . 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." In the earlier reading on the Holy Innocents (cited above), my study bible had an important comment: "This is one of a number of instances in Scripture where God's people must elude civil power in order to do His will." And so, we see from the very beginning of the life of Jesus an interaction with civil power that makes the birth of the holy into our world quite difficult. There is so much that pervades this story of Jesus' birth, giving them difficulties to surmount in order to bring the holy into the world: His mother's pregnancy before her marriagel her spouse, Joseph, must be a man of faith, who can accept an angel's word that comes to him in a dream; Elizabeth and Zacharias who were childless until old age, who are called to name their child a special name, not in the family. Mary and Joseph had to travel for the census when she is ready to deliver her Child, and because there is so much crowding in Bethlehem, there is no room in the guest quarters, and the child is laid in a manger. Finally, having heard the news from the wise men, Herod seeks to kill the child (and the wise men, too, are warned in a dream to avoid Herod on their return). All the parties involved in this story, who welcome the holy at work in their lives and being born into the world, have difficulties to encounter, to avoid, to endure as they play their roles in the Scriptures. We are not given a story of a perfectly charmed life, but rather the avoidance of the pitfalls of a difficult life in order to bring this fruit to bear in the world, the story of the birth of the holy among us (Emmanuel or "God with us").

Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. And finally, in today's reading, the Holy Family can make the journey from Egypt to Israel, but there are still difficulties to encounter.

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. My study bible says here: "Archelaus was banished by Augustus Caesar to Gaul in A.D. 6, when the Jews, protesting the cruelty of Archelaus' rule, petitioned his removal. That very cruelty is foretold by the Lord as a warning to Joseph; hence the detour to Nazareth (v. 23), a town in Galilee governed by another son of Herod, called Herod Antipas (see Luke 3:1)." Again, Joseph is warned in a dream. We see the workings of grace repeated in this story and all through the readings that surround Jesus' birth: there are repeated warnings in dreams, including an angel that appeared previously in a dream to Joseph to tell him about the baby his wife Mary was carrying, the wise men are warned in a dream, and angelic messengers appear to Zacharias and to Mary. The Spirit also speaks through prophecy. So we encounter two important elements laced into all of these stories: the difficulties of human worldly life that are encountered, the burdens placed upon these individuals or persecution or social stigma; and the work of the Holy Spirit, of grace, which must be heeded through faith in order for this story of the birth of Jesus and the work of the Holy in the world to be completed. How do these two elements show themselves to be at work in our lives? This is the question that begs to be asked.

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." My study bible has an interesting note on this passage: "The prophecy here cannot be conclusively identified. It has been taken variously as a reference to the Branch (Heb. neser) of Isaiah (Is. 11:1) or to the Nazirite (Heb. nazir) of Judges (Judg. 13:7; see Num. 6:1-21). Or Matthew may be alluding to passages which speak of the Messiah as despised, since Nazareth did not have a good reputation among the Jews (John 1:46). Nazarene later became a designation for followers of Jesus, especially in the Semitic world, although 'Christian' was the more common name." We will see that even from the reference cited here in John's Gospel, about Nathanael's response to Jesus ("Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"), the birth of the Holy into our world is not one of easy, streamlined, problem-free life, but of difficulties and challenges, and the faith necessary to see them through and into the life of the Spirit.

All of this, of course, goes entirely counter to our human assumptions about how the holy should work in our world. One would think that with God's hand behind all that happens in a life, all should be smooth. The way should be paved with golden paving stones. But that's not the way that this story works and that's not the way the Scriptures teach us about life in the Way of the Holy in our world. Our Scriptures, on the contrary, teach us about this Light that is born with us, into the darkness that fills or overshadows our lives and our world. And it tells us much more than just about the difficulties, but about the necessity that shapes our choice to hear the holy, through those difficulties -- to receive, accept, and understand. All of those figures that people this story endure hardship and difficulties, whether they be from the civil authorities or social shame in some sense. Worldly coercive power via political or social pressures works against them - and in the midst of that, the holy: grace at work in dreams, via angelic messenger, the work of the Holy Spirit in prophecy. Spiritual inspiration comes via spiritual means through the difficulties and in the midst of them. And there we have our test of what meets humankind in the darkness and difficulties of our lives. Without their reception and follow through, we just wouldn't have this story. And that is where the great test of what makes this story or not comes through: how do they respond? Joseph, with his acceptance of the angel's message, takes Mary as his wife and cares for this Son. Mary accepts the word of the angel and "ponders all these things in her heart." Elizabeth knows and understands what is happening through her unborn infant son and his response to Mary's just-conceived child. And there is so much more. Without them, all these people who choose, symbolically, to be "God-bearers" as was Mary, there would be no story here. There would be no Scriptural event to teach us about the work of the Holy in our world, about how God works with us and within us and through us to make such a story. So let us consider then the two elements we encounter in life in this Scripture, in this world of people who seek to hear and understand, to be the light-bearers and help to bring that light into the world: difficulties or conflicts with worldly power in one form or another, and the action of grace which must be received, accepted and acted upon. Both elements make up our story in the Scriptures, and they make up, also, our encounters in our lives. Can we understand this midst our own desires for a care-free life? Can we find God in the difficulties, love midst our encounters in life showing us the Way? Ask, He said, and ye shall receive. Let us remember the man from Nazareth who asks us for our faith, love and trust -- and that so much also depends on our answer, on us. We remember, also, that to be holy, or sacred, is to be set apart. Time and again, we encounter in the Scriptures those who are set apart via exclusion and hardship, and it is faith they are called upon to heed. Jesus will call us all to invite to the table those who are excluded, in so many ways. To be set apart is not easy - but to hear the voice of the Shepherd is the work of those who would give birth to the holy. Can we do this?