A synopsis of the sermon delivered by the Rev. David L. Hicks at St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church at the 10:30am service on Sunday, Christmas II, January 2, 2005. Please read St. Matthew 2:19-23.
The Christmas story continues this week with the return of Jesus, Mary and Joseph from their exile in the land of Egypt. We recall that Joseph had led his family to Egypt because of King Herod’s plot to kill the infant Savior. Now they return to the land of Israel and make their home in the city of Nazareth. What becomes very clear in the reading of this portion of Scripture is that Jesus’ earthly life was governed and guided by the will of God right from the start. Matthew is careful to show us that the flight into Egypt and settlement in Nazareth were not haphazard events, rather they were fulfillments of God’s purpose and plan for our Lord. Note especially what is said in 2:14-15 and 2:23: “When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that I might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son’… 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.’”
Although our Lord Jesus’ every step was guided by the providential hand of the Father, that does not mean that his earthly life was easy. His birth took place in a stable, he lived his early years under the threat of a king, his later life was characterized by hardship, and finally he suffered the rejection of his people and was crucified. We often make the mistaken assumption that if things are going according to God’s plan, then no difficulties are to be encountered. When hardship is experienced, our human response is to wonder if God has forsaken us or if somehow we have been left out of his plan. We see from the Scriptures that nothing could be further from the truth, for our Lord himself experienced suffering and yet every experience fit into God’s overall purpose.
We who are baptized into the body of Jesus Christ have a destiny that is linked with Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:3-5). So then we are assured of God’s guidance in our lives, just as he guided the life of our Savior on earth. We must never lose heart when we face trying circumstances, as if God has somehow failed us, for the Christmas story tells us that God is working for our good and His glory even in the most fearful situations. Amen.
