Matthew 2:13-18… “Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’” vss. 14-15
In the gospel of Matthew Jesus is presented as a new Moses, a leader chosen by God to inaugurate a new covenant with Israel. Rescued from King Herod as a baby, just as Moses was saved from the pharaoh, Jesus too spends his early years in Egypt in kind of a divine witness protection program. And then to prepare for his mission, Jesus leaves Egypt with his parents and goes to live in Nazareth. Moses went to Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, while Jesus begins his teaching with the Beatitudes on a mountain in Galilee. Of course Jesus was more than a new Moses, and presented in his teaching, not a new law but a new way of life. As the gospel of John puts it, “The law indeed was given through Moses: grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” It’s important for us to remember this distinction. Too many would like nothing better than to turn Jesus into a law-giver and ignore his teachings on forgiveness and mercy. Following Jesus is far more than obeying a set of rules and commandments. Joseph paid attention to his dreams. In Christ we learn to listen to the Spirit of God and to go with the gospel wherever a word of grace is needed
Thought for the Day: Who needs a word of grace today?
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