Third
“After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.’” (Matthew 2:19–20).
There is a very unassuming line in the Gospels that could almost be overlooked for its simplicity. And yet, as I was mediating upon the Gospels the other night, it occurred to me that perhaps this line in the Gospels was one of the most beautiful of all the lines that have ever been written…
It is not the most poetic line of text. It is not the most revolutionary. It is even not the most memorable. But it is – at least in my opinion following my meditation – one of the most beautiful lines I have ever read.
It is the line in Matthew’s Gospel that explains that in his third dream the Angel appeared to Saint Joseph – Foster Father of Christ – and instructed him to return to Israel with the Holy Family because Herod was dead…
“After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.’” (Matthew 2:19–20).
To me the Saint’s obedience to the instruction in this dream is perhaps the most beautiful example of faith that I have ever considered. After all, when he had been told that he should marry the Virgin, he did so and was able to see that he could serve some purpose there to protect her. When he had been told to take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, he went and must surely have heard about Herod’s great massacre of the Innocents. And now, this third time, having known what Herod was capable of, having seen what tremendous dangers there could be in the world to which he was re-entering, still he went back.
Saint Joseph was described as a good and holy man… “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” (Matthew 1:19).
His sense of honour and his righteousness was extraordinary. And being a good a just man, Saint Joseph would have spent much time at prayer and meditating upon the Scriptures. He would have understood them very well.
This makes it even more extraordinary that he had the faith to return to the place where he knew that the Messiah – His own Foster Child – would be put to death.
Imagine the faith he must have had to follow God’s Will in this – even knowing that it would hurt. He did not know how old Christ would be when he was killed. Perhaps when Christ was lost in the Temple (which we commemorate when He was found in the Fifth Joyful Mystery of the Most Holy Rosary) Saint Joseph believed that it was in that moment that the Messiah had been killed to atone for our sins? Perhaps he thought that he was delivering this Precious Cargo as Abraham did to Isaac when God asked for his sacrifice.
What extraordinary faith of this Saint to hold his hand firmly in the fire and refuse to flinch. He did not pretend that the dream did not exist. He did not talk himself out of it. He did not scare himself out of action. Instead, he listened carefully to the angel in that dream, and then he stood up, called his family, and delivered them – just as the offertory during the Holy Mass – to the place where the Son of Man would be put to death…
And he did that with a faith that I could barely understand, which has been described to me in one of the most beautiful lines that has ever been written…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
Comments