In today’s Gospel, we hear the account of the Holy Family fleeing from the wrath of King Herod who desired to kill Jesus. They had to leave their homeland which was no small feat. Whatsmore, they escaped to the land of Egypt which had been the enemies of God and His people since the days of Moses. After King Herod died, they were able to return to Israel, but they had to live in a remote town in order to stay unnoticed by Herod’s son.
The philosopher Plato had a theory (some might say prophesy) that if a truly just man were to walk upon this earth, he would be beaten, tortured, and ultimately killed by our corrupt society. Having lived hundreds of years before Jesus, many early Christians believed that Plato’s words had been confirmed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, an argument that I also find convincing.
Plato’s words are a condemnation of a world that is concerned with self preservation. Due to our sinful nature, we attach ourselves to comfort and pleasure which we can control by amassing wealth, social status and power. We place our confidence and security in those things and often do whatever it takes to gain them and not to lose them once we have them even if it means we violate justice.
Herod took this to the extreme. He embodied what Plato predicted about the world. He was so attached to his position as ‘king’ that he would do whatever it took to keep it, including murder little boys under the age of two. Jesus, on the other hand, embodied the just man. He, Mary and Joseph attached themselves not to worldly things, but placed their complete trust in God to the point where they lived in poverty and as refugees for years to remain in His will.
What is particularly interesting is that Jesus is just a child when the world realizes this. I would propose that the demonic spirits at play were aware of Jesus’ justice and inspired Herod’s jealousy. Yet, the powers of darkness are not stronger than the powers of the Light. Angels were sent to protect the Holy Family. Jesus was to die at the hands of the world one day, but it was not His time yet. It was only when Jesus was ready to willingly take on His death out of love that the powers of the world be allowed to ‘prevail’, but in reality seal their own fate because of the justice that was given to Jesus at the resurrection.
So what does this mean for us? It means that we need to examine our lives. Are we more likely to hold onto what worldly comforts we have at all costs or can we give them up if God asks for them. Will we compromise justice for the sake of power, wealth, and social status, or are we willing to be rejected by the world in order to live by God’s will? It is a difficult question that takes a lifetime to answer, but at the end of our lives, it will be what we are judged on. Did we love even to the point of death?
So this Christmas season, we are called to reflect on the incarnation which is the greatest gift that God has given to us. But we also must recognize that the incarnation comes with a cost which is worldly persecution. Yet, the promise for us is that if we love God and die in Him, we will also receive His mercy and justice and rise with Him again.
