¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."
¹⁴ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt,
¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."
¹⁹ But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,
²⁰ "Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead."
²¹ And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
²² But when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.
²³ And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

• Herod's family: He had 3 children: Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip. Archelaus inherited one part of the kingdom, and Herod Antipas inherited another. The reading today mentions Herod and Archelaus. Herod Antipas later beheaded John the Baptist, and mocked Jesus before sending him back to Pilate (Lk 23:6-11).
• The Holy Family: Jews at that time lived in the extended family. It is very likely that Jesus is related to everyone in Nazareth. The strongest bond is between mother and oldest son, and the weakest bond is between husband and wife. Thus the picture of the Holy Family now with only 3 people is a modern distortion.
• Nazareth had only about one hundred people, and following the custom of the time, first cousins married each other. It is close to a few major trade routes. A nearby city, Sepphoris, was a strong center for Judaism. [PILCH]

Jesus is the new Moses (savior for God's people).
Moses' story: Pharaoh killed all male Hebrew children, but Moses was saved. The young Moses killed an Egyptian and fled. When Pharaoh died, Moses returned.
Jesus' story also has the killing of children, fleeing, and returning.

1. How did Joseph feel about the whole event?
   First, having a wife pregnant by someone else; then any preparations he had made (as a carpenter, probably he made a crib and some furniture for the child) was scrapped for the trip to Bethlehem, then another tired and unexpected trip all the way to Egypt; and then a return to some place other than home for the rest of his life. (John Kavanaugh, in America Magazine.)
2. How did Mary feel? And Jesus? And the others around them?
3. If you have experienced an ordeal of escaping for your life leaving behind your loved ones; in your position as a father, a mother or a child, what have you done to strengthen your faith or your family?

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A synthesis by the Vietnamese Christian Life (Dong Hanh) Community