Mt 2:13-15,19-23 (13-23)

The dreams narrated by Matthew consist solely of the words of the Lord, which ask only to be actively accepted (Mt 1:20; 2:12-13, 19-22).

The evangelist addresses the communities of Galilee and Syria, which included Jewish Christians persecuted by the Synagogue, encouraging and inviting them to open their hearts to the Faith.

For this reason, in the stories of Jesus' childhood, he introduces the figure of a Family that believes in God's dreams, which are very different from the terrifying cunning of men and religions.

In the Gospels, the secret of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is precisely their renunciation of common opinions - of the normal plans of their surroundings - and their decision to make the Father's plan their own.

Our focolares too can discover the Lord's plan, both in external events and in intimate listening - moving forward together.

Thus, once again, Matthew invites us to reflect on the profound meaning of the coming of the Kingdom of God.

The cruelty of Herod - an exasperated egocentric - became proverbial even in Rome.

In his final years, absurdly withdrawn into a restless adherence to himself, he had three of his sons killed and issued a decree [not carried out due to his death] ordering the elimination of the most influential among the Jews - both to gradually eliminate the (perceived) pretenders to the throne and to quell dissent in the territory.

In the Gospel passage, the king is an icon of the will to power that kills those who recall the spirit of Christ's childhood: the Son of God placed his being in the Father's Mission.

[Such decentralised humility saves us not only in the order of grace, but also in that of human balance].

Matthew wrote his Gospel in response to the situation the Church was experiencing at a very critical moment.

After the year 70, the only groups that survived the destruction of Judaism were the Messianic Christians and the Pharisees - both convinced that armed struggle against the Roman Empire had nothing to do with the fulfilment of the Promises.

Not many years after the disaster in Jerusalem, the Pharisee sect, now deprived of its place of worship - the centre of national identity - began to organise itself in order to centralise the government of the synagogues.

Accused of betraying their particular culture and customs, the Judaizers who recognised Jesus as the Son of God were eventually expelled from the synagogues themselves.

The growing opposition and then the explicit separation from the people of the Covenant exacerbated the confusion of the faithful and the problem of the very identity of the first assemblies of Faith, groups that were clearly suffering.

Matthew encourages them to avoid defections, supporting those who had received the harsh excommunication from the leaders of popular religiosity, who until then had been admired for their marked devotion and held in high esteem.

To help overcome the trauma, the Good News addressed to converts of Jewish origin sought to reveal Jesus as the true fulfilment of the Prophecies and the authentic Messiah - in the figure of the new Moses who fulfils the promises of liberation.

Like him, persecuted, he had to move and flee incessantly (cf. Ex 4:19).

According to a widespread belief in Judaism, the time of the Lord's Anointed One would bring back the time of Moses.

But the ancient leader of 'the Mountain' had imposed a relationship between God and the people based on the banal obedience to a Law.

The genuine and transparent Son, on the other hand, now offers his brothers and sisters in Faith a creative relationship of bliss and communion based on Similarity.

This relationship is called to surpass the ancient justice of the Pharisees (Mt 5:20).

So, let us not fear - even for ourselves - the harassment that is simply to be expected.

Rather, let us see it as an opportunity to bear witness to love and strong involvement in the very story of the Master - reinterpreted in the first person.

Here, too, is indicated a new path of seeking the Light or Star that guides our steps.

Everything like the Magi - foreigners, yet authentic worshippers of the Lord.

They knew how to avoid the vigilance of the sovereign - so they found their own dwelling place, deviating from the planned route.

Like the Envoy of God par excellence who experienced the same fate as his people, the churches of all times can live in Him an identical story of Exodus.

An unprecedented journey, a hotbed of exploration and change of mentality; of consolation and more vivid hopes - with inexorable contrasts.

Christ is the hidden and persecuted Messiah, founder of a new, humble and fraternal People. The seed of an alternative society to the ruthless one in the field.

The crowning of the hopes of all men.

The rejection of the Lord's Way itself casts a dark atmosphere: it becomes the preservation of the beastly.

Rejection of humanisation... whose cure lies in the trust of the 'little ones', in the youthful and 'childish' audacity that knows no impossibility.

The innocent children of that extermination are figures of the children of God of every century, as 'peers' of Jesus, capable of re-actualising his spontaneous time - contrary to violence and death.

They are the persecuted and killed because of the paradoxical subversive force of their tender Faith as tiny and sincere beings who allow themselves to be saved and do not care about roles.

The opposite of the servile and flattering, devoured by calculation; always ready to defer to the ferocious holders of power. Intimidated by the possibility that a soft and frail form of life could destabilise their positions.

But in the event of serious oppression, even the energy of sadness that runs through painful events (vv. 17-18) will make us rediscover what really matters.

This will allow us to be reborn (in tears, in darkness), separating us too from that kind of character.

In Matthew's theology, Jesus is the 'firstborn son' who supplants the chosen people [here, the people that God went to fetch in Egypt].

The eminent Son re-proposes the Exodus of his people: in Him, the ancient story - including that of the sons of Jacob - is revived for a renewed and now unpostponable Liberation.

Involved in all the trials and tribulations, the Lord wants to walk together with us on the path towards our emancipation.

He is the fullness of the Holy Scriptures: the complete culmination of the Law and the Prophets.

In fact, in the Gospel passage, references to Christ as the new Moses are clear: he escaped the massacre and fled his own land.

In short, the evangelist wants to emphasise that with Jesus, the authentic Exodus towards fulfilment began - where milk and honey flow [cf. Ex 3:5-8], that is, where God Himself is present.

The Promised Land is not a physical place - coveted and renowned as that reserved for the priestly class, with sacred enclosures or courtyards (vv. 22-23).

Its appeal is extended even to pagans!

In Matthew's Gospel, this is evident from the outset (genealogy) and from the first to pay homage to the newborn; from the persecutions, the flights, the 'clandestine' return (v. 23).

The Kingdom of God begins - not by chance - in Nazareth: a place of people still considered cavemen; from a landless family, exposed and defenceless - but not degenerate...

This is why it sets us free.

From childhood, Jesus participates in the perilous events of his people.

According to the ancient mentality, all this means that He is united with the fate of the People of God throughout his life.

Here, Egypt is an icon both of a land of refuge and of a land from which to leave again - to establish a different reality of innocent mothers and fathers.

A small flock; a remnant of Israel, with which Christ identified himself.

As in the story of Moses, the opposing forces are overwhelming, yet they cannot destroy the energies of genuine Life, which will triumph over the powers of death.

To internalise and live the message:

In realising yourself in Christ, how have you broken down the prison of common thinking, of power, and of its fears?

How has the example of the ecclesial family helped you?

The reflective aspect of the House of Nazareth

The house of Nazareth is the school where we began to understand the life of Jesus, that is, the school of the Gospel. Here we learn to observe, to listen, to meditate, to penetrate the profound and mysterious meaning of this manifestation of the Son of God, so simple, humble and beautiful. Perhaps we also learn, almost without realising it, to imitate. Here we learn the method that will allow us to know who Christ is. Here we discover the need to observe the picture of his stay among us: that is, the places, times, customs, language, sacred rites, in short, everything that Jesus used to manifest himself to the world. Here everything has a voice, everything has a meaning. Here, in this school, we certainly understand why we must maintain spiritual discipline if we want to follow the doctrine of the Gospel and become disciples of Christ. Oh! How willingly we would like to return as children and enrol in this humble and sublime school of Nazareth! How ardently we would like to start again, close to Mary, to learn the true science of life and the superior wisdom of divine truths! But we are only passing through, and we must set aside our desire to continue learning, in this house, the never-ending formation of the intelligence of the Gospel. However, we will not leave this place without having gathered, almost furtively, some brief admonitions from the house of Nazareth.
First of all, it teaches us silence. Oh! If only the esteem for silence, that admirable and indispensable atmosphere of the spirit, were reborn in us, while we are stunned by so much noise, clamour and loud voices in the agitated and tumultuous life of our time. Oh! Silence of Nazareth, teach us to be steadfast in good thoughts, intent on the inner life, ready to hear well the secret inspirations of God and the exhortations of true teachers. Teach us how important and necessary are the work of preparation, study, meditation, the interiority of life, prayer, which God alone sees in secret. Here we understand the way of family life. May Nazareth remind us what family is, what the communion of love is, its austere and simple beauty, its sacred and inviolable character; may it show us how sweet and irreplaceable education in the family is, may it teach us its natural function in the social order. Finally, let us learn the lesson of work. O dwelling place of Nazareth, home of the carpenter's Son! Here above all we wish to understand and celebrate the law, severe certainly but redemptive of human toil; here to ennoble the dignity of work so that it may be felt by all; to remember under this roof that work cannot be an end in itself, but that it receives its freedom and excellence not only from what is called economic value, but also from what turns it to its noble end; here, finally, we wish to greet the workers of the whole world and show them the great model, their divine brother, the prophet of all the just causes that concern them, namely Christ our Lord.

[Pope Paul VI, Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth, 5 January 1964]