Massacre and Guidance

The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today bring the darkness of massacre of innocents to mind. The Gospel of Matthew is an account of the flight of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to Egypt to escape a persecution in which Herod traditionally executed male infants, up to the age of 2, in Bethlehem. Historic accounts of this event remain unreliable. It is known that such an atrocity would not be out of character for Herod and certainly much genocide in our world needs to be recalled and brought to our prayer. Joseph continues his example as leader of a family guided by an intimate relationship with the Divine. The letter of John presents two truths which thankfully stand together. We sin. We are capable of great evil against our fellow humans. We have forgiveness and the opportunity to start over through our relationship with God. This time of year we may be blessed by reconnection with old friends. The past days are often seen with rose coloured glasses. Like the psalmist, we may be blessed with an opportunity to recall past events through which we survived “by the grace of God”. As the psalmist puts it “We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped”. Why? There may be a Divine Plan for us that required we “come out of Egypt” too.