December: Day 26: Teaching 1: The Second Day of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ

December: Day 26: Teaching 1:
The Second Day of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ
 
(The Story of Jesus Christ's Flight Into Egypt and the Moral Lessons It Instills)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. In the Gospel reading for today, the Holy Church, continuing the story of the first days of our Savior's life, offers us, brethren, among other things, the narrative of His flight into Egypt with His righteous parents. When the Magi or Eastern wise men, having come to Jerusalem, asked where the King of the Jews who had been born was, for they had seen His star in the East, the then King of the Jews - Herod - was extremely troubled by such news, obviously fearing for his royal power and, having called the Magi, ordered them to go to Bethlehem, since according to the prophecies the Messiah was to be born there, to collect accurate information about this newborn King and then report to him, having the evil intent to kill Him in order to protect his royal throne. The Magi actually found the newborn baby Jesus in Bethlehem with Joseph and His Mother Mary and brought Him worthy worship and rich gifts, but, by a special revelation from above, they did not return to Herod, but went back to their own country by another route. Then Herod, in a mad rage and anger, had the terrible intention of destroying all the Bethlehem babies, assuming that he would certainly destroy the newborn King as well. That's when an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and commanded him to take the Baby and the Mother of God and flee with them to Egypt. Joseph did so. Then followed the actual fulfillment of Herod's evil intention - the slaughter of 14,000 Bethlehem babies, then the death of Herod himself, and then, again by the command of the angel, the return of the holy family to the land of Israel and their settlement in Nazareth.

II. Let us pay attention to the moral lessons contained in the Gospel narrative presented.

a) Having learned from the Magi about the birth of the King of the Jews, whom they came to worship, Herod, as a man extremely power-hungry, was afraid lest he lose his royal power, and therefore sought to kill the baby Jesus; but, being unable to find Him, he decided to kill the innocent babies of Bethlehem, hoping at least in this way to achieve his criminal goal. So it is always, lawless people, acting under the influence of passions, decide on any evil, if only to satisfy their whims, to fulfill their sinful desires; especially many troubles are created in society by some strong and powerful people,  who are only lawless and wicked: they do not stop at any atrocities to satisfy their pernicious passions.

In particular, lust for power is one of the greatest evils in man and the beginning of all evil. The wicked Herod did not hesitate to commit the murder of thousands of innocent babies, if only not to lose his power. Unhappy power-hungry man! You seek power over others, but you do not know how to control yourself. Learn first to control yourself, to conquer your passions, and then accept power over others.

b) The Gospel relates that from Bethlehem the newborn God-Child, escaping from the malice of Herod the king, flees with His parents to the land of Egypt; from here, in time, by inspiration from above, He returns to the land of Israel, but here again He does not find a quiet place, fearing persecution from Archelaus, the son of Herod, so He goes to the borders of Galilee and settles in Nazareth. Thus, a safe place is barely found for the Son of God, wandering on earth - though "the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness" (Ps. 24:1). Fleeing from country to country, He settles in the small and despised town of Nazareth. So His followers, true Christians, are wanderers and pilgrims in this world, having no abiding city here, but seeking the one to come. Living in this world as if in a foreign land, they are always in danger: the world and the devil constantly pursue them and seek their destruction. Let us join, brethren, these wanderers, so that together with them we too can reach the heavenly fatherland.

Let us imprint on our hearts this holy truth that we are in this life not for the sake of this life, but in order to pass through it into a better, eternal life; then we will truly be strangers in this world and will not seek either wealth or honor and glory, knowing that we must leave all this in this land of sojourn, but we will strive in every way for the city to come, for the eternal kingdom prepared for the righteous from the foundation of the world. Let us not forget that Herod was afraid of losing his kingdom, and therefore was not afraid to commit terrible bloodshed; however, he lost not only his kingdom, but also his life itself. Thus, death puts an end to everything and makes everyone equal. Villains and murderers are sure to be punished by God; in vain do they think to live long, continuing their iniquities: a ditch is invisibly prepared for them, into which they suddenly fall - destruction is inevitable. So Herod sought to destroy Christ and for this reason destroyed many infants, hoping to reign for a long time, but the mad dreams of the mad king did not come true: “They bruised the children who sought their lives.” So Absalom, who sought to kill his father David, suddenly hanged himself between heaven and earth. So Pharaoh, who embittered Israel and was convinced by God’s repeated punishment, at first let this people go, but soon, repenting of his misfortune, again pursued them, wanting to keep them in slavery with himself, but alas! greed destroyed both him and his army: in the waves of the Red Sea he sank, like lead in water, with all his army.

III. Such are the judgments of God, which befall the willful and stubborn lawless. Let us, brethren, not be jealous of the wicked, nor envy those who commit iniquity. Let us leave bad examples, let us put aside every sinful lust, let the passions of lust for power, ambition, avarice flee from us, especially on these holy days, and with them all troubles and misfortunes and our eternal destruction. And let us hand over those who hate and persecute us to the judgment of Almighty God, the righteous and impartial Judge; and let us arm ourselves with patience, according to the word of the Savior: "In your patience you shall possess your souls" (Luke 21:19). Amen. 

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.