In today's Gospel Matthew very directly tells us that he gives these stories of Jesus' life to fulfill the prophetic literature. Nonetheless Matthew gives us a beautiful story of God speaking to Joseph through a dream telling him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt until Herod, the king of the Jews who is very possessive of his throne, is dead. Joseph becomes for us a model of faith and trust in the Lord. He is willing to allow God the Father lead him in raising Jesus even if it means putting complete trust in Divine Providence. We know that as a father Joseph will do everything that he can for his family like most fathers. But this also lets us know, especially fathers today, that you're not alone in caring and protecting your family, God the Father is there and will take care of you and help you be a good dad by guiding you if you let him.
The second part of today's reading is about the magi deceiving Herod and his retaliation against the innocents by their murder. (also in fulfillment of the teachings of Jeremiah) It is a teachable moment. A human king doesn't mean anything to the heavenly realm. The magi, the wise men, have seen Wisdom, and it far surpasses anything that humans have. The death of the innocents, though tragic, foreshadow the death of the Innocent One who was born to save us all, and those martyrs who gave their lives willingly for others to honor God, whether they were babes mentioned in St. Matthews Gospel, or our many saints including Saints/Blesseds Agatha, Felicity, Perpetua, Maximillian Kolbe, Agustín Caloca Cortés, Miguel Pro, Maria Chi Yu, etc. They looked to God and everything beyond this world and made it their purpose in as much as they could in their lives. Where do we keep our focus?
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