The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
December 30, 2007
Vol. 10 no. 49

Everything But...
           The church calendar does not always pay strict attention to the clock. Some things are more important. For instance, today’s Gospel reading in Matthew assumes one knows about the coming of the Magi or Wise Men to visit the baby Jesus, although it has not yet been read. That’s next week when we will hear about the three kings or whatever they really were. Today, it is all about the consequences of their visit and the flight of the young family living in their Bethlehem house. Our direction is backwards, but we can handle it.
           Joseph is still dreaming in the spotlight. The Magi have gone home, but in his home Joseph is told by an angel to leave home at once. Go down to Egypt, an ironic place to go considering Israel’s history there. The Holy Family was supposed to go back to the infamous land of slavery in order to be free. The Biblical story never wants to be consistent, it seems.
           An unattractive and modern consistency, however, unfolds in this story. Violence and death rule: international intrigue - the Magi, after all, “trick” Herod - followed by retribution and genocide, the death of Herod, more political shenanigans as the son of Herod, Archelaus, takes over the family farm. A wise fear and a frightful dream send Joseph’s family as refugees to a heretofore unknown town in the backwater of Galilee, a place called Nazareth. And the evangelist cites scriptures incorrectly, but we still get the idea. Joseph’s son is turning history upside down and hasn’t stopped yet.