“We must leave this place”. Joseph’s eyes, usually so peaceful, were filled with fear. “The child is in danger. We must go”. So, we set out on yet another journey, even farther away than our beloved Nazareth, into a strange land and among a foreign people. Yet, how much I already knew of this nation called Egypt.
Another Joseph had also gone there, sold into slavery by his brothers, yet destined to be lifted high by the plans of God (which are always so difficult for the human mind to grasp). I would go to an Egypt from which God had called our forefathers. He worked great signs and wonders to call them forth. I would cross the desert which they crossed, the desert in which God formed them into a nation as they lived forty years, waiting to enter the Promised Land.
These were my thoughts as Joseph and I made the journey, carrying the Savior of Israel. God was forming us by this exile. We had to believe. So much we did not know. What was God’s plan for us? He seemingly tells us one thing and then events move us away. “This child is set for the rise and the fall if many in Israel”, God said to us through Simeon. But now, we are exiled from Israel and the child will grow up in a foreign culture. “He will rule over the house of Jacob forever” said the angel, Gabriel. Yet, Jacob only came to Egypt at the very end of his life.
As we fled into Egypt, the events were confusing, but in my heart a voice spoke. I recognized the voice of the Father, “I will call my Son out of Egypt” he said, “just as I called my people. There will be new life and he will bring about a new people. Go in faith. Stay there until I call you back. When you return, I will lead you back to Nazareth. From there, he will be called a Nazarene”.
It all happened, just as the Father said it would. O reader, if at this moment you think that events have taken you far away, believe that the Father will bring you back. He arranges everything to protect the divine life in your soul. Do not despair and, especially, do not lose faith. I am with you in your exile. I know what it means to be sent away, to be uprooted. Do not forget. You are never uprooted from my Immaculate Heart. As I took Jesus, years later, back to Nazareth, so I promise to carry you back to where you will flourish. I can do that if you remain by faith in my arms.
