DAILY BIBLE REFLECTION
2 |ANSWERING GOD'S CALL: Matthew 2:1-23|
13-15: Now when they had
departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till
I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him,” (14) And
he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, (15)
and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord
had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.”
When God calls you, how do you respond? Do you follow His call, or do you choose to ignore it? It’s an interesting question to ponder upon because some of the us-me!-are good at desiring to hear God’s voice, then ignoring him when he finally speaks to us. You see, I woke up this morning with a strong desire to comment on this gospel passage. But it would not be the first time because I had also woken up yesterday and the day before with that strong desire to write, but kept procrastinating for almost no reason at all.
If you read this passage, you’ll
see that God, through an angel, spoke to Joseph twice: First, when the angel
asked him to flee from Bethlehem with Mary and the child Jesus because of what
Herod was planning to do, and second when he was asked to return to Israel
because those who wanted to harm the child Jesus had died. Now, Joseph obeyed
both times even though his situation was a tough one to be in. Not many men of
that period, mostly for cultural reasons, would willingly take up the
responsibility of caring for a child that is not theirs, talk less of moving
away from their ancestral home to a foreign land to keep the child safe. However,
Joseph did all of these because he loved and trusted God. His sacrifice really
is an inspiring one. His humility and meekness should be emulated by every
Christian who wants to be Jesus’s friend because these are some of the virtues
that make us compatible with Christ. And let me add also that there is nothing
to be scared of when it comes to answering God’s call or inviting his will to
be made manifest in our lives because God always rewards us abundantly. Following
his voice leads us to discover everything we seek. It is the surest path to
happiness and fulfilment. That is why God rewarded Joseph by allowing him to
participate closely and intimately in his divine plan and salvation for mankind. Imagine
being the foster father of your creator. Imagine holding him in your hands and
caring for him and teaching him how to do little things like pronouncing words
or bathing or doing the dishes at home or carpentry work at the shop, since
Joseph was a carpenter by profession. Isn’t that a great blessing! Now, I have
no doubt that if we answer God’s call, He will bless us beyond our imaginations
too.
I pray for the grace and the
faith we need to do so.
My name is Tochukwu
Muonagolu, and I hope that this short reflection sows a seed of hope in your
heart. Thanks for reading!
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