The Twelve Days of Christmas, Day 4

Giotto, Flight into Egypt

In October of 2004 I gave John this painting by Giotto for his 42nd birthday. Six weeks prior he had brain surgery and was in the midst of radiation. In this painting we see Mary and Joseph fleeing into Egypt with baby Jesus. Joseph had been warned in a dream that Herod wanted to kill Jesus. He was told to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt until it was safe to return.

Going into Egypt meant living in a foreign country, a desert.

During this time in John's life, he was entering a foreign desert. It gave us both comfort to know that Jesus had gone into the desert, too. Jesus went into the desert as a baby and then again as a grown man. Both times it was purposeful and brought important results. We entered our own desert knowing that Jesus would go with us. He had been there, too. Deserts are often part of life and with Christ as our companion, we can even find water there.

And why was Jesus' family rushing by night to flee the country?

Christmas Day 4

Feast of the Holy Innocents, December 28th

The Killing of the Holy Innocents by Antonio Gaudi. La Sagrada Familia - a cathedral in Barcelona.

From Rediscovering Christmas:

The Gospel of Matthew recounts King Herod's reaction to the news of the Incarnation. Herod was the leader of the Jewish people under the authority of Rome during the time of Christ's birth. Cherishing his crown more than anything, he was threatened by the news brought to him by the Magi: that an infant born in Bethlehem would be a king, as the prophets had foretold. In order to eliminate this potential threat to his throne, Herod ordered that all male children in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under be killed...

Hugo van der Goes, c1440-1482 Part of a larger work at the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.

Herod was moved to violence out of fear. he failed to see the Incarnation's saving power for all humankind, even for him. Of course, the extreme nature of Herod's action makes any simple comparison with our own lives difficult, and yet at some level we must grapple with the meaning of this event. In our weakness and fragility we are tempted to believe that we can be in control of our lives. But Christ disrupts our lives by coming into the world, challenging our sense of self-reliance. Can any of us say that there isn't a faint shadow of Herod within us, fearful of this threat to our ego?

Written by Beth Bevis in: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas; God With Us, Pennoyer & Wolfe, Paraclete Press, Brewster, MA, 2007 (link given below)

If you would like to buy this book, you can find it here:

http://www.paracletepress.com/god-with-us-rediscover-the-meaning-of-christmas.html

Giotto di Bondone, Massacre of the Innocents 1304-06 -- Fresco Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua