“And having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to Herod, they went back another way into their country. And after they were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him. Who arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and he was there until the death of Herod: That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’”
O precursors to the Church of Christ! The Magi did not remain, clinging to Christ as Peter sought on Mount Thabor, but went to give the message of the new King in their own country until St. Thomas came to them to give them a more formal welcome into the faith. Obedient faith does not come without beautiful rewards, for in following the commands of faith, they later received the fulness of love in meeting the Apostle and being baptized by him. The greater focus here, however, is on the illustrious St. Joseph. His angelic visitations are given to him in sleep, so too when you rest from temporal cares and things of the world, and immerse yourself in holy leisure such as reading and prayer, does the angelic come to you: “The wisdom of a scribe cometh by his time of leisure: and he that is less in action, shall receive wisdom” (Ecclesiasticus 38:25). Setting aside the world, if even for a moment, to let the Lord in by visiting the Blessed Sacrament or reading the Scriptures opens the heart to receive his love: “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled” (Song 5:2). Good rest does not consist in lazing about, but in a different work, the best of which being prayer and the praise of God. The flight into Egypt then opens up an extraordinary sign of forgiveness. Egypt was brought exceedingly low by the Lord’s hand, “For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me” (Psalm 31:4) in the ten plagues, and now receives the Savior. What had once terrorized God’s people opens its arms to His Son, the land forsaken receives the seed of His visitation, that will in time bloom into the magnificent flower that were the Desert Fathers. This is a mirror to your own soul, for you were once an enemy of God (Romans 5:10) and it is His movement towards you that drew you back to bear fruit that will last; the fruits of love. The Lord does not run from, He runs towards, so too is the spiritual life less about fleeing from sin, though this necessarily happens, but a running towards the open arms of Jesus Christ, that He may pick you up, carry you, cover you with kisses, and cherish you for all that you are. Love runs to you, if you open your heart to receive it, fleeing from the hearts that despise Him. His love is living water that quenches all thirst, seeking any opening it can find. If the world despises Him so, there is a great reservoir of love that seeks a heart to be a vessel: “Jesus saith to them: ‘Fill the waterpots with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim” (John 2:7). “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Psalm 80:11). “He that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst forever” (John 4:13). For the love of Jesus is perfect love, it does not bark orders but says tender words to you; He does not come with a rod and whip, but with a spirit of love and meekness (1 Corinthians 4:21). His voice is not in a strong wind of impulses, an earthquake that wants to rip your heart apart, or the fire of mystical experience, but in a little voice, a gentle air, (3 Kings 19:11-12) that says, “You are enough. I love you. The gift of yourself to me is beautiful. ‘How beautiful art thou, and how comely, my dearest, in delights’ (Song 7:6).” Being able to listen to the voice of love and follow its fragrance is discernment of spirits; “My sheep hear my voice: and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Love, then, seeks you, if only you will open your ear to listen to His voice and receive the sweet words He has to say to you.