Seeking Refuge — Matthew 13: 2-23

The story of Jesus is immersed as much in the political tension of first-century Palestine on the edge of the Roman Empire as it is in the Jewish sacred story. Matthew’s Gospel is thought to have been written in Antioch — the most important military and administrative centre in the Empire because of its position in the defence of the eastern borders. Rome believed the gods sanctioned their right to command these peoples and territories. In the light of that belief, Jesus and the early Christian communities were regarded as threatening the existing order among the Mediterranean people of the Empire.

Matthew’s Gospel opens with a political threat (Mt 2:13-23) which unfolds through Jesus’s life (Mt 2:12, 13, 14, 22; 4:12; 12:15; 14:13; 15:21). At first the Gospel does not name Jesus — he is referred to as “the child”. This is significant because in that cultural world often children were viewed as a threat to adult male civic order. This plays out in the threat on Jesus’s life and the way the children were massacred by the murderous Herod (Mt 2:15, 18).

Divine Power Overrides Empire Power

The Gospel sets the birth of Jesus, like that of Roman Emperors and notable figures at that time, as preceded by cosmic phenomena. A star leads the magi from the east to Jerusalem. In this Matthew is linking Jesus’s birth with the knowledge and wisdom found in the Old Testament which conveys transcendent mystery.

Matthew highlights that Roman power is not supreme. Two stories mirror each other telling how Joseph responded to dreams — first to flee to Egypt and then to return. In both stories an angel appears to Joseph (Mt 2:13 and 2:19); he’s commanded to “get up,” “take,” and “flee/go” (Mt 2:13 and 2:20); and he obeys the angels’ commands (Mt 2:14 and 2:21). These two stories act as a frame around the awful story of Herod’s massacre of the infants (Mt 2:16-18), and show that his power does not have the last word.

Power and Pain Mt 2:15-18

Through Joseph’s response, Jesus is saved from Herod’s revenge when he is tricked by the magi going home “by another road”. Herod the Great had been appointed by the Romans to rule the Jews as governor of Galilee and later as King of the Jews. His massacre of the little boys two and under in Bethlehem and its surrounding areas is consistent with other cruel acts especially towards the end of his life. He had become increasingly suspicious of plots within his family to supplant him and he killed his wife, his mother-in-law and three of his sons.

The voices of the children and families affected by Herod’s cruelty are not heard in the text. Instead, Matthew uses the voice of Rachel “wailing and weeping for her children” (Mt 2:18 cf. Jeremiah 31:15). To some extent that erases the Bethlehem families’ anguish and emphasises Herod’s attitude to them as expendable. This omission reminds us to attend to the lamentations and situations of those affected by violence in our time.

Return and Resettling

When Herod finally died the Romans divided his kingdom among his three surviving sons. Son Archelaus, appointed to rule in Judea, was also cruel. He had let his army kill 3,000 Passover pilgrims, a deed which had aroused revolts in major parts of Palestine. It was not safe for Joseph and family to return to Judea so they settled in Nazareth — an obscure Galilean village of around 480 people under the rule of son Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Perea and Galilee.

Challenges to Welcome Refugees

I recently saw a woman wearing a T-shirt printed with the words: “Moses & Mary & Jesus & Muhammed All Refugees”. I was reminded that these prophetic leaders in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim stories all had to flee their homelands at some point in their lives. Moses was twice a refugee. Joseph, Mary and the child fled from Bethlehem to Egypt and then to Nazareth. Mohammad fled from Mecca to Medina. The scriptures of each tradition are also clear as to how the faithful are to welcome refugees and treat them with kindness and tenderness. In Exodus: “You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Ex 22:21). In the Qur’an: “Was not the earth of God spacious enough for you to flee for refuge?” (4:97).

In his address for 2022 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis called for a world in which everyone can live in peace and dignity: “No one must be excluded. God’s plan is essentially inclusive and gives priority to those living on the existential peripheries. Among them are many migrants and refugees, displaced persons, and victims of trafficking. The Kingdom of God is to be built with them, for without them it would not be the Kingdom that God wants.”

Mercy Sister Wendy Flannery wrote in a recent Mercy International Association report Breaking Boundaries: A Mercy Response to People on the Move how in the Pacific region people are being forced to abandon their lands because of the climate crisis: “People in the Pacific are facing forced migration and trying to find options, including, for atoll nations, how to maintain their sovereignty and sovereign rights over their territory. We must highlight the issue of forced climate migration, to support the work of governments and organizations in the Pacific Islands region having to deal with this challenge, to explore and highlight its human rights dimensions, and to develop ideas to influence policies regarding migration pathways.”

Last month the leaders of many of these countries were at the United Nations COP27 Conference in Egypt calling on the leaders of the industrialised countries of the world responsible for the climate crisis, to take urgent and effective practical steps to stop the damage and to help them survive.

It is true that “people migrate for freedom, for safety, for family and for new opportunities. Migration has always been an essential part of our adaptation to environmental stress, social, economic and political upheaval, and other challenges.”

But in our time many national boundaries are closed to those seeking asylum — especially if those seeking refuge are poor. Our country has an annual quota on how many refugees we will accept and many are calling for that to be increased. Maybe this Christmas season we can look for ways to accompany and encounter people who are new arrivals in our country, whether they have migrated by choice, or have been forcibly displaced.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 277 December 2022: 24-25