ACC ~ Matthew 2 v13

BABYLON AND EGYPT

CHRYSOSTOM: But why was the Christ child sent into Egypt? The text makes this clear: he was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” [1] From that point onward we see that the hope of salvation would be proclaimed to the whole world. Babylon and Egypt represent the whole world. Even when they were engulfed in ungodliness, God signified that he intended to correct and amend both Babylon and Egypt. God wanted humanity to expect his bounteous gifts the world over. So he called from Babylon the wise men and sent to Egypt the holy family.

Besides what I have said, there is another lesson also to be learned, which tends powerfully toward true self-constraint in us. We are warned from the beginning to look out for temptations and plots. And we see this even when he came in swaddling clothes. Thus you see even at his birth a tyrant raging, a flight ensuing and a departure beyond the border. For it was because of no crime that his family was exiled into the land of Egypt.

Similarly, you yourself need not be troubled if you are suffering countless dangers. Do not expect to be celebrated or crowned promptly for your troubles. Instead you may keep in mind the long-suffering example of the mother of the Child, bearing all things nobly, knowing that such a fugitive life is consistent with the ordering of spiritual things. You are sharing the kind of labor Mary herself shared. So did the magi. They both were willing to retire secretly in the humiliating role of fugitive. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 8.2. [2]

[1] Hos 11:1.

[2] PG 57:83-84; NPNF 1 10:51-52**. The faithful are instructed to hold in memory, amid their own afflictions and hindrances, the flight of the holy family to Egypt and the return of the magi by another route.

WHY CHRIST FLED

PETER CHRYSOLOGUS: His flight then was not occasioned by fear but by what had come through the mystery of prophecy. The Evangelist planted the seed when he thus spoke: “Take the boy and his mother and flee into Egypt.” And later, “that what was written might be fulfilled: ‘From Egypt have I summoned my son.’” [1] Christ fled so that he might establish the truth of the law, faith in prophecy and the testimony of the psalter. The Lord himself says, “It was needful that what was written in the law and the prophets and the psalms be fulfilled by me.” [2] Christ fled for us, not for himself. Christ fled so that at the right time he might serve as a steward of the sacraments [the divine mysteries]. Christ fled so that by granting absolution he might take away the source of abuses to come and that he might give proof of faith to those who would believe. And finally, Christ fled so that he might bestow on us faith even when we have to flee, because in the face of persecution it is better to flee than to deny the faith. For Peter, because he was unwilling to flee, denied the Lord. John, lest he deny the Lord, fled. SERMONS 150.11. [3]

[1] Hos 11:1.

[2] Lk 24:44.

[3] CCL 24b:938-39.

THE DEVIL FORESAW THE FUTURE OF CHRIST

PETER CHRYSOLOGUS: Was it Herod seeking the child, or the devil working through Herod? When Herod saw the magi for himself, he imagined in his fantasy that they had fled their governors. For Christ, though bound in swaddling clothes, though busy at his mother’s breast, though keeping quiet, concealing his words, unable to walk, nevertheless transformed the magi (who had been standard-bearers of the devil) into his most faithful servants. The devil instantly realized what Christ could do when he came of age. So he spurred the Jews against him and, clever contriver that he was, impelled Herod that he might get the jump on Christ in his infancy. He hoped to deprive him of the coming emblem of his virtue, the cross, the banner of the greatest victory for us. The devil perceived that Christ would soon be restoring life to all the world with his teaching and his virtue. Even while still whimpering as a baby, Jesus was taking possession of this world from top to bottom. It was as the prophet said: “Before the child knows to cry to his father and mother he shall take the pride of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria.” [1] The Jews themselves attest to this when they say, “You see how the whole world hastens after him.” [2] SERMONS 150.9. [3]

[1] Is 8:4.

[2] Jn 12:19.

[3] CCL 24b:936-37.

PUTTING TO FLIGHT THE DEMONS OF EGYPT

ANONYMOUS: “Go into the land of Egypt.” For, just like a doctor, the Lord went down into Egypt that he might visit it as it languished in error, not that he might stay there. For at first blush it seems as if he went down into Egypt in flight from Herod. The fact is that he went in order to put to flight the demons of Egypt’s error, just as Isaiah gives witness when he says, “Behold, the Lord goes down into Egypt, seated atop a swift cloud, and the idols of Egypt shall fall.” [1] Do you see then that it was not to escape death that he went down into Egypt but that he might eradicate their deadly idols? For this is the only time that the Lord traveled to Egypt.

It must be noted, moreover, why he fled into Egypt by night but returned during the day. This is because, when he fled, he was fleeing the persecution of Herod. He began his return, however, after the persecutor had died. For night symbolizes the tightening of the heat of persecution, while the day represents a cooling off. INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 2. [2]

[1] Is 19:1.

[2] PG 56:646.

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