So much for the silent and peaceful Christmas. Here we go. Life happens. Things go wrong. People do wrong. And others suffer the consequences–in this case, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
Here in this image, we have the Holy Family taking a brief respite from their long and harried travel to escape an angry king’s wrath. If they stay, their newborn child would certainly be one of the hundreds of children mercilessly massacred. For now, thanks to the warning of an angel in Joseph’s dream, they’ve set off to a foreign land to find a place among a strange people with no guarantee of a secure and happy future. Will the people of Egypt accept them? There is only one sure–but dangerous–way to find out. And there is no alternative.
Sounds familiar? That is what thousands of refugees today experience when they flee their violence-ridden homes: They take a long and risky trip, many perishing along the way. Some make it to the end of the journey, only to be stopped at the border, many of them rejected and turned away.
For today, we invite you to try to put yourself in their shoes. Perhaps by doing so, you might feel more for them and in the process, imagine what our Lord agreed to go through by becoming one of us.
Here is a short clip from BBC where you imagine that you’re a refugee. If you can, watch it on your mobile phone to get into what a refugee experiences during a perilous boat journey.
Here’s a short description from the site:
“Your phone is now a refugee’s phone. Text messages arrive from your family. Suddenly someone contacts you on WhatsApp warning you to turn back. But are they right?”
May this film help you enter into the mystery of the Holy Family’s own flight.
3 replies on “SO MUCH FOR THE SILENT NIGHT”
May the Holy Family inspire us to Be more giving.
Not knowing where to go, uncertain of what to do, cut off from family and people one can trust. Anyone anywhere anytime can be a refugee. We can be afraid even in the company of friends, be confused despite counsel, or be alone in a crowd. Aren’t we refugees, too? Our souls are on a journey. But we are not lost. God is with us.
May the Holy Family be our model & inspiration in our family life. Let us remember that God is with us everyday of our life, be attentive to Him as He leads & guides us in our struggles in life.