Wait Aeons for an Angel and Then Three Come Along at Once
Sermon for Christmas 1 – 28 December 2025 – All Saints, Kesgrave
Text: ‘Get up, take the child and his mother and go… (Mattew 2v20)
God give you peace my sisters and brothers
Angels are like London busses. You wait ages, aeons even, for one and then a whole host of them arrive at the same time. And in the case of Joseph the carpenter you even get the proverbial three arriving one after the other. And for him, every time an angel appears it means he needs to find Mary, pack their bags, and go!
First, to their wedding; some scholars say they planned it, as they do on Eastenders[1], (18 of the 85 Albert Square weddings in the 39-year history of the show are at Christmas) for Christmas Day in Bethlehem.
Second, an anxious flight to Egypt to avoid the wrath of a despot.
Third, back home to Judea but with a diversion along the way to a strange place ‘up North’ called Nazareth.[2]
It seems that angel vocabulary lessons do not stop at the simple ‘Fear Not’ but move on very quickly to include ‘Get up and go..’ or more precisely ’Get up and run!’
It’s almost as if there is a celestial writer for ‘bon mots’ inside Christmas Crackers; ‘I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is a baby will be born. The bad news is a baby has been born!’
This Sunday is, when faced with the reality of the human condition and the evil dealings of those want to wield power (which if we are honest includes pretty much every one of us) we have to sober up after the festivities of Christmas.
The expectant journey to Bethlehem becomes a frantic escape to Egypt.
The joy of a child’s birth is followed by a massacre of little boys and the tears of mothers.
The return home demands living a life in a strange place a safe distance from it.
On the balance of things ‘Run!’ seemed to be a good option for the Holy Family.
To be honest looking at the world around us (with the indiscriminate bombings of communities – including their children – in places as far apart as Northern Nigeria[3] and Kyiv[4] before, on, and after Christmas Day by those who claim to worship the Christ child) ‘Run’ is a very very good option, wherever we hail from, for as many of us as can find sanctuary
But no.
We worship a child who had no place to lay His head, in life, and at His death was laid in a tomb belonging to another.
We worship a child who all His life was ‘on the run’. Never accepted by His own (as John reminds us in the prologue to His Gospel) and giving the insulting racist epithet ‘Jesus of Nazareth!’ After all don’t we all know nothing good can come from Nazareth?
We worship a child who spent Himself welcoming those whom no one else welcomed, touching untouchables with love (as one of our prayers reminds us[5]), and garnering the hatred of those who (apparently) were anxiously awaiting His arrival…..
Run, yes. But not run away from danger, run towards the One who holds all the tears of a broken and sin-sick world in the arms of a tiny unexpected, rejected, hunted baby.
Better still. As we decide to turn our eyes upon Jesus remember that He journeys with us. Just as He did with Joseph and Mary on all three of their journeys
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took [pregnant – Jesus carrying] Mary home as his wife. (Matthew 1v24)
So [Joseph] got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt. (Matthew 2v14)
So [Joseph] got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. (Matthew 2v21)
If only, even though the Holy Family are fleeing, it were that easy?
It would be so much nicer if we could simply stop and gaze on the glory of Little Bethlehem a while longer.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of us, as soldiers did once in the trenches of the Great War, lay down our weapons and our words of hate and sing ‘Silent Night’ together?[6]
But that seems a step too far in a world that remains deaf to the song of the angels no matter how many times they come to us in our dreams.
What are we to do?
We must do the same as Joseph did, ‘Get up… take the child, and go.’ Just as Joseph and Mary carried the Child who then carried them in to the life after life; so must we.
Last week[7] we spoke about the meaning of His name Jesus – ‘Yahweh is my salvation’, and how He is the One who will bring us healing.
This week we need to hold on to one of His titles – Immanuel, God with us.[8]
No matter where we find ourselves – in a stable or a carpenter’s shop – God is with us – God is with us.
No matter where we find ourselves travelling to – a wedding party or a place of safety – God is with us.
No matter where we live and move and have our being – Immanuel! God with us.
And if God is with us who or what – trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? – can ever be against us? (Romans 8v31-39)
Or as my beloved friend Desmond Tutu used to say;
Goodness is stronger than evil:
Love is stronger than hate:
Light is stronger than darkness:
Life is stronger than death;
Victory is ours through Him who loves us.
All we need do, the only antidote for our situation, is to imitate Joseph, listen to the message of the angel and, with Immanuel next to us, ‘Get up.. and go…’ about the business of proclaiming and living the Good News of God’s love for everyone.
[This blog ‘Wait Aeons for an Angel and Then Three Come Along at Once’ is copyright © Andrew Dotchin 2025 and may be reproduced without charge on condition that the source is acknowledged]
oooOOOooo
The Escape to Egypt
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’ 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’
16 When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 ‘A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.’[b]
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.’ 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. (Matthew 2:13-23 – NIV)
[1] The vicar of Albert Square seems to have a very busy Christmas indeed…. https://eastenders.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_weddings_and_engagements
[2] For a discussion as to whether Joseph was from Bethlehem or Nazareth read: https://www.walkingwithgiants.net/jesus-christ/birth-of-jesus/joseph-from-nazareth-or-bethlehem/
[3] US Navy sends missile strikes to Northern Nigeria on Christmas Day
[4] Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine over Christmas
[5] Common Worship – Eucharistic Prayer D
[6] Christmas Truces in the trenches
[7] Sin-Salving Saviour – A Sermon
[8] The meaning of the word Immanuel in the Old and New Testament
Suffolk Vicar 