“Jesus Lives in Egypt”
 J. Zachary Bailes   Matthew 5:1-12   Sermon of the Week

Jesus was no stranger to Egypt. Shortly after his birth, Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Joseph receives a message to flee to Egypt. We are told that Herod kills all the male babies. This is the murder of innocents. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph escape to Egypt and await the passage of the massacre. Egypt was a safe haven. It seemingly stands in stark contrast to the events of this past week. There seems no semblance of peace in that country, no semblance of civility, no semblance of safety. But in that country, the country that has suffered long under the weight of an unjust rule, Jesus lives to this day. Commentators, talking heads on television, have said that evolutionary change will remain sustainable. This revolution occurring in Egypt remains too volatile, too unstable. Revolution will not succeed. Maybe they’re right. But, they’re only right if they, the Egyptians, are left to their own devices, their own resources. When one can no longer breathe, with the laws have been girded so tight that the soul grows weary of taking shallow, life-less breathes, revolution seems the only possibility.