“Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’” (Matthew 2:13-15)  I don’t know about you, but I must admit that I prefer Luke’s telling of the Christmas story better than Matthew’s.  Luke’s version is much better suited for the annual Christmas pageant with the shepherds and angels and whatnot.  On the other hand, Matthew is quick to get to the terrible consequences of our Lord’s birth.  Here in Matthew we see displacement and exile, political rage and murder.  I suppose we should not be surprised.  When the Light does come into the world shadows will be cast and the powers that be will resist.  No, we must admit that other than the wise men, Matthew’s story does not make for much of a children’s program.  So what do we do with such a story?  Well, it seems to me that the answer as always is to join Jesus where he chooses to go.  And where does he go here?  The surprising answer is that our Lord goes into exile and displacement.  He becomes homeless.  Think of that for a moment.  The One through whom all things were made, the only One who ought to be perfectly at home everywhere becomes homeless for our sake.  It reminds me of one of my favorite poems, G. K. Chesterton’s “The House of Christmas” which concludes with these words: “To an open house in the evening Home shall men come, To an older place than Eden And a taller town than Rome.  To the end of the way of the wandering star, To the things that cannot be and that are, To the place where God was homeless And all men are at home.”  Who do you know that needs to hear the good news of our Lord’s willingness to become homeless so that we might return home?  Who do you know that needs to know that there is a home for them?  How might Christ call you to help them know the joy of Christmas?  Have a great week!