Verse 7 then begins an extended lament. It begins with Israel recalling the mercy of God and the great acts of redemption in the Exodus. The rest of the poem tells the story of the wilderness before turning to penitence and longing for God.

Crucially in our passage it is God's presence that saves the people, not an intermediary. The context is probably the exile, with Israel blinded by the recalling of what she has lost. If, as some scholars suggest, it is post-exilic, then the lament expresses sorrow that the high hopes have not been fulfilled. But God is remembered as the one who meets Israel with generous grace and mercy. Verse 9 is difficult to translate but the NRSV is on sure ground in affirming God's saving presence with his people whatever the circumstances.

Psalm 148
This is probably a postexilic psalm praising God's universal sovereignty. Because God rules everything then God's praise is incomplete without every voice in heaven and earth. Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!

Hebrews 2.10-18
The writer reflects on the great benefits of Christ's incarnation. The passage is not easy to grasp because of the several strong metaphors employed, notably, Jesus as the pioneer or hero, the trustworthy liberator and the High Priest.

Jesus being made 'perfect' through suffering is not a matter of moral development. Rather it is that in and through suffering Jesus is complete, the 'perfect fit' in the purposes of God. Sharing our flesh and blood, Jesus lives in solidarity with us even to death.

Indeed the importance of the incarnation is precisely that Jesus should enter into the life where Satan and death reign so that the enemy might be defeated. Christ's death was for all as he came for the descendants of Abraham. His redemptive death releases us from the power and fear of death.

As High Priest he is both victim and victor. It is his humanity which makes this possible. But he shares both the life of God and humankind. He remains faithful in the midst of all his suffering and so is joined fully to the human condition in the purposes of God. He is the pioneer, who goes to the depths and defeats the enemy, thus setting us free.

Matthew 2.13-23
This material is unique to Matthew and reflects some of his theological themes. For example, again, Joseph is a key person as one who is alert to God's call. For the new family, life has become highly unstable and frightening but Joseph does what he is told and goes to Egypt. Matthew's citing of Hosea 11.1 is illustrative of his creative use of Scripture. In context, Hosea is affirming the Exodus. In Matthew, the holy family is sent to Egypt so that Jesus may be safe and that his life may also mirror God's story of Israel's. The sense Matthew has of Jesus as true Israel emerges steadily as Jesus is the chosen one who remains faithful to the covenant calling.

Matthew also affirms in the narrative his understanding of God at work in human history. A story of grace and salvation is being told in the face of events which seem utterly senseless and negative. But the story of Israel has always been one of God bringing new life from disaster, of redeeming situations beyond human control and hope.

The slaughter of the innocents is horrific. Fearful, Herod attempts a final solution. In the same way Pharaoh killed those he saw as a threat, in Matthew's theology, it is not that Herod acts to fulfil God's word but that Jeremiah's prophecy is fulfilled. The murder of the children is not God's will but is a situation, all too common, where the activity of God goes on quietly in spite of human arrogance and fear.

This incident is followed by another journey, this time from Egypt to Nazareth, as Matthew links his life to the pilgrimage of Israel. God is doing a new thing but it is the same God who acted in the past. Jesus has a history that Matthew will not forget since it is this history which gives the deeper meaning to God's present action. The journey to Nazareth begins with the news that Herod, the one who sought the child's life, is dead. But there is no political safety for the child or man. There will always be those who seek his life.