Unfamiliar Home

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother … And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Matthew 2:19-23

Jesus and his family spent much of his early childhood in Egypt as refugees. But after King Herod died, they went home again—home to Nazareth. Have you ever thought about what that must have felt like for Jesus?

To his parents, it meant coming home. But to Jesus—well, his earliest memories were probably of Egypt. Nazareth was home only in name. The sounds of people speaking, the faces he saw, even the smells that floated on the air at dinner time—all foreign. And it was here he would have to make friends—go to school—learn to fit in, in a home that didn’t feel like home to him.

Refugee and immigrant children face this, too, as they start school in America this month or next. Think of what it’s like to have to understand, to work hard, to achieve—when you already feel like your world is upside down.

As a child, Jesus took on this burden for love of us. Out of the same sacrificial love, will you pray for these children? Ask the Lord to be with them and meet their needs in every way. And ask most of all, that they may know Jesus, their Savior, who came to be with them and to make them part of God’s own family through his death and resurrection.

Dear Jesus, bless the children and their families who are struggling at this time. Be their strength and their support and bring them to know you as their Savior who loves them. Amen.

By Dr. Kari Vo