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Matthew 2: 12-23, Matthew 3 1-6, Day 4. Jan 4th, 2011.

By Anita Mathias



Matthew 2

 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
And how can God break through to us with something so absolutely, totally alien to us, almost surreal that we might not be able to receive its wisdom even in our time of prayer? A dream is one way.

“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.”
Stay there until I tell you. Joseph is moving into a highly dangerous, tricky, smoke-and-mirrors situation in which you cannot take people’s words at face-value, and things are not as they seem. Being able to hear God’s voice is of crucial importance to him in this situation. What Moses told his people is even more true here, “They are not just idle words for you–they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
Again God does often warn us of danger through premonitions of it.
How do we know if these premonitions are from God?
The more we hear and listen to his voice, the more we are certain that it is him. “My sheep hear my voice.” It’s probably an art, not a science. We learn by trial and error.

 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 realized 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.”
I love Matthew’s interweaving of ancient Biblical prophecy with the events of Jesus life. God’s protection and blessing over our lives and emotions is a very real thing. Who would have supposed that the carpenter’s child could escape the King’s designs?
It is wise to ask God for protection, and to rely on it.
 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.”
People who have a strong and distinct gift of hearing God’s voice hear it in various ways. I hear it as a clear (though not audible) inner voice, accompanied with a buzz of excitement, like an electrical thunderstorm in the brain, when it says something which delights me, or like a clear, definite fiat when it says something which surprises or saddens me.
Joseph obeyed the first time he heard an angel speak to him in a dream. And so, not surprisingly, he heard the angelic voice more and more. In dreams. If he had disobeyed, he would never again be sure of the voice of the angel was his own imaginings or indeed the voice of God.
On such small acts of obedience or disobedience destiny hinges.

 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.
Though the great words which angels always speak is “Do not be afraid,” prudence is also a gift of God, and a gift of the Holy Spirit. Joseph is a mixture of one who hears God, and so can take great risks but also has natural prudence, which is the application of common-sense.
So when is fear, fear and when is it prudence? If we do not do the right thing or show kindness because of fear, then it is fear. If common-sense suggests the dangers of a course of action, and so we decide not to embark upon it, that is prudence.
Prudence judges when fear is fear (an irrational emotion) and when it is mere common-sense. To avoid a druggie’s alley after dark is prudence. To never travel to beautiful places because of the dangers is fear.
I tend towards fearlessness and am a natural risk-taker. Teach me sensible prudence, Lord.

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.
Joseph’s prophetic gift obviously operated through dreams. To be more aware of our dreams seems to be a commonsensical strategy for Christians.

 Matthew 3

 1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 
The Kingdom of heaven has come near. These are wonderful words. And I believe it is ever coming nearer.
We can step into it at any time. And all it takes is repentance.
Repentance. Metanoia, a change of heart. You are going in one direction. You stop, turn 180 degrees, and go in the opposite direction. That is repentance.
Lord, please show me the areas of my life in which I need to turn around 180 degrees. I can’t do everything at the same time, so please show me just one or two. Thank you.

3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
   “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
   make straight paths for him.’”
What makes straight paths for God? I would say repentance, first and foremost, and then just the actual simple act of hewing paths for him. Paths of time. This is difficult in a world in which the addictions of cyberspace have been added to our previous busyness in meatspace. I set my timer to hear from God for half an hour a day, after an hour of study of scripture, and spiritual blogging (which I consider a spiritual discipline.) Is it easy? My iPhone summons me, my laptop summons me with its myriad siren calls—blog comments, emails, facebook. And then, we make our livelihood through a small publishing company, so our work world with its news and distractions comes to us through our laptops. It is not easy to make a straight path for the Lord, to have mind and heart still enough to hear him. It is nonetheless an immensely rewarding discipline. I often achieve it, and more often fail to. When I realize that I am too hassled and distracted to have my conscious and unconscious calm enough to hear God should he speak, and to be in tune with God, I do a “stop, drop, repent” routine. Lock my door, lie face down on my bed or carpet and quieten and align myself again. And it is amazing how much more productive the next hours are.
Over-busyness is one sure way for me not to experience shalom, and God’s presence. I must be careful not to fall into that trap this year.

 4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Someone who lives in a radically different way attracts attention. Whereas I don’t feel called to radically different—I eat and dress and furnish my house more or less like other people, I hope my life with Christ has left its mark, and there are subtle differences, not radical ones. The blessing promised to Abraham was that he would be a blessing. That is something I want to be true of me—to be a blessing to my family, friends, and those who spend time with me.


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If you'll forgive me for adding to the noise of th If you'll forgive me for adding to the noise of the world on Black Friday, my memoir ,Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India, is on sale on Kindle all over the world for a few days. 
Carolyn Weber (who has written "Surprised by Oxford," an amazing memoir about coming to faith in Oxford https://amzn.to/3XyIftO )  has written a lovely endorsement of my memoir:
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The memoir is available on sale on Amazon.co.uk at https://amzn.to/3u0Ib8o and on Amazon.com at https://amzn.to/3u0IBvu and is reduced on the other Amazon sites too.
Thank you, and please let me know if you read and enjoy it!! #memoir #indianchildhood #india
Second birthday party. Determinedly escaping! So i Second birthday party. Determinedly escaping!
So it’s a beautiful November here in Oxford, and the trees are blazing. We will soon be celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary…and are hoping for at least 33 more!! 
And here’s a chapter from my memoir of growing up Catholic in India… rosaries at the grotto, potlucks, the Catholic Family Movement, American missionary Jesuits, Mangaloreans, Goans, and food, food food…
https://anitamathias.com/2022/11/07/rosaries-at-the-grotto-a-chapter-from-my-newly-published-memoir-rosaries-reading-steel-a-catholic-childhood-in-india/
Available on Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/3Apjt5r and on Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3gcVboa and wherever Amazon sells books, as well as at most online retailers.
#birthdayparty #memoir #jamshedpur #India #rosariesreadingsecrets
Friends, it’s been a while since I blogged, but Friends, it’s been a while since I blogged, but it’s time to resume, and so I have. Here’s a blog on an absolutely infallible secret of joy, https://anitamathias.com/2022/10/28/an-infallible-secret-of-joy/
Jenny Lewis, whose Gilgamesh Retold https://amzn.to/3zsYfCX is an amazing new translation of the epic, has kindly endorsed my memoir. She writes, “With Rosaries, Reading and Secrets, Anita Mathias invites us into a totally absorbing world of past and present marvels. She is a natural and gifted storyteller who weaves history and biography together in a magical mix. Erudite and literary, generously laced with poetic and literary references and Dickensian levels of observation and detail, Rosaries is alive with glowing, vivid details, bringing to life an era and culture that is unforgettable. A beautifully written, important and addictive book.”
I would, of course, be delighted if you read it. Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/3gThsr4 and Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3WdCBwk #joy #amwriting #amblogging #icecreamjoy
Wandering around Oxford with my camera, photograph Wandering around Oxford with my camera, photographing ancient colleges! Enjoy.
And just a note that Amazon is offering a temporary discount on my memoir, Rosaries, Reading, Steel https://amzn.to/3UQN28z . It’s £7.41.
Here’s an endorsement from my friend, Francesca Kay, author of the beautiful novel, “An Equal Stillness.” This is a beautifully written account of a childhood, so evocative, so vivid. The textures, colours and, above all, the tastes of a particular world are lyrically but also precisely evoked and there was much in it that brought back very clear memories of my own. Northern India in the 60s, as well as Bandra of course – dust and mercurochrome, Marie biscuits, the chatter of adult voices, the prayers, the fruit trees, dogs…. But, although you rightly celebrate the richness of that world, you weave through this magical remembrance of things past a skein of sadness that makes it haunting too. It’s lovely!” #oxford #beauty
So, I am not going to become a book-bore, I promis So, I am not going to become a book-bore, I promise, but just to let you know that my memoir "Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India," is now available in India in paperback. https://www.amazon.in/s?k=rosaries+reading+secrets&crid=3TLDQASCY0WTH&sprefix=rosaries+r%2Caps%2C72&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_10My endorsements say it is evocative, well-written, magical, haunting, and funny, so I'd be thrilled if you bought a copy on any of the Amazon sites. 
Endorsements 
A beautifully written account. Woven through this magical remembrance of things past is a skein of sadness that makes it haunting. Francesca Kay, An Equal Stillness. 
A dazzling vibrant tale of childhood in post-colonial India. Mathias conjures 1960s India and her family in uproarious and heart-breaking detail. Erin Hart, Haunted Ground 
Mathias invites us into a wonderfully absorbing and thrilling world of past and present marvels… generously laced with poetic and literary references and Dickensian levels of observation and detail. A beautifully written, important, and addictive book. Jenny Lewis, Gilgamesh Retold 
Tormented, passionate and often sad, Mathias’s beautiful childhood memoir is immensely readable. Trevor Mostyn, Coming of Age in The Middle East.
A beautifully told and powerful story. Joining intelligent winsomeness with an engaging style, Mathias writes with keen observation, lively insight and hard-earned wisdom. Carolyn Weber, Surprised by Oxford 
A remarkable account. A treasure chest…full of food (always food), books (always books), a family with all its alliances and divisions. A feat of memory and remembrance. Philip Gooden, The Story of English
Anita’s pluck and charm shine through every page of this beautifully crafted, comprehensive and erudite memoir. 
Ray Foulk, Picasso’s Revenge
Mathias’s prose is lively and evocative. An enjoyable and accessible book. Sylvia Vetta, Sculpting the Elephant
Anita Mathias is an is an accomplished writer. Merryn Williams, Six Women Novelists
Writing a memoir awakens fierce memories of the pa Writing a memoir awakens fierce memories of the past. For the past is not dead; it’s not even past, as William Faulkner observed. So what does one do with this undead past? Forgive. Forgive, huh? Forgive. Let it go. Again and again.
Some thoughts on writing a memoir, and the prologue to my memoir
https://anitamathias.com/2022/09/08/thoughts-on-writing-a-memoir-the-prologue-to-rosaries-reading-secrets/ 
#memoir #amwriting #forgiveness https://amzn.to/3B82CDo
Six months ago, Roy and I decided that finishing t Six months ago, Roy and I decided that finishing the memoir was to be like “the treasure in the field,” that Jesus talks about in the Gospels, which you sacrifice everything to buy. (Though of course, he talks about an intimate relationship with God, not finishing a book!!) Anyway, I’ve stayed off social media for months… but I’ve always greatly enjoyed social media (in great moderation) and it’s lovely to be back with the book now done  https://amzn.to/3eoRMRN  So, our family news: Our daughter Zoe is training for ministry as a priest in the Church of England, at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. She is “an ordinand.” In her second year. However, she has recently been one of the 30 ordinands accepted to work on an M.Phil programme (fully funded by the Church of England.) She will be comparing churches which are involved in community organizing with churches which are not, and will trace the impact of community organizing on the faith of congregants.  She’ll be ordained in ’24, God willing.
Irene is in her final year of Medicine at Oxford University; she will be going to Toronto for her elective clinical work experience, and will graduate as a doctor in June ‘23, God willing.
And we had a wonderful family holiday in Ireland in July, though that already feels like a long time ago!
https://anitamathias.com/2022/09/01/rosaries-readi https://anitamathias.com/2022/09/01/rosaries-reading-secrets-a-catholic-childhood-in-india-my-new-memoir/
Friends, some stellar reviews from distinguished writers, and a detailed description here!!
https://amzn.to/3wMiSJ3 Friends, I’ve written a https://amzn.to/3wMiSJ3  Friends, I’ve written a memoir of my turbulent Catholic childhood in India. I would be grateful for your support!
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