Hello my friend Dr. Brad Miller here with the Daily Bible Refresh.

This is your daily reading of the Bible from a progressive point of view.

In a bit I will read the New Testament lesson selected from the Revised Common Lectionary for this very day.

The reading is understandable.

I use the message version relatable.

Please listen to the points to ponder and applicable with action steps you can take.

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Here's today's reading and we're reading today.

From the gospel of Matthew, second chapter verses 13 through 23 from the message.

After the scholars were gone, God's angel showed up again to Joseph in a dream and commanded, get up.

Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt.

Stay until further notice.

Herod is in the hunt for the child and he wants to kill him.

Joseph obeyed.

He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness and they were out of town and well on their way by daylight.

They lived in Egypt until Herod's death.

This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached.

I called my son out of Egypt.

Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage.

He got commanded the murder of every little boy 2 years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills.

He determined that age from information he'd gotten from the scholars.

That's when Jeremiah's revelation was fulfilled.

A sound was heard in Ramah weeping and much lament.

Rachel weeping for her children.

Rachel refusing all solace.

Her children gone, dead and buried.

Later, when Herod died, God's angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and he said up.

Take the child and his mother and return to Israel.

All those out to murder the child are dead.

Joseph obeyed.

He got up, took the child and his mother and re entered Israel.

When he heard though, that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, he was afraid to go there.

But then Joseph was directed in a dream to go to the hills of Galilee.

On arrival, he settled in the village of Nazareth.

This move was a fulfillment of the prophetic words.

He shall be called a Nazarene.

Well, my friend, thank you for joining me today.

That completes the reading and let's take a few minutes to explore this passage of scripture here.

This is the scene after the birth of Jesus, where the wise men of the scholars, as it says here, have been and the scholars have left.

And Joseph is warned in a dream to flee with Mary and with Jesus to Egypt because Herod wants the child dead.

And there's this terrible massacre there in the Bethlehem region.

Later, after Herod's death, another dream guides Joseph to go back.

But fear and prudence led him to lead the family to Nazareth instead of Judea, a different area.

So this is a story of flight, of grief, of protective courage.

And God with us becomes God on the run.

So let's go a little deeper with this, with some teaching points.

So I like to call them points to ponder from a progressive perspective.

The first one is that sanctuary is holy work.

The first act of discipleship for Joseph is relocation for safety.

A progressive reading honors sanctuary, protecting the vulnerable from violent power as integral to faith.

Jesus began his life as a refugee that compels us to create practical refuge, safe church policies that shield children and families, accompaniment for immigrants and survivors, and communities that prioritize protection over reputation.

Another point to ponder is lament is faithful, not fatalistic.

Matthew quotes Jeremiah, Rachel weeping and refusing solace.

Scripture doesn't rush past grief.

The progressive faith lets communities tell the truth about harmony, mass violence, systematic injustice, private sorrow without spiritualizing it away.

We mourn with those who mourn and refuse to numb out.

Lament clears space for honest repair and sustained courage.

A third point to ponder is discernment chooses both courage and caution.

Joseph obeys the angel, but he also pays attention to the real risk, avoiding Archelaus by setting out to Galilee.

And progressive discipleship blends trust in God with trauma, informed wisdom, listening to warning signs, protect consent, pick a safer route and refuse to put people back in harm's way for the sake of optics.

Courage isn't recklessness.

It's steady care under pressure.

This is about courage that can be gentle and protection, which is love in action.

Teaching us this way of wisdom.

Let's talk about a action step for this week.

Practice local sanctuary.

That is, identify a neighbor or person or community facing danger or instability.

It might be an immigrant family or a poor person who's really struggling with some oppressive system or survivors of some trauma.

Or maybe it's even patients or caregivers going through cancer or something like that who are overwhelmed by the system.

With so many hoops to jump through and offer concrete refuge in whatever form it can take.

It might mean a ride to an appointment, it might mean helping people deal with paperwork and all the stuff that people have to go through, offering a meal, being an emergency contact for somebody, offering childcare or connecting them with some other system that need that they can be helpful to them like legal aid, something like that, or medical support.

Ask the question how can I help you feel safer this week?

And if you're in a position of influence in government or church or workplace, a business, a backup policy that protects the vulnerable, give or be a part of benevolence and mutual aid groups and support confidential pathways or for people to get support or partner with some local immigrant support or anti violence organization.

Let sanctuary be small, steady and real.

We'll come back and have a prayer.

Here in just a minute, but I want you to know we've got a resource for you called the ABC 123 Bible study method.

We'd love for you to go over to our website, voiceofgoddaily.com that's where you can pick that up.

Let's pray.

Emmanuel who knows the road at night.

Thank you for meeting us in flights we didn't plan, in grief we can't tidy up.

Teach us Joseph's protective courage, listening, moving and guarding life.

Hold those who mourn without easy answers.

Give wisdom to caregivers, advocates, caseworkers and pastors who choose safer routes for those they love.

Meet us in hospitals and other places and in the environment in wooded trails.

Meet us in our families, meet us in laughter, our children and make our homes and churches sanctuaries for those and for those who are in distress.

In places of consent, safety and welcome, where lament is heard and hope grows sturdy and where power and when power turns violent.

Help us close.

Keep us close to the child and to each other until joy returns in the neighborhoods we share.

Amen.

My friend, I am delighted you chose to join me for today's reading.

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Thanks much.

My name is Dr. Brad Miller and I'll be right here tomorrow with your Daily Bible Refresh.

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Remember, God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love hasn't dried up, it's created new every morning.