CvK

St Joseph Rest on the Flight into Egypt “The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him’. So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I called my son out of Egypt.” Matthew 2, 13-15 The Painting This painting illustrates a moment when the Holy Family rest on their flight into Egypt. The Old Testament begins with an Exodus or the flight out of Egypt while the New Testament begins with a flight into Egypt, as described in the Gospel of Matthew. In the background we can see a column of fire, which led the children out of Egypt. The discovery of the altar. which appears in this painting, seems to have given the design for the Ark of the Covenant and later to the design of the Temple in Jerusalem. Mary with the child Jesus in her arms sits outside this altar. And God is no longer in the Arc of the Covenant or the Temple; He is come into the world. In the distance is an Egyptian temple to Osiris, the god of the dead and resurrection. To the left of the painting is a stele on which is carved the Pharaoh Akhenaton worshipping the sun disc, which is perhaps the first appearance of monotheism. Against the stela lays a pair of compasses and a Jacobs’s staff. Two instruments to measure the angle of the stars. The Jacob staff is a cross which measures angles as well as representing the cross, and it overshadows earlier pagan beliefs. Next to it is a compass, which as well as being a carpenter’s tool, represents God as the Divine Architect, the Maker of all things. The painting draws on the three elements of Fire, Water and Earth. The moon shines through the clouds and together with the camp fire and the Column of Fire illuminates the scene. And the darkness is dispelled. Joseph descends into the waters of the Nile in a form of purification, and steps among the lotus flowers, symbols of death and rebirth. It should be remembered that the Nile represented to the ancients another form of renewal and new beginnings Closer to the bank are bulrushes which evoke the story of Moses, who was to follow the Column of Fire and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Here is a moment of tranquility and reflection. It seems that Joseph is standing aside pondering the works of God and the events that have overtaken him and which will become a turning-point for all humanity.

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