Who can ever know the mind of God?

What happened after Jesus was born in Bethlehem? We have to put the pieces together because the Gospel narrates various episodes without telling us which came first. St Luke mentions the presentation of the child in the temple and the move to Nazareth. St Matthew mentions neither of these and focuses instead on the visit of the Magi and the flight into Egypt. 

Jesus was born in a cave near Bethlehem because “there was no room for them in the inn”, probably due to crowds gathered for the census. We assume Joseph and Mary got a better place to stay as soon as they could. This would explain why the Magi found them in a house in that town instead of Nazareth. 

If we make this assumption, the most likely sequence of events would be this:

1) Joseph and Mary presented the Baby Jesus in the temple, 40 days after he was born, as the Law of Moses required.

2) They returned to Bethlehem.

3) The Magi came to adore the “new-born king of the Jews”.

4) An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt in order to escape the slaughter of innocents ordered by King Herod.

5) The Holy Family lived in Egypt until King Herod died.

6) They moved back to Israel.

7) Joseph, hearing that Herod’s son Archelaus was ruling over Judea, decided to avoid Bethlehem. 

St Matthew concludes his narration of Christ’s childhood by saying that Joseph “settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled: He will be called a Nazarene.” Thus, Jesus of Nazareth – even though he was born in Bethlehem. 

If you ever go through a period of life where everything is unsettled, do not think that God has abandoned you. If you ever have to endure hardship because nothing seems to be working out, don’t give up on God. You may wonder why all this is happening to you when all you want is a peaceful life. No one blames you – least of all God himself – for asking: “Why’s this happening to me?” 

Early on in life, the child Jesus was tossed from one place to another by the events of this world. It was all part of a plan that God had fixed long ago, foretold by the prophets.

Perhaps you will never understand in this life why a lot of unpleasant things happen to you that don’t make sense. Trust God in those difficult moments. Remember the words of St Paul in the Letter to the Romans: “How impossible to comprehend God’s motives or understand his ways! Who can ever know the mind of the Lord?”