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After this, as they journeyed on, their saddle straps broke, (and) Joseph said to Jesus,
"Lord, we are all about to broil in this heat. If it should seem good to you, please allow
us to travel alongside the sea, that we might lodge in the coastal towns." "Joseph," said
Jesus, "do not fret; I will shorten the distance that you must go, so that what would have
required thirty days to pass, you will complete this very day." And right as he was saying
this, behold, the mountains and townships of Egypt came into view just ahead. And after
Joseph had left his home and withdrawn into Egypt, he remained there for an entire year,
until the anger of Herod had diminished. And Jesus was two when he came into Egypt.
ARRIVAL IN EGYPT; THE 365 IDOLS TOPPLE (PsMt 22 24; InThL 1:1c)
Sotinen, Greater Hermopolis They entered joyfully and exultantly into
the region of Hermopolis. And as Jesus was walking through a field of grain, he reached
out his hand and grabbed hold of some ears. After roasting them upon a fire, he crushed
them and ate. They then entered the Egyptian city of Sotinen. Now since there was no one
there from whom they knew to seek hospitality, they went into a certain temple known as the
Egyptian Capitol Building. Three hundred and sixty-five idols had been set up in that place,
each receiving religious devotion and hallowed rituals on its particular day. The Egyptians
who lived in that town would enter into the capitol, where the priests would tell them
how many sacrifices to offer up that day, corresponding to the regard in which the ‘god’
was held. And it happened that as soon as Mary took
the young boy into the temple, every idol in that place fell flat on its face, and each
of them was lying there face down on the floor, smashed and demolished in a show of their
powerlessness. Then was fulfilled the word of the prophet Isaiah: "Behold, the Lord will
enter Egypt on a swift cloud, and all that the Egyptians have crafted will be cleared
away at his coming." And when that city’s ruler Affrodosius was
notified, he and his entire army marched toward the temple. And when the temple priests caught
sight of Affrodosius entering into that place, in the full strength of his military might,
they felt certain that he would retaliate against those who overthrew the idols. But
when he entered into the temple and saw all of the gods lying there face down, Affrodosius
went up to Mary, who was holding Jesus in her arms, and worshiped him. Then he confessed
to his army and his supporters, "Our gods would never have fallen in his presence, nor
would they have remained here prostrated before him unless he were God over our gods; so even
though they cannot speak, they silently acknowledge his lordship. If we should fail to do as we
see our own gods doing, then we are all in danger of infuriating him and being devastated
like Pharaoh, King of the Egyptians, who drowned with his whole army in the sea for not acknowledging
such a masterful authority." Then everyone in that place put their faith in the Lord
God through Jesus Christ. JESUS REVIVES A DRIED FISH
(InThL 1) Sotinen?
And on entering into Egypt, they lived for a year as boarders in a widow’s house. When
Jesus was three, he joined in with some boys that he saw playing. He placed a dried-up
fish into a tub and said, "Breathe," and it started to respire. "Release the salt within
yourself," he commanded the fish, "and jump into the water." And it did as he had said.
Seeing, then, what he had done, the neighbors went and informed the widow who was housing
his mother Mary; and as soon as she found out about it, she evicted them.
JESUS INFURIATES A TEACHER (InThL 2)
Sotinen? And as Jesus was walking through town with
his mother, he looked up and saw an instructor who was teaching his students. Behold, twelve
sparrows were fighting there, and they fell from the wall and into the teacher’s lap
as he was lecturing them. When Jesus saw it, he came to a stop and burst into laughter.
The instructor, marking his amusement, became enraged. "Go get that boy," he told his students,
"and bring him right back here to me!" And as soon as they took hold of him, the teacher
pinched his ear and asked, "What have you seen that you think is so funny?" "Look into
my hand," he answered, "is it not full of grain? I revealed the grain to these birds,
and distributed it among them. It was at their own peril that they made off with it; for
they were all fighting over the division of this grain!" And Jesus did not leave that
spot until they had divided it. The instructor therefore threw both Jesus and his mother
out of town. THE FALLEN IDOL
AND THE POSSESSED BOY (ArIn 4:5 23)
A Large Egyptian City And they approached a large city that housed
an idol which received the sacrifices and pledges from all the other Egyptian gods and
idols. Now there was a priest nearby who would attend to it and, as often as Satan spoke
through it, pass along to the Egyptians and the others every word that it would speak.
This priest had a three-year-old son who was possessed by a legion of demons, and would
utter many senseless things. Now whenever the demons would exercise their power over
him, the boy would tear his clothing and walk around naked, throwing rocks at everyone in
sight. The city’s inn was near to the idol, and when Joseph and Saint Mary entered that
city and checked into the inn, the residents were all amazed. All of that idol’s judges
and priests gathered before it and asked, "What does all this fear and terror that has
gripped our region forebode?" "Truly the unknown and unrivaled God is visiting us," the idol
replied. "He is no doubt the Son of God, and no one but he is worthy of adoration. The
entire nation trembled at his fame, and his arrival has brought this present fear and
dread upon us; and we do ourselves shrink before his tremendous might." And even as
he said this the idol fell, and its collapse prompted everyone from the land of Egypt and
parts beyond to run away. The next time the disorder overcame the son
of the priest, however, he went into the inn where Joseph and Saint Mary were staying and
approached those from whom everyone else had fled. And when our Lady, Saint Mary, had finished
washing the swaddling cloths of the Lord Jesus Christ, she hung them over a post to dry.
The demon-possessed boy pulled one off and wrapped it around his head, whereupon the
demons spewed out of his mouth as crows and snakes, and flew away from him in haste. The
boy was healed once and for all by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he began to
offer thanks, and to sing songs of praise to the Lord, who had made him well. When his
father saw that his boy was again in health, he prodded him, "Son, tell me what has become
of you. Explain to me how you were restored?" "As soon as those devils got hold of me,"
his son replied, "I went into the inn, where I met a very beautiful woman--and her young
boy was there with her. She had just washed his swaddling clothes and hung them over a
post to dry. Then I took one and placed it over my head, at which point the demons came
out and fled." When his father heard all of these things from him, he jumped for joy and
cried aloud, "My child, this might just be that boy--that Son of the Living God--who
brought all of creation into existence; for the very moment that he came to us the idol
was destroyed, and every single god, overwhelmed by a higher power, fell flat on its face."
In this was fulfilled that prophecy that reads, "Out of Egypt I have called my Son."