When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “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.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 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.”
Matthew 2:13-15 NIV
Fleeing to Egypt
Egyptian Canadians are Canadian citizens of Egyptian descent, first-generation Egyptian immigrants, or descendants of Egyptians who emigrated to Canada. According to the 2021 Census there are 105,245 Canadian residents who are from Egypt, up from 73,250 Egyptian Canadians in the 2011 Census. Egyptian Canadians are mainly either Christians or Muslims. Most Christians are Coptic Orthodox with small numbers of Coptic Catholic and Coptic Protestant. Muslims are mostly Sunni. Most Egyptian Canadians are concentrated in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
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We live in a world filled with refugees. There are more refugees in the world today than at any other time in world history – modern means of transportation no doubt makes that possible. Followers of Jesus are working with them, all over the world, to bring humanitarian help and the hope that only Jesus offers. Over the past 15 years, I have visited far too many refugee camps, where Bible League Canada partners are serving those who are suffering terribly. It makes sense that people would do so. Jesus Himself was a refugee. Matthew 2:13-15 tells us the story: “When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘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.’ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 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.’” Jesus calls His people to serve the most vulnerable, because He was once among them.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley