Here is the Holy Family returning home after being refugees in Egypt. Israel is depicted at the bottom of the painting while Egypt is at the top. On the left is shown the road to Egypt while on the right, the return route.
God had rescued the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt. He watched over them and treated them collectively as His son.
The prophecy that the Messiah would be called out of Egypt had deep implications. By calling His Son, Jesus, out of Egypt, God is identifying Israel with His own Son.
The Church is now the new Israel. Egypt is symbolic of our world and Jerusalem of the Promised Land. Jesus became man to identify with us, the children of God, and to redeem us from this world of bondage and bring us into the Promised Land, heaven.
Jesus’ ascension into heaven is His return. It is a promise to us, the children of God, that by forsaking this world and our slavery to sin, through Jesus we can be ensured of our own return.
Audio Production & Music by Bettina Cassar
