“Rise up, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,… Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel…” (Matthew 2:13–20)

“Rise up” signifies that Joseph had to get up from his sleep, and do what he was told to do at once because the hour had come. “The hour,” of course, was the time that God had planned. Jesus also often used phrases like “My hour has not yet come” or “The hour has come”, indicating to us his deference to the will of God the Father. Yet, even God’s will collaborates with human needs, and this is well exemplified by Jesus’ first miracle: “the changing of water into wine”.

The “original sin” came from man putting his desires above the will of God. “The LORD God gave man this order: ‘You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil.’” (Genesis 2:16) The point of this command was to ask man to control and subject his free will under God’s will. The temptation that man was put under was the unwillingness to be subjugated, since “the serpent said to the woman: ‘You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.’” (Genesis 3:5). Thus, the Holy Family wanted to set a good example for mankind. When the angel announced the birth of our Saviour, Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Let us learn to discern God’s voice from within our hearts, and boldly “rise up at once” to do God’s will.