"Fulfilling the Scripture" Isn't "Proving a Prediction"

In today's gospel reading, Matthew tells us how Joseph fled to Egypt to save his little family from Herod's slaughter of the innocents, "in order that the scripture may be fulfilled." In today's sermon, Fr. Daron Vroon took the trouble to look up the scripture from Hosea, where the context is clearly not a forward-looking prediction but a backwards-looking statement about how God led His people out of Egypt in the time of Moses.

[Photo: Screenshot of Fr. Daron Vroon, Associate Rector of St. James Episcopal Church, Marietta, GA, from the live-streaming service January 3, 2021]

When we run across problems like this, Fr. Daron said, we tend to blame the writers for their naive ways or their careless use of sources. Fr. Daron reminded us that the author is not the only person involved here; we readers may be the ones who are reading the words incorrectly.

Fr. Daron went on to show that Hosea is depicting Israel as God's child -- cared for, led out of Egypt, educated with the law -- but, after all that, worshipping idols, disappointing the Father. Hosea tells Israel to get back on track.

Already, Fr. Daron's had made clear what was coming: The story that went awry in the time of Hosea is fulfilled in Jesus.

Fr. Daron quickly sketched out how other Hebrew Scriptures -- the personification of Wisdom in Proverbs, the erotic poetry of Song of Solomon -- are fulfilled by the person of Jesus.

The church fathers, whom Fr. Daron has been re-reading recently, saw every such problem in Scripture as an opportunity to think more deeply. Will do.