Christmas is over. Even though our “official” celebration lasts 12 days, until the Epiphany on January 6, for most of us Christmas is over when we return to normal routines of work and school after New Year’s. Many of us have probably taken the tree and the decorations down. The warmth and glow of Christmas have faded or disappeared.
The sense of warmth and joy that is so much a part of Christmas in the Church—the center candle in the Advent wreath now lit, the familiar carols, the joy of Jesus’ birth—fade quickly too. Our Gospel readings for the Second Sunday after Christmas sound a somber, even menacing tone. On this day we hear of the visit of the wise men from the East, being asked by Herod to inform him of where the newborn Messiah is. The wise men, sensing that Herod has evil intentions, do not return with this information, but instead head “for their own country by another way.” In an alternative Gospel reading for the day, Joseph is warned in a dream to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt and remain there until danger is past.
These readings remind us that the birth of Jesus was not a welcome event to those in power. These words are a first indication of what will be an ongoing theme in Jesus’ ministry: opposition from those who want to maintain the status quo. Jesus will challenge those who want to follow him in his ministry, as he challenges us today, to be critical of social structures that create and maintain a system of haves and have-nots, injustice, and suffering. He will challenge us to take action: to love one another and to work for justice and peace in the world.
Sound familiar? It should. Those are our baptismal promises, the pattern of our lives . And so, Christmas over, we continue on in our journey of Christian life.
Peace,
Deacon Sue
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