Matthew 2:13-18; Isaiah 63:7-9; Hebrews 2:10-18
In a few days Christmas will be gone, and we will have to wait another whole year to celebrate it again, but for a little longer, we will still enjoy the colorful lights, the music, and maybe the leftovers. In a few days little by little, we will begin to pack our Christmas tree with its lights and ornaments, and as we do that, we will also unpack the reality of life with all its struggles that we set aside for a while during this celebration of love.
Little by little, our life will be “normal” again, and little by little, we will have to come down from the mountain called Christmas and face our reality. Soon the decorations at the stores will change for the next season, the downtown will go back to how it was before Christmas. Soon everything will change around.
Even in today’s gospel we see that change. Compared with the previous scriptures we had the past four Sundays, everything changes drastically today, that traditionally is the first Sunday after Christmas. We have no more angels singing, no more friendly reunions around the manger, no more wise men coming with gifts, no more shepherds worshiping the baby in Bethlehem. Now we hear wailing, loud lamentation, and escape. Now, we read about death and persecution; no more joy filling the air, now we have anger destroying the city. Ancient mother Rachel weeps inconsolably over the loss of her children.
Do you remember Rachel? Genesis 29 tells part of her story. She was one of the two daughters of Laban. She is one of Jacob’s wives; she is the one Jacob loved more than Leah, the older sister he didn’t wish to marry, and apparently, God closed Rachel’s womb, while Leah bore many sons to Jacob. Eventually, Rachel confronted both God and Jacob, saying “Give me children, or I’ll die!” When she finally bore Jacob a son, she named him Joseph. Joseph is the one who saved his family from famine and brought them to the safety of Egypt.
Jeremiah, in chapter 31 verse 15, takes this woman of Israel, this mother of Israel, and portrays her crying for her children who are going into exile to Babylon. Matthew takes the same image from Jeremiah to describe the pain of all Bethlehem’s mothers, when Herod killed all the infants two years old and younger in his eagerness to kill the Messiah.
During the season of Advent and Christmas, we celebrated God working our salvation. We celebrated the ancient promise of God and his plan for our salvation. We celebrated Christmas as the final solution God has to redeem His fallen creation. Christmas is God’s answer to the question, how can we be saved? Or how can I return to my father’s house? Christmas is the fulfillment of the first prophesy we find in the Bible, Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Christmas is the countdown for Evil. Therefore, the killing of the innocent is the Evil’s counterattack. Herod represents that Evil; he represents the enemy of God’s people.
From the beginning, peoples’ Evil is trying to destroy God’s plans. After God presented to the wise men and shepherds the Savoir of the world, the Evil of this world, -represented by Herod- sees the opportunity to destroy the anointed One, but God did not allow it. He provided a safe place for his Son. Herod, my brothers, and sisters, is the other side of Christmas, the other side we don’t talk about too often, but we have to face every single day. Herod is the reason why the Christmas spirit doesn’t last too long; Herod represents the intent of God’s enemy to destroy God’s plan.
The scripture Matthew puts right after Jesus’ birth is his way to call our attention to be on guard, to be attentive to God’s voice, and to be ready when the Holy Spirit warns us of any attack from the enemy. This scripture is what Matthew uses to remind us that after every victory God gives us, we must be ready for God’s enemy counterattack.
During the Season of Christmas, God assured us that He is with us, and He will provide what we need to endure whatever will come. After Mary received the message from God, she faced uncertainty in her life. However, when she had to run away to save her baby’s life, she remembered what the angel told her, “You are favored, and the Lord is with you.” Joseph faced doubts about Mary too. However, when that happened, he remembered what the angel told him in his dream and was obedient. When Mary and Joseph faced despair in Bethlehem when every inn in town closed the doors, they trusted God, and He was faithful and opened a stable. Trusting God was also part of our Christmas’ message.
Now in this post-Christmas season, God has a question for us, that question is, what are you going to do with the message of hope, peace, joy, and love? Are you going to put it away in a box together with the clay and plastic figures? What are you going to do with the good news of “joy to the world, the Lord is come? Are you going to put it away in boxes with all your colorful lights? What are you going to do with the message of do not be afraid? Are you going to hide it in your storage room?
Today, Christmas Day, I would like to propose to you this: do not hide this great message; let’s keep the spirit of Christmas alive and active every day regardless of what we face this year Let’s use the examples of Mary and Joseph, Anna and Simeon, Elizabeth, and Ezekiel and let us live a holy and obedient life before God. Let’s keep the flame of Advent burning; the joy of Christmas going; let’s keep the “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” always in our lips; let’s keep our eyes and ears ready to see and hear what God is doing and saying.
The joy and message of Christmas do not end the day after Christmas, continues every day of our lives, because Christmas is Christ and Christ is always present in our lives.
Soon a new year will begin, and an old one will stay behind. And this new year, as the old one will be full of the “other side” of Christmas. It will be full of uncertainty, fear, and doubt. That is why it is essential to keep the message of Christmas alive in our hearts.
The message God wants us to keep in mind is, I am the One you can trust, I am the One who does not fail you. Through Jesus, we have become God’s children and heirs of all His promises. Therefore, when uncertainty comes into your life, remember: God favors you, the same way He did with Mary; God is with you, and your life is hidden in God with Christ.
The season of Christmas will soon be over, and the question is: What will we do now? I invite you to keep on trusting God and the power of His arm; to trust in His faithfulness; to trust in the One who is able to give you the victory, the One who will fight for you and with you. Trust in the message that transformed this world, the message of peace and love, the good news of unity and reconciliation.
Remember, Jesus did not come to the world to leave us alone. He is our Emmanuel; He came to be with us to be part of our life; He came to be our salvation.
May His hope, peace, joy, and love underline everything that comes to your life.