Isaiah 63: 7 - 9

⁷ I will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD, the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, because of all that the LORD has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. ⁸ For he said, “Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely”; and he became their savior⁹ in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Matthew 2: 13 – 23

¹³ Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, ¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

¹⁶ When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

¹⁹ When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ²⁰“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” ²¹ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. ²³ There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

Christmas is over. Things are getting back to “normal.” Most of us are in the process of putting away the ornaments and will soon be packing the tree away for next year or composting our tree through the recycling process that begins at the curb later this week. Christmas is over for the retailers. The decorations in the stores have gone. Except for the fact that you can get Christmas wrapping paper for really cheap, Christmas seems to be boxed up and shipped to the warehouses. But for us Christmas has just begun. Christmas is the on-going hope that our world will put fear aside and learn how to trust in God’s good will. Our Christmas celebration continues until January 6^th, Epiphany, the traditional date of Orthodox Christmas. And better yet, our hope and expectation for peace on earth continues throughout the entire year, because we need all the help we can get.

But people, who don’t know any better, say that Christmas has come to an end – everything seems to be back to what we call “normal.” Normal is too often a sad violent world. The assassination in Pakistan and the violence that followed makes us wonder about what is normal. Is it possible to have peace on earth?

Herod looked at Jesus and saw in him a threat to the world. Whatever else you say about Jesus, from his birth onward, some people certainly found him a threat. Some saw him as a threat to the power arrangements for both the Temple and Roman rule. This paranoia is all too typical in our world today. There is something like 50 million refugees around the world, people pushed out of their homes because of power struggles and fear. All the world plays a part. In Sudan, the Sahara, in Malaysia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, millions are homeless, jobless, and hopeless.

Before the “Prince of Peace” had learned to walk and talk he was a homeless refugee with a price on his head. Not because of any actual threat, but because of the fear that he might pose a threat. According to Matthew, children were killed; angels warn Joseph; Jesus’ family escapes from Bethlehem, and they find refuge in Egypt. It never seems to change.

Herod the Great, who thought nothing of killing members of his own family, is the same ruler who gave orders from his deathbed to have the leading citizens of Jericho slaughtered so that people would be weeping at his funeral. As Herod’s life progressed so did his paranoia and his grip on reality – it is an all too familiar progression that we see in leaders throughout history, even today.

The light of Jesus (the birth of the Messiah, the coming of the Prince of Peace) seems to be diminished by the fact that he is born into a world of darkness that continues to be filled with trouble, tension, violence, and fear. He was born into our world. We recognize the possibilities that God’s light brings. It is a light that refuses to be overcome by darkness.

Each Christmas we live with the tension between a world torn with violence and the hope that the Christ Child brings that we might live in peace. Who will help us evolve into the people that God intends for us to be? Who will teach us how to live in peace with one another? Will we rely upon God rather than allow fear to determine our fate?

When the wise men came from the East, they went to Jerusalem, the capital, to inquire, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” And today those who are “wise” make the same mistake in looking to worldly power to solve the world’s problems. We ask questions with the expectation that the old ways of doing things will bring about peace. We concentrate on the questions of “where?” or “how?” instead of the question “who and why?”

The questions of where and how are questions that rely on our abilities. These are the questions that overwhelm us, especially when we discover that the old ways of working for peace, our old ways, don’t work. And yet, we attempt it again and again. The ways of might, the ways of force, the ways of war, and the ways of decree, lead to more and more paranoia not to peace.

“How are we to find peace?” “Where are we to find it?” We insist upon discovering the answers through our wisdom and our desires. “How are we to plan our next year?” “Where shall we to find happiness and security? The questions that begin with “How are we…” and “Where are we…” lead to disappointment and broken resolutions.

As important as we think that WE are in the equation, it is more important to remember to ask the questions about “who and why.” These are the questions that take the solution beyond self, to a source that is wiser and larger than self.

Who will provide the wisdom so that we will live in peace with one another? Who is behind it and why do we seek it? These are the questions that will lead to God’s unfailing love. The questions of “Who?” and “Why?” lead to the joy, peace, and the happiness that God will provide.

Home Page

Pastor's Study

List of Previous Sermons