Sunday Summary: The Christmas Conspiracy

Advent is the season of anticipation. It is a time of preparing for the celebration of Jesus' birth. A time to think about what it means to be made new and live in peace, love, joy and hope.

Unfortunately, most of us are probably ready for Christmas to be over before it even gets here. Often times, the weeks leading up to the holiday are busy and stressful. A few people I know insist on taking their tree down on December 26th. But, the Christmas season is actually 12 days long (despite what retailers would have you think, what with putting up Christmas tree and holiday displays in late September). Christmas begins on December 25th and ends with the Epiphany on January 6th.

Cody encouraged us to take some time to decompress and relax... which is not always an easy thing to do with the return to the workweek, and New Year's celebrations and parties just around the corner. Many of us have been traveling and have lots to catch up on when we return home. But take some time to quietly remember the joyful moments of the season.

Our scripture is week was from Matthew 2:13-23 (The Voice). We're skipping ahead in the story, to after the wise men have left. This is traditionally done in the lectionary calendar. Why do they do that? Maybe it's because the Sunday between Christmas and New Years is typically the one with lowest attendance and it's an easy way to skim over a bloody, awful story. After all, there's no easy time to hear the story of the "Slaughter of the Innocents." But, it is an important part of the story, so here it goes:

After the wise men left, a messenger appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up, take the child and his mother, and head to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you it is safe to leave. Herod understands that Jesus threatens him and all he stands for. He is planning to search for the child and kill him. But you will be safe in Egypt." So, Joseph got up in the middle of the night and left with his family.

Léon Cogniet, Massacre of the Innocents, circa 1824

After a few months, Herod realized he’d been tricked. He was furious and ordered that all boys who lived in Bethlehem, under the age of two, would be killed. He knew ordinary babies would die in this purge, but didn't care — He was willing to do whatever was necessary to kill this new "supposed King." But, Herod’s plan ultimately failed. He didn't know Jesus had been taken to safety in Egypt. This event had long been foretold by the prophet Jeremiah.

After Herod's death, a messenger appeared again in a dream to Joseph. "You may go home now. Take the child and his mother and go back to the land of Israel, for the people who were trying to take the child’s life are now dead."


So, Joseph got up and took Mary and Jesus and returned to Israel. Soon, he learned that Herod’s oldest and notoriously brutal son was ruling Judea and Joseph was afraid. He had yet another dream, and in this dream, he was warned to stay away from Judea. Joseph decided to settle in the district of Galilee, in the town of Nazareth. And this, too, fulfilled a prophecy: “The Savior will be a Nazarene.”

What a way to end the story, eh? Nothing like bloodshed to spoil the peace and beauty of Christmas. Truth be told, there's still a lot of bloodshed in our world today. And the pause we take to witness the joy of Christmas doesn't pause the death and destruction on earth.

God has been trying to repair creation since the beginning... seeking to be in a saving relationship with God's people. In the Christmas story, God steps down off his heavenly throne and meets us in the midst of pain and hate and fear and conflict and violence... Because that's where we live. God took on our flesh and lived among us, to forgive and redeem us. We are called to pick up the cause daily -- to spread peace, joy, love and hope. God has asked us to be part of it. It our challenge to participate and be the hands and feet of Christ.

Go. Be. Do.

On a side note: 
There's been a lot of press about the Pope lately. Recently, he's been called a Marxist. But what's he's really preaching is Christianity (apparently, the two can somehow be confused.) He's speaking, not just to Catholics, but to all of mankind. He has been urging that people of all religions – or no religion – work together. “Even [athiests], everyone...” the pope said, “we all have the duty to do good... Just do good and we’ll find a meeting point.” [from a hypothetical conversation in which someone told a priest: “But I don’t believe. I’m an atheist.”]

Pope Francis’ reaching out to atheists and people who belong to no religion is a marked contrast to the attitude of former Pope Benedict, who sometimes left non-Catholics feeling that he saw them as second-class believers.

Written by Kay Weiss, guest blogger