The Gospel assigned for this day is pretty unsettling. Just five days after we’ve gathered with our friends and family to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we get this tale of death. Words like peace, joy, love and light that found themselves so easily woven into our stories of Advent and Christmas Eve are now replaced with words like “destroy”, “infuriated”, “wailing”, and “lamentation”. The warm image of that stable in Bethlehem that harbored the baby Jesus is iced over by Herod’s wrath. It’s really the middle of this passage from Scripture that is so unsettling.
     A jealous King Herod has been tricked by the wise men and now seeks to secure his throne from being taken over by this baby who was born to be the king of the Jews. His only solution is the killing of children – all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger. All of Herod’s scheming, though, can not thwart God’s purpose for God’s Son, Jesus. The beginning and end of this passage assure us that Jesus is safe with his parents. God shields Jesus from Herod’s wrath using a variety of means. 
     The gospel of Matthew quotes more Old Testament passages than any other gospel. Matthew is known for being a bridge between the Old and New Testament. These verses of our gospel today are a great example. In these 11 verses alone, the Old Testament prophets are quoted three times. The actions of Mary, Joseph and Herod are (and I quote) “to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet.”
     In this way, we get a sense that all that is happening was meant to happen. It was foretold to happen. Jesus is shielded from Herod’s wrath, first of all, because of his destiny. He is not meant to die as a baby because of the wrath of a jealous king. His purpose is bigger than that. His life is destined to teach others about God – to show people how to love. His death is destined to save his people from their sins. Jesus is protected, at least in part, because of his destiny.
     He is also protected through the actions of his parents. Three times, again, in these eleven verses alone, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, telling him what to do. The great thing about Joseph is that he listens. He and Mary, from the beginning, hear the word of God, believe it and then act on it. As Jesus’ earthly parents, they do everything in their power to protect him. As faithful servants of God, their actions protect the purpose that God has for Jesus.
    Finally, Jesus is protected because of the power of God. King Herod is a powerful man, but he can’t out-power God. Mary and Joseph have to travel to far away places. They are refugees in the foreign land of Egypt. But they never find themselves outside of the boundary of God’s power. God is in every place they are, speaking to Joseph in dreams.
     Out of curiosity, I checked the headlines on CNN.com the day after Christmas. Here were the top U.S. stories – at least of that hour – on December 26th:

• Three people found dead in Washington home
• Home prices post record drop
• Search continues for missing student
• Lottery ticket worth $9M goes unclaimed
• Dad, daughter die in plane crash; teen survives
• Town wants to let seniors work off taxes
• Missing wife produces question after question
• Blood trail leads to bodies in basement
• Girl killed on new Christmas bike

     Just like the Gospel lesson for today, these headlines are enough to catapult us right out of our Christmas bliss right back into the reality of the world in which we live. A world full of love, joy and goodwill – yes - but also economic worry, tragic accidents and death. Most of these headlines, in and of themselves, aren’t great news. They and the Gospel story for this day tell stories of human reality – of how awful we can be to each other – of the worry, sadness and death that permeates people not just in the 21st Century, but throughout time.
     These headlines and the Gospel for today also tell us something about Jesus. About his purpose. And how his purpose has everything to do with us. It is because of the messiness of human life that Jesus was born. It is to us that Jesus comes. He comes to bring comfort to our wailing, peace to our anxiety, healing to our brokenness, life to the death we create. His presence doesn’t clean up the mess. But it does give us hope and instill in us trust. Hope that we can clean it up. And trust that He loves us no matter what – mess and all. I hope your life doesn’t feel too messy right now. But if it does, may you trust that Jesus is in it with you, fulfilling the divine purpose for which He came. Amen.



Does Jesus love you more if you get an A on your math test or an F? (show picture)
Does Jesus love you more when you fight with your brother or sister or when you get along? (show picture)
Does Jesus love you more when you follow all the rules or break them?

These are kind of trick questions because Jesus loves us all the time no matter what we do. Yes, he wants us to love each other and not fight. He wants us to do well in school. He wants us to follow rules because they are usually for our good. But, He loves us no matter what! If we were perfect – if we didn’t do anything wrong ever, Jesus wouldn’t have had to be born. He knows we’re not perfect and so He comes to help us when we get in messes – when we get in trouble. Now, I hope none of you get in too much trouble – at home or in school – but next time you are, remember that Jesus is especially close to you then. He loves you and he’s going to help you get through the mess.