Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Christmas - December 28


Psalm 103, 148

Isaiah 62:1-5, 10-12

Revelation 19:11-16

Matthew 2:13-23

The Gospel passage today begins with the idea of retreat, a concept that we normally do not consider when it comes to our faith. We tend to get the message of full steam ahead. The Matthew passage narrates a critical time in the life of the Christ child and helps us consider the absolute humanity of Christ as God/Man.

When Herod makes his decree to kill all children under two years old, Jesus’s family has to take action to protect him. It can be a challenge to grasp, for we know of his “God-ness” and cannot imagine the soldiers being able to succeed in their duty: I keep imagining toddler-Jesus as a ninja-superhero baby who takes out the entire platoon sent to kill him, but that is not the part of God’s plan or the fully man part of Christ. Indeed, the prophecy requires that Jesus go to Egypt and then to Nazareth.

The retreat is not really a retreat; it is part of the fullness of God’s plan. Today’s lesson reminds us to look at events from a God perspective and not a human one to see how it all fits. Sometimes God’s directions to us go against what we think is the best plan, but in the end, we see that it all works out for good. Let us open our eyes to seeing his vision and not remain blinded to our own.

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