Date: January 1, 2023

Bible Text: Matthew 2:13-23 | ,

Happy New Year! January 1, 2023, is the first Sunday after Christmas (one of the twelve days of Christmas – yes, they come after Christmas!). Our worship service will be ONLINE ONLY this week. Pastor David will welcome everyone to the service, and the service will be led by staff members of National Capital Presbytery, with Rev. Tara Spuhler McCabe and Rev. John Molina-Moore bringing the message for the day. It’ll be a little different from our usual style, but it is always good to hear from other corners of Christ’s Church!

We will celebrate the Lord's Supper in worship today. To take part with us virtually, you will need a little bit of bread and a little bit of wine or grape juice (or the closest things you have). Then just follow along.

Some Thoughts from the Pastor…

Today's text from Matthew takes place right as the wise men are leaving after visiting the Christ Child. We hear that Herod is enraged that the magi didn't come back to him, so he sends troops to kill all the children born in and around Bethlehem according to the time when the wise men first saw the star. An angel warns Joseph to take his wife and child to Egypt to avoid destruction, which he promptly does. This is a very upsetting story about ruthless leadership and the slaughter of innocent lives, and nobody likes hearing this story -- ever! but especially right after the joy and wonder of Christmas. For many of us in middle class America, it's uncomfortable and puts a damper on our holiday spirit. But for many people in the world, even at or near our borders, the story rings as true as daily life. The ruthless destruction of the lives of politically powerless people happens all the time. The fact that it makes us uncomfortable is a mark of the protections and advantages of our situation in life. People without such privileges live this text all the time and don't have the luxury to ignore it. And yet, God is with them and all who suffer such violence and dehumanization, and that much at least is good news. We are called as Christ's disciples to work for a world where the Herods of our day can't get away with such brutality.

May God in Christ bless us in this new year with the energy, intelligence, imagination, and love to fulfill our calling.

 

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