Matthew 2:13-18; Isaiah 63:7-9; Hebrews 2:10-18
In a few days the Christmas festivities will be gone, and we will have to wait another whole year to celebrate it again. But for a little longer, we will still enjoy the colorful lights, the music, and maybe the leftovers. In a few days, little by little, we will begin to pack our Christmas tree with its lights and ornaments. And as we do that, we will also begin to unpack our reality — real life, with all its struggles, the same struggles we nicely set aside for a while during this beautiful celebration of love.
Little by little, life will be “normal” again. And little by little, we will come down from the transfiguration mountain called Christmas and face the reality waiting for us in the valley. The decorations at the stores will change soon to remind us of our next Holyday. Downtown will return to how it looked before. And our world will stop singing carols.
And even in today’s gospel, we see that same change. Compared with the scriptures of the past four Sundays, everything changes drastically today, which traditionally is the first Sunday after Christmas. No more angels singing. No more shepherds kneeling at the manger. No more wise men arriving with gifts. No more joyful reunions around the baby in Bethlehem.
Now we hear wailing. Now we hear lamentation. Now we hear about escape, persecution, and death. Matthew replaces joy with fear. He replaces singing with crying as He introduce us the other side of Christmas. He introduces us to a voice crying out: “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children…”
Do you remember Rachel? Her story is told in Genesis 29. She was the beloved wife of Jacob. The one he truly loved — unlike Leah, whom he did not choose. But her life was full of heartbreak: God closed her womb while Leah had child after child. She cried out in desperation: “Give me children, or I will die!” Finally, she gave birth to a son, and she named him Joseph the same Joseph who would one day save his family from famine and bring them safely into Egypt.
Centuries later, the prophet Jeremiah took Rachel’s story and turned her into a symbol:
She represents the mother of Israel weeping as her children are taken into exile to Babylon. And now, Matthew takes that same image and uses it again to describe the pain of the mothers of Bethlehem, weeping as Herod kills their babies in his attempt to destroy the Messiah. Rachel becomes the voice of every mother. Every parent. Every family. Every community that has suffered loss. She is the image of normal human suffering.
During Advent and Christmas, we celebrated God working out our salvation. We celebrated His promise. We celebrated His plan. Christmas is God’s answer to the question:
How can my people be saved; How can they return to their Father’s house?
Christmas is the fulfillment of the first prophecy in the Bible: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
Brothers and sisters, Christmas is the countdown of evil. And the killing of the innocent children is the evil’s counterattack. Herod represents that evil. He represents the enemy of God’s people. He represents the forces that resist God’s salvation plan. From the beginning, evil has tried to destroy God’s work: Pharaoh tried to kill the Hebrew babies. Herod tried to kill the Messiah. And even today, evil still tries to destroy hope.
Herod is the other side of Christmas. The side we don’t like to talk about. The side we face every single day. And Matthew places this story right after Jesus’s birth to warn us: After every spiritual victory, we must be ready for the enemy’s counterattack.
But here is the good news: Satan tried at the garde; Pharaoh tried in Egypt; Herod tried at Bethlehem…But every time God was there protecting his children. This time, Joseph is warned in a dream: “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt.” And the child that Herod wanted to destroy was carried to safety.
God provided a safe place for His Son. And remember: The Son of God begins His life as a refugee running, escaping danger, trusting the Father. During that time, I know Mary remembered the angel’s words: “You are favored, and the Lord is with you.” Joseph remembered his dream and obeyed.
Now that Christmas festivities are ending, now that reality is knocking again at the door,
God asks us a question: What are you going to do with the message of Christmas? Are you going to pack it away in a box along with the nativity figurines and the lights? Are you going to store up the hope, peace, joy and love we proclaimed during Advent with all your decorations in your garage or storage room? Or will you carry it into January, February, and every month of 2026?
Because this coming new year will also have its “Herod.” It will have uncertainty, fear, sickness, grief, conflict, and struggle. This new year will be full of the other side of Christmas. And that is why it is essential to carry the message of Christmas forward. Do not hide the great message of Christmas. Keep it alive.
Like Mary, trust in God’s favor. Like Joseph, walk in obedience before the Lord. Like Anna and Simeon, remain faithful. Like Elizabeth and Ezekiel, listen to God and live according to His Word. Keep the flame of Advent burning. Keep the joy of Christmas alive. Let “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace” remain in your lips.
Christmas does not end when the decorations come down. Because Christmas is Christ.
And Christ is always present in our lives. Jesus did not come to this world and our lives just for one night in Bethlehem. He came to walk with us every day. Remember, He is Emmanuel God with us.
So, as you step into this new year, with all its uncertainty, remember: You are favored by God. He is with you. Your life is hidden with Christ in God. Trust in the power of His arm.
Trust in His faithfulness. Trust in the One who fights for you and with you. And may His hope, peace, joy, and love be part of everything that comes into your life. Amen.
