Christmas 1

Whiplash. That is the only way to describe this week’s Gospel. From the joy of Christ’s birth, we plummet to a genocidal massacre of innocents in a few short verses. Matthew 2.13-23 briefly describes the life of the Holy Family as refugees. Fleeing religious and political persecution, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus escape to Egypt. Back home in Jerusalem, king Herod slaughters all male infants in an attempt to preserve power at all costs. The episode of genocide connects Christ with Israel’s past traditions and his future work. The consequence of Christ’s work is execution. Christ disrupts the status quo and so we live a prayer of lovingkindness for disrupted lives: refugees, survivors of fire and flood, those fleeing persecution of any kind, and those living the joyful disruption of parenthood, new faith and transformed lives.