The gospel for this Sunday after Christmas is from Matthew 2. It recounts events after the departure of the Magi. Joseph was warned to take the Holy Family to Egypt for safety, and King Herod I tried to eliminate the threat of the Messiah to his dynasty by killing male children in Bethlehem under two years of age. Later, after Herod's death, the family returned to Palestine. Joseph decided that Nazareth would be safer for the young Jesus than Bethlehem.
These events remind us that sin, death, and evil were very much at work in the world around the time of Christ's Birth. The Christ Child was feared and hated, and His innocent contemporaries were killed. The world is still much the same. The holy child is still not universally welcomed, and evil people still destroy the innocent to preserve their power, wealth, or comfort.
Despite such evil, God's work in the world continues. Just as evil did not destroy Christ, so in our time the redemptive work of Jesus Christ is not defeated. Evil still causes much suffering, even among the most innocent, but divine truth, love, and grace continue and will continue to the end of the age and beyond! The Gospel, whether around Christmas or around Easter, assures us that God's goodness triumphs over evil!
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