Sermon for December 28, 2025
Christmas 1 A
Matthew 2:13-23; Hebrews 2:10-18
Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
I hope everyone enjoyed a very Merry Christmas! While there are no more official “shopping days” left to buy a great gift, we still are in Christmas, at least according to the church calendar. The season of Christmas goes 12 days, so there’s still plenty of opportunity to make merry. I know as well, though, that many people find this time of year difficult for various reasons. No one can be forced to be merry. Sometimes what a person needs instead of merriment is simply to know you’re not alone. And really, the season of Christmas has room for however you might be feeling today. This is reflected in our scripture readings.
We go from Christmas Eve and the angels’ song of praise—“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth among those whom he favors”—to today’s commemoration of the Holy Innocents, martyrs. Jesus himself narrowly escapes their fate when, as a little boy, Mary and Joseph sneak him out of town in the middle of the night and flee Bethlehem as refugees, seeking a safe haven in Egypt. God’s own Son escaped that massacre, yet he still suffered along with the lowly and helpless ones. On that terrible day, two years after his birth, there was no peace on earth, only death threats for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—no peace on earth, only violence for the little children in and around Bethlehem, who perished at King Herod’s command. Herod was paranoid that Jesus would grow up and, like the Magi said, become king of the Jews, potentially threatening Herod’s power. So he left nothing to chance; he had all the children around Jesus’ age be killed.
It raises the question of why does God allow such evil things to happen? Why is there such a callous disregard for so many who are weeping in lamentation? Why do the innocent suffer at the hands of the ruthless?
This was a simple fact of life during the time of Jesus—just as it has been for most of human history, and still is in many places today. Many, many people live or die at the mercy of political tyrants who will commit any atrocity if they think it will keep themselves in power. Others live in poverty so severe that (with the exception of a lucky few) all the hard work in the world won’t change their condition. Others, like the Holy Family, are fleeing oppression as refugees and migrants, seeking a safe harbor far from home to save their lives and build a future for their family in peace.
And still others—maybe even those who’ve got it pretty good in life—are brought low by unpredictable natural disasters, or by shocking man-made disasters. Our country has certainly seen more than our share of horrific gun violence incidents this year. And 2025 has even had the lowest number of mass killings since 2006. [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/u-s-mass-killings-are-down-in-2025-experts-say-its-likely-a-return-to-typical-levels] But even one is far too many. When our own troubled fellow citizens do the unthinkable, we get a bitter taste of what King Herod was like.
God’s Word is always honest about the human condition, which makes it much more than a simple encouragement to “always look on the bright side of life”. Instead, God’s Word is the message that Christ promises to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves: he brings us to new life and salvation by meeting us in even the darkest of dark times and places, and (as we surrender to him in faith and trust) he carries us through until we reach the other side.
Our human condition means that we are capable of great love and joy and faith; while at the same time, we are capable of great hate and violence and sin. The potential to be both a saint and a sinner exists in every human heart. Therefore, the hope of Christmas is that God has chosen to become fully and truly human in Jesus Christ. His incarnation and birth to the virgin Mary is still the most profound gift of grace we will ever know. “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us, and we have seen his glory!” [John 1:14]
And what does Christ do with his glory? Does he hold his glory over our heads like some bright and distant star that we can reach for but never grasp? No. He willingly exchanges his divine glory for our human suffering, and promises that those who suffer will inherit his glory. The letter to the Hebrews says it well: Jesus “had to become like his brothers and sisters—like us—in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God… Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested” [Hebrews 2:17-18]. Because he suffered, he has radically united himself with humanity. Because Jesus needed mercy, he is able to pour out himself in mercy to help you.
Jesus had to become like us in every respect. He had to take upon himself the suffering of the world, and especially the suffering of the innocent and the oppressed. That is how he made himself “a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people” [Hebrews 2:17]. The word “atonement”, when you break it into three parts, you can see what it means: “At – One – Ment”. Christ became fully human in every respect to make us “at one” with God, and to make God “at one” with us. In Jesus we are “at one”; there is no separation. Whatever we feel, whatever happens to us as humans on earth is felt by God and is happening to God. And whatever is being done to the least and lowest people on earth is happening to Christ himself in heaven.
The message of this day as we commemorate the Holy Innocents, martyrs, is that there is no limit to how low Jesus will go to be at one with us—even when it means going to the cross; to seek, find, and rescue us; weep with and comfort us; and finally to save us. Amen.