Right after my first Christmas in Keokuk, I took a week of vacation and our Administrative Pastor, Cathie Courtois, filled the pulpit. The scripture reading that week was the story of the slaughter of the innocents (Matthew 2:13-23). It’s the story of how King Herod, having heard from the wise men about a newborn king, had all of the baby boys two years old and younger in the Bethlehem area murdered. Needless to say, Miss Cathie has never forgiven me.
The slaughter of the innocents is not a story I enjoy retelling either. However, I’m glad Matthew didn’t leave it out. It reminds us the world into which Jesus came was a world filled with powerful evil. Jesus’ birth didn’t change that entirely. It was more like lighting a candle in the midst of a vast darkness. The Good News is that “the darkness has not overcome it.”
Last weekend we found our hope in Christmas in the promises and presence of God. This coming week, we’ll search for Christ’s peace in the midst of a world in which peace can sometime seem like a fantasy.
Find YOUR place in Christmas this weekend in worship and then join us Sunday evening for the Christmas musical!