Dai­ly Reflec­tion
Decem­ber 18, 2021

Hol­i­days like Christ­mas can become pre­dictable over time. We fall into a reg­u­lar rou­tine and even look for­ward to cel­e­brat­ing the same tra­di­tions and cus­toms each year. We find com­fort know­ing how the house will be dec­o­rat­ed, when the presents will be opened, who will show up at each par­ty, and what will served at each meal. We like pre­dictabil­i­ty, espe­cial­ly at Christ­mas when sur­round­ed by our friends and family.

Today’s read­ings remind us that the Christ­mas sto­ry was any­thing but pre­dictable. The first read­ing alludes to a king who will “reign and gov­ern wise­ly… [doing] what is just and right in the land.” Most peo­ple at the time believed that the Mes­si­ah would be a mighty king who would lib­er­ate the faith­ful from their oppressors.

Instead, Matthew tells us the sto­ry of Mary, betrothed to Joseph, but not yet liv­ing with him. Despite this, Mary is “found with child through the Holy Spir­it” which sug­gests infi­deli­ty to Joseph. Infi­deli­ty at that time was pun­ish­able by ston­ing. Can this real­ly be the ori­gin sto­ry of a mighty king? Did our Mes­si­ah real­ly have such an inaus­pi­cious beginning?

The angel reas­sures Joseph that Jesus will res­cue his peo­ple from sin and will be called Emmanuel, mean­ing “God is with us.” This is the long-await­ed Mes­si­ah. And we know that Jesus will be born in a manger and will be cru­ci­fied. Noth­ing about this Christ­mas sto­ry is predictable.

Most of us expe­ri­enced an unpre­dictable and uncer­tain Christ­mas in 2020 and we may face the same sit­u­a­tion this year. Per­haps we can see this as an invi­ta­tion to share in and relive the unpre­dictabil­i­ty of the orig­i­nal Christ­mas story.