We come to church on Christmas Eve Day and experience all the pretty lights and decorations. We hear all the glorious music and sing Silent Night to the soft light of candles. It’s all part of the celebration of Christmas, and we are thankful because it brings hope and peace to our soul.
We need that in days like this with all that’s going on in our world and country, and perhaps in our personal life. We need hope and peace, because the reality that the darkness which was taking place back then on that first Christmas as described by Matthew’s account of the Christmas story, is like the darkness that is taking place in our world today.
Matthew’s story is so straightforward about the darkness and evil that exists in the world. And when we understand what was going on in that day and see Matthew 2:1-18 through the eyes of those who lived during that time, the message of Christmas is that Herod Is NOT In Charge, even if it seems that he is. Obviously NOT the literal Herod of 2,000 years ago because he is dead and gone. But the forces of evil that controlled and drove Herod and which seem to still be in charge today.
