Year A
Christmas
First Sunday after Christmas Day
Matthew 2:13-23

Contextual Background:

The lectionary sometimes gives us Jesus at age twelve, found in the temple after days of anxious searching. This moment shows the tension of incarnation: Jesus is both ordinary child and bearer of divine wisdom. Paul, in Colossians, exhorts the church to embody compassion, kindness, humility, and patience as the clothing of their new life in Christ.

Within the Jewish Tradition:

The temple was the center of God’s presence, yet here a boy astonishes the teachers with wisdom. This echoes traditions where God speaks through unexpected voices, even children. This itself is not a miracle. The women of a household were responsible to teach children. Mary was Jesus’ tutor in the faith. Joseph too, no doubt shared much with Jesus. Jesus’ family attended the synagogue in Nazareth and there he listened to the faith-filled debates of his community.

The Challenge Then:

For Mary and Joseph, the challenge was to trust that Jesus’ life was rooted in God’s mission, not only their parental expectations. For early Christians, the challenge was to embody Christ’s presence through virtues that contrasted with empire’s values.

The Challenge Now:

Our world often values power, competition, and image over compassion and humility. Christmas insists that God is found not in domination but in wisdom, mercy, and community shaped by Christ’s love.

Implications for Leaders & Communities:

• Leaders can highlight the ordinariness of Jesus’ growth as part of God’s solidarity with us.
• Communities can resist empire’s religio by “clothing themselves” in Christ’s virtues.
• This Sunday invites us to see incarnation not as a one-day event but as a lifelong way of being together.
• The congregation now embodies God’s wisdom in our own communities, working for and honoring the work of others in the Kindom of God.

What I Am Learning:

Christmas extends beyond the manger into daily life. God’s presence shapes how we clothe ourselves in compassion and live in community – both within the church and the larger civic spaces we live in.

The Question I’m Sitting With:

How does my community embody the virtues of Christ so that incarnation continues among us?