Sermon for 1st Sunday After Christmas/The Holy Innocents | Revd. Walter Macdaniel Nakan

 Sermon for 1st Sunday After Christmas/The Holy Innocents

Fr. Walter Macdaniel Nakan

28.12.2025

Text: Isaiah 63:7 – 9; Hebrews 2:10 – end; Matthew 2:13 – end.

Title: Sheltered by Grace; Love in a Dangerous World

     

    The narrative of Herod’s paranoia in today’s gospel bring into light the reality of politics in this world. By politic, I am not talking solely about government but addressing against any form of abuse of human power dynamics. Because, the power-play behinds human politics revolve around the fact that which party can gain leverage over the other. Sadly, such situation even exists in the supposedly holy setting of the church. God’s politics in the other hand is to serve rather than to suppress. So, today, we are reflecting on how God’s grace and love persist even in the dangerous world of human politics. 

Love in Action (Matthew 2:13 – 15)

    Herod is a typical self-absorbed leader that only care to love himself and would feel insecure if he lost his position or popularity. Such “love” exist greatly in this world where we see leaders – even church leaders – fighting over power in the name of this self-absorbing love. Herod during his time even willing to sacrifice the innocents in order to make sure that his position will never be challenged by anyone. Against this kind of love, there is an ultimate love of God that serves to protect.

    We always understood love to be about emotion but in understanding God’s love, we need to know that it goes beyond emotion. God’s love here is translated as protective shield over His begotten Son. God Himself initiates the flight to Egypt – of course to fulfill the prophecy – but focus on the verb initiate. Often time, we missed the bigger picture of God’s action in our lives when we see that God pulling us away from the comfort of our home ground. I remember the pain and frustration that I have to gone through from the first transfer out of this church and the subsequent frequent transfers. But, as God initiate the flight to Egypt out of His love for His Son, and for the world, at the end of the day, we should remain contented on the fact that God did what He did out of His genuine love, not out of anxiety or worries that His greater plan will be foiled. The fact that in Matthew it was mentioned that it was to fulfilled the prophecy means that God has always had this in His mind.

    Now, the question is, where do you think God is calling you to flee from things that may harm your spiritual life? It could be the subtle comfort of being enabler of systematic bully within an organization or perhaps the subtle rejection of God’s presence in your life due to unresolved conflicts with fellow brother or sister in Christ. Sometimes, God’s love does not look like a hug; it looks like a warning. It looks like the courage to leave what is familiar to survive what is toxic.

 

The Conflict: Love in the Midst of Lament (Matthew 2:16 – 18)

    We may be wondering, if God always had in mind His perfect plan of love, why does God allows the innocents to die during the time of Jesus? Does it mean that in God there is partiality or does it mean that God to some degree evil because He allowed it to happen? In this context, we need to understand that the death of the innocents were at the hand of Herod as the conduit of evil at his time. The reality is, evil is present and sometimes it can be life-threatening. The presence of evil does not eliminate God’s love or vice versa. If anything, it goes to show the strength of God’s love because even in death and suffering, God is present. This is evident in the life of Christ, that He too undergone the suffering and eventual death, but, the death does not contain Him forever. While innocently the babies died for Christ to live, but in Christ, they too will be resurrected. That is the truth of God’s love being present in the midst of our struggle.

    The weeping Rachel quoted from Jeremiah 31:15 reminded us still that God hears the cries of the grieving. The Gospel is silent about God’s immediate action to stop Herod, but it is loud about God’s presence in the weeping. Rachel’s tears are not ignored; they are gathered into the heart of a God who would eventually shed His own blood on a cross. It becomes the testimony of God’s comfort and love in flesh (that is in Christ Himself). So, reflect on this, when we understand that God will protect us out of His love, it does not mean that He will promise us a “problem-free” life, but rather, He guaranteed His presence in the "furnace" with us. Just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel’s friends) had to be thrown into the furnace for their refusal to bow down to the evil of their present-world, even when “the heat” of this world being turned up by the “Herods” of our present-lives, there is always the fourth man in fire with us just as it was with them (Daniel 3:16 – 38). While evil, at this moment, is inevitable, God is not far-removed from us but rather close and near to us in Christ Jesus – whose death and resurrection has redeemed us from this world (Galatians 3:13).

 

The Path: Love that leads to Home (Matthew 2:19 – 23)

    It is a beautiful and comforting scene in verses 19 to 20 when the Lord appears to Joseph after the threat passes. And not only that, the gospel mentioned that there is a “follow-up” warning not to go to Jerusalem hence the Holy Family decided to make a living in a small town of Nazareth. It is evidence here that God is persistent in His guidance. And of all the town, God chose to lead them to Nazareth – again of course to fulfill the prophecy – goes to show that God’s love is not about the world prestige but about identification with the lowly and despised. Jesus is God’s word incarnate, His Christ (the anointed One) and yet God chose to bring Him up in a very lowly setting. Doctrinally, this reflects God’s character as Paul mentioned in Philippians 2:5 – 11. Come to think of it, God could easily chose to incarnate in royal house or even reveal Himself in all His glory and might, but still chose to be human and die for us who rejects Him.

    Remember in my last Sunday of Advent’s sermon, I mentioned about God’s love is Immanuel – that is God is with us. Through this gospel, we should be able to grasp it in our mind that God is evidently present “with us” in Egypt, Bethlehem, and Nazareth – when we were in exile, in sorrow, and felt insignificance. In many season of our lives, as we await for Christ’s second coming, we may have to flee from many situations, we may have to be sorrowful that no joy in this world could ever bring any comfort, and we may feel insignificant at times, but know this, God is with us.

Conclusion

    The story of the holy family, Joseph and Mary fleeing for safety following God’s guidance and warning should wake us up into another reality; the church may be that safe-refuge for people to run to. The church becomes a refuge not by hiding from the world, but by being the one place where power is used only to heal. The church existence set itself apart from the evil of this world – when the world battering people and causing spiritual illness, church should be able to affirm the ever-presence of God to this kind of people. Take it as our call to run to God together while continue to inspire people to desiring God as we await for our salvation to be completed when Christ comes again. Amen.