by Samantha Gonzalez-Block
Psalm 148; Matthew 2:13-23
“Bethlehem can feel so far away. We can forget about the place where it all began: the places where they fled, the circumstances that they feared, the decisions that spared them, the salvific gift of finding home. What makes us forget the truth about our stories? About Jesus’ story? We mold Jesus into something sweet, and comfortable and fair. We strip him of his refugee status, of his dark skin, of his infant cries and vulnerability. And we do it to our own stories.
We forget the truth about who we are: the struggles that run through our veins, the desperation, resilience, guilt, pain, and yearning for hope. The names and the stories. How do we remember that the world Jesus was born into (power-hungry and corrupt), is not all-different from the world we are trudging through today?”