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The mystery hid in God from the beginning of the world.
Ephesians 3:9

           The liturgy for today is filled with the symbolism of light and darkness.  In the epistle (Ephesians 3:1-12) we find contrasted the revelation that Jews and Gentiles share together in the promise of Christ and in membership in his body, and the situation in which the author writes, as a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of the Gentiles. 
            The gospel reading (Matthew 2:1-12) is dominated by the symbolism of the star, which leads the wise men to the babe and his mother.  But here too the theme of darkness is present, not only in the murderous Herod but also in the chief priests and scribes, who know where the Christ is to be born but decline to go and worship him. 
            These leaders of the people are the very ones who, in the later chapters of Matthew’s gospel, will accuse Jesus of blasphemy (Matthew 26:65) and persuade the people to ask Pilate that he be put to death (Matther 27:20). 
            We could sum up of the message of today’s feast in the verse from John’s prologue: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).  In the apocalyptic times in which we live the struggle between light and darkness is certainly not an unfamiliar theme.  But, unlike the Biblical authors, we often find it difficult to know just where the boundary between light and darkness is to be drawn. 
            Today we are less confident in proclaiming that God is on our side whenever we experience political or religious conflict.  When we react against forces which threaten our way of life, we realize, if we are honest, that the defence of our own interests is not always a holy war for the honor of God. 
            It is not a matter of denying the existence or activity of evil in the world today, but rather of precisely identifying the evil, knowing, as we do, that the boundary between good and evil passes through every human heart. 
            But if we must be catious about characterizing presentday conflicts as a war between the sons of light and the sons of darkness, at least we know what is meant by the divine light whose entrance into the world we commemorate during this Christmas season.  The babe in Bethlehem reveals to us that God has declared himself unequivocally and irrevocably in favor of humankind—not in favor of a particular nation but in favor of all men and women. 
            The magi’s visit to Bethlehem puts an end to an understanding of divine election in narrowly national terms.  This revelation of God’s “yes” to us—to all of us—may seem extremely general and quite unhelpful in trying to resolve the concrete problems and disputes which confront us.  And yet I would suggest that our knowledge that God is truly on our side, while not providing us with specific answers, does give us the essential orientation that we need for our daily lives.  For if God has accepted us, then we must accept one another, whatever the differences and hostilities which divide us.  If God has accepted us, then we must accept ourselves, and how many of our conflicts with each other arise from our failure to learn the basic lesson of self-appreciation. 
            God’s love and acceptance of us are not uncritical, but they are unconditional.  May our knowledge of this love and acceptance be our strength and support as we confront the challenges and perplexities of a new year.            

January 6, 2008

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