In Home Worship – Sunday, December 28, 2025 – First Sunday of Christmas: Service of Carols and Prayers

Image Credit: Flight into Egypt, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1920-1925, Public Domain.

Matthew 2:13-23: The Holy Innocents

I wish I could say that, with time, the world emerged to be a more peaceful place than it was when Jesus was born under the rule of the tyrant Herod. A world, in which all people take as good care of children as Mary and Joseph take care of the Christ child. I wish I could say Herod’s murder of the children of Bethlehem is a cruelty of those old, long-gone times. But, no, our contemporaries still use the method of threatening and murdering children to evoke terror, not only in war, but also in everyday life. How do we long for the kingdom of God, this everlasting era of justice and peace to be realized here on earth. We know that is what God wants for God’s people! And we know that God gives us the power to realize God’s promise. Now, after Jesus Christ’s birth, ministry, death, and resurrection, we, the church, are the body of Christ. We are the ones who uphold the promise of the kingdom of God. We bring hope to a broken world, joy to desperate people, food to the hungry, healing to the sick. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we work toward God’s vision of justice and peace.

Want to learn more? Come to Our Savior Lutheran Church this Sunday, 10 AM, 745 Front St. S, Issaquah, WA and on YouTube. We will have a special service of carols and prayers: “Between the Years.”

– Pr. Kristin-Luana