The readings for the first Sunday after Christmas are taken from Isaiah 63:7-14; Galatians 4:4-7; and Matthew 2:13-23.
How hard is it to save the human family? Isaiah records God’s great love for His people, how He became their Savior, how He was afflicted in their affliction. But they rebelled and grieved the Holy Spirit. In spite of such a rebellious, despicable nature, God causes them to come to rest and leads them.
Paul explains to the Galatians how God redeemed us from the curse of the law and from bondage by binding His own Son under the curse of the law. Though we are so contrary, God has adopted us and made us heirs of His kingdom.
Matthew records how hard it is to save us. It was hard for Mary and hard for Joseph, but God provided clarity and direction by way of His angels. God’s saving work was especially hard on the parents whose infants were killed by Herod’s command, just as the infant Jesus would grow to eventually be killed by the demands of the Jewish leaders and the command of Pontius Pilate.