In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is born. Glorify Him.

At Christmas we celebrate with the angels: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." But this Sunday after the Nativity, we are reminded that not all rejoice with the angels. That Herod rages and murders children as he hunts for the newborn king.

And brothers and sisters, there is nothing new under the sun. We are quite aware of murderous tyrants who rage in our own day. Some of them even persecuting others for the sake of Christ. And unlike Herod, these tyrants do not even fear God. They are not fearing his judgment, but rather persecute gleefully, calling the light darkness and demanding that those under them submit to their lies.

But in the face of this, God in his gospel calls us to courage, to lift up the light of Christ in the face of that darkness.

We hear today of how Joseph flees to Egypt with his child and with the child's mother. And it's not just to escape the rage of Herod, but also, and more importantly, to fulfill the prophecy: "Out of Egypt have I called my son." And when he returns, he goes to Nazareth so that Jesus may be called a Nazarene. And from there he will begin to proclaim the gospel, this word of peace on earth, good will toward men.

The angel's message that we have heard, this message of peace and goodwill, it is not dependent on what we find in the news. It is not dependent on the powers of this world, whether they cooperate or not, whether anyone is willing actually to listen and follow. But rather, it is God's will towards us being proclaimed—his peace, his good will—that those who follow him embrace, that we are called upon to share with others what we have received ourselves.

We take up the spirit of peace on earth, good will toward men, even recognizing that we see very clearly that in earthly terms there is not much peace, that so often we see wickedness and corrupt will. And we are not to be discouraged.

One of the hymns that we hear on this day, this Sunday after the Lord's Nativity, sings of how "Your nativity became the commemoration of priests, the strength and joy of kings." Rejoicing in it, we sing, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." The Lord's Prayer that is being recalled here continues, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." On earth, peace, good will toward men.

How is that to be accomplished? Do we wait for some wise king to arise? Do we hold back until we find that others are taking up this cause of peace and goodwill? Is that how we are to fulfill in ourselves this prayer that we pray every day?

No. As we invoke our heavenly Father's name, we are calling upon his will to be worked out first in me, the one who is actually praying, who dares to call God Father. And as his children, as we hallow his name, we allow his will to be done in the earth of my own heart, to begin with his people who are called by his name.

And so today we ask ourselves: How is it that I may take up this call? That we together may embrace this word? How can we bring the light of Christ, the joy of his nativity, to those around us who are sorrowing and darkened in hearts? How can we allow the peace of Christ to enter into our own hearts and find a dwelling place there, to fill us up so that we have that peace to share with others?

And how may we in all of our life make it a proclamation with the angels that Christ is born—peace on earth and good will for all?

Christ is born. Glorify Him.