The Disappointment of Christmas
As the twelve days of Christmas comes to a close once again we might wonder what difference it makes that the “Prince of Peace” was born. We are a nation functionally at war, violence is in the streets, death is still a grim reality. The hope we are supposed to have in a world changed by Christ seems a disappointment on every front. So, what is one to do? Maybe hope – real hope – is found elsewhere. Perhaps Matthew points the way as he tells us the story of the gentile astrologers from the despised places of the world.