Quick Summary:

The scene, on many levels, could be ripped from today’s headlines.
• Anxious refugees leave their homeland for fear of what might happen if they stay.
• Innocent children become victims of a madman.
• Tyrannical leaders take violent action to preserve their power.

We’ve watched these scenes play out over the past weeks and months in too many places to count, and this morning these tortuous scenes march into our midst in the gospel reading. And it’s tempting to just shake our heads, turn the channel, and find something more palatable to think about. But if we did so, we’d miss a central point of this gospel: that in Jesus, God enters the full reality of human life, even its bleakest aspects.